TR EMERITUS

Written by Our Correspondent The Straits Times put up an article with the most misleading title that "90% of grads found jobs within 6 months", but conveniently left the fact the average wages of fresh graduates are lower than in 2008 at the bottom of the article. According to the MOE's Graduate Employment Survey, nine out of ten graduates from the three local varsities found a job within six months of graduation. What was not mentioned is the number of graduates who are on contract jobs. According to a Straits Times article a few weeks ago, one in three polytechnic and university graduate are on contract jobs. The average wages last year were also lower than that in 2008. For example, in 2008, SMU economics graduates with cum laude and higher qualifications landed average monthly salaries of $4,164. The same group last year started at an average of just $3,606. With the increase in cost of living, especially that of public housing within the same period of time, it is pretty obvious that fresh graduates are not having an easy time contrary to the rosy picture painted by the article. The result corroborates an earlier release by the Manpower Ministry which revealed that the real earnings of Singaporeans have declined by 3.2 percent in 2009. Again, the figures are misleading because it is skewed by extreme values towards the upper end. A more accurate figure to use should be median salaries which the Straits Times did not report. The Straits Times attributed the lower wages to the economic gloom last year, but the economy was already improving by the second quarter with companies hiring again. A likely cause is the uncontrolled influx of foreign workers who are allowed to compete directly with Singapore graduates for limited jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them. Some companies like Keppel Corp and Courts even put up job advertisements in Malaysian papers to recruit Malaysians specifically. Due to the PAP's liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up more than a third of Singapore's workforce. The figure will go up to 44% if PRs are included. The easy availability of cheap foreign labor is a key reason behind the falling wages of Singaporeans, according to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial. Unfortunately with the mainstream media firmly controlled by the PAP, such negative news are censored and Singaporeans remain ignorant of the reality on the ground.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so and help us exceed the number of fans on the official YPAP Facebook page.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent In yet another sign that the PAP's disastrous immigration policy has been peeving off many Singaporeans and that its leaders remain oblivious to its negative impact on the people, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean was asked point-blank by a NUS student on the reason behind being so many foreigners in Singapore lately during a NUS forum yesterday. To the dismay of the audience, instead of addressing the issue proper, Mr Teo dismissed it with the customary PAP rhetoric that Singapore has always kept a "tight lid" on immigration and that foreigners are increasing in numbers because "there are many more people who want to live and work here." It appears that Mr Teo is ignorant of a Gallup poll done last year which revealed that the top three emigration destination for college students in China are United States, France and South Korea. Singapore was not even featured in the top five. The foreigners are increasing in numbers not because they are flocking to Singapore but because the PAP is desperately mass importing them over. Unlike other countries like Australia and Canada, immigrants do not have to pass a compulsory International English Test to work here with the end result that Singapore has been swarmed by large number of non-English speaking PRC nationals in recent years. Mr Teo added that "those with criminal records or who cannot support themselves are kept out, while those who are given work passes can work here only for a limited period, and hold jobs that Singaporeans may eschew." Perhaps Mr Teo is not aware of the the Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (EPEC) allows foreigners who are i) holders of selected university qualifications, or ii) current or former holders of selected skilled migrant visas to stay in Singapore for up to one year to facilitate their job search in Singapore.  These foreigners are competing directly with Singaporeans for jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them. According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, the relentless influx of foreign workers has depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living and led to an overall decline in the standards of living. Mr Teo said he was confident the Government could maintain immigration controls 'at the correct settings'. Based on his appalling answer above, how can he expect Singaporeans to have any confidence in the PAP? To put it bluntly: the PAP has screwed up its immigration policies big time by bringing in too many foreigners within too short a period of time such that not only are we experiencing many problems with limited infrastructure but having difficulties in integrating all of them as well. Instead of admitting its mistake and have a proper debate on immigration issues as Australia is doing now, the PAP chose to splurge $10 million dollars of taxpayers' monies to cover up for its gross incompetence, ineptitude and impotence. Unless Singaporeans vote out the PAP in the next general election, they will surely end up as second class minorities in their own country of birth at the rate the PAP is mass importing immigrants to perpetuate its political hegemony forever at the expense of true-bred Singaporeans.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans.   The UBS Series: >> Part 1: Singapore has lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among Asian Tigers >> Part 2: Moving towards a Russian standard of living >> Part 3: Why Singaporeans are paupers in a first world economy   Related articles: >> Why Singaporeans' fear of new immigrants is rational >> Lim Hwee Hua: Avoid irrational fears of immigrants >> SM Goh: Immigrants are still welcomed in Singapore >> Singaporean working in China lashed out at grouses of Singapore PRs >> Eight reasons why foreign workers will be preferred over local ones >> Declining wages of Singaporeans and the continued denial by PAP leaders >> Halimah Yacob refutes UBS study findings >> Halimah Yacob: Productivity drive will be derailed if foreign worker challenge not addressed  >> Exposing the six major flaws in the PAP’s immigration policies >> Wong Kan Seng promises to tighten immigration policies >> SM Goh: Foreign workers numbers may still rise >> Malaysian car mechanic applying for Singapore citizenship >> PAP launches Singapore Citizenship Journey to help new citizens integrate >> Compulsory for new citizens to attend “sharing sessions” with grassroots leaders >> Wong Kan Seng urged Singaporeans to be more tolerant of foreign workers >> Tharman: Foreign workers increase income of low-income families >> Sylvia Lim: Pace and influx of foreigners over last few years is wrong >> Amy Khor urges Singaporeans to welcome foreigners >> PAP MP wants more money to be spent to make new citizens feel welcomed in Singapore >> Shanmugam: Foreigners generate jobs for Singaporeans >> Vivian happy there are 4,500 new citizens serving as grassroots leaders >> Cosmetic changes made to immigration policy >> SM Goh: New immigrants needed to make up population shortfall >> PAP ministers hailed contributions of foreigners >> SM Goh expressed support for Zhang Yuanyuan >> State media: citizens have more rights over PRs >> Zhang Yuanyuan got her Singapore PR in only 2 months >> Official reply from government on the Zhang Yuanyuan fiasco >> Singapore PRC PR proclaimed loyalty to China publicly >> PRC resident hung China flag to celebrate its National Day >> PRC student in Singapore wants more scholarships for foreigners >> PRC prostitutes solicit for customers on Singapore’s cyberspace >> ERA: 40 per cent of resale flats buyers are PRs    Read More →

OPINION Speaking at the first anniversary celebration of Crossroads, a weekly section of Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese language daily Lianhe Zaobao featuring new immigrants and citizens which was funded by taxpayers' monies from the $10 million dollar Community Integration Fund, Minister in Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua urged Singaporeans to "avoid developing irrational fears toward new immigrants." and "to prepare for, rather than resist, an increased willingness among people worldwide to travel and relocate." She repeated the usual PAP rhetoric that "Singapore itself had grown out of a society of immigrants from different birth countries, who had contributed 'colour and vibrancy to our country" and that immigration is needed to boost Singapore's resident population and falling birth rates. With due respect to Ms Lim, it is quite impossible for a multi-millionaire minister who earns nearly $2 million dollars a year to understand the plight of ordinary Singaporeans who are struggling to make ends meet and having no social security in the future to speak of. Let us use a simple example to enlighten our dear Minister Lim: Being a mother herself, Ms Lim should have a basic understanding of how children feel - they require a lot of love, tender loving care and constant reassurance. Imagine if Ms Lim's husband were to adopt a few children from an orphanage and bring them home. The adopted children are allowed to share the food, rooms, books and toys with Ms Lim's children. They are praised by her husband as being more "hard-driving" and "hard-striving" than their own children who are dimissed as being "champion grumblers", "daft" and not having the "spurs stuck in their hide". How will Ms Lim's biological children feel? Will she consider their fears as "irrational" too? Though the above scenario may appear far-fetched, it encapsulates the sentiments of many Singaporeans - that we are being let down by the elected government which is expected to safeguard our interests first and not the foreigners. We are becoming second class citizens in our own country. By and large, most Singaporeans agree with the underlying fundamentals of government's immigration policies to increase Singapore's population via immigration. It is true that in an increasing globalized world where people are becoming more mobile, we will need to compete with other countries for talents. Singaporeans do not mind taking in immigrants who are really world class talents, but the question is: are we getting the real talents or simply thrash to add numbers to our population? Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong quoted the example of New Zealand which launched a campaign lately to lure Singaporeans to live, work and study there as a prime example of other countries opening their doors to immigration. Why did New Zealand target Singapore specifically and not China for that matter? Because Singapore workers are highly prized all over the world for their English proficiency, efficiency and honesty. Unlike Singapore, New Zealand has very strict labor policies and immigration criteria. All prospective migrant workers have to pass an International English test IELTS before they can even set foot there. Only sectors where there is a chronic shortage of manpower are allowed to employ foreigners. That's why you will never find PRC service staff in New Zealand who are ubiquitous in Singapore. What Singapore needs are skilled migrants who can complement our workforce and enable us to compete better on an international stage and not unskilled workers coming to snatch away the ricebowls of ordinary Singaporeans! How can Ms Lim expect Singaporeans not to fret when their livelihoods are at stake? And if Singaporeans are unable to find a decent job to support themselves, will she donate her salary to help them? Contrary to what PAP leaders have been proclaiming that foreigners are only employed in sectors shunned by Singaporeans, they are found in all industries across the board - service, manufacturing, healthcare, administrative, technical, engineering etc. One need only step into the HDB Hub at Toa Payoh to witness the truth - Filipinos are employed as service staff at Singapore Post and as tellers at POSB Bank, China nationals at Old Town White Coffee, Malaysians at Bread Talk and even some GP clinics in the vicinity have Burmese as clinic assistants. Are these jobs really shunned by Singaporeans? If no Singaporean wants to take them up, that's because the salaries on offer are too low! Foreigners can survive in Singapore with a paltry monthly salary of $800 - $1,200, but not Singaporeans. Companies are not keen to pay more because of the easy availability of foreign workers. Though there is a dependency quota to be fulfilled before employers can hire foreigners, it is easily circumvented by getting earlier arrivals to apply for Singapore PRs thereby freeing up more slots for foreigners. According to the Home Affairs Ministry, two out of three PR applicants are successful, some of whom are cleaners, masseurs, construction workers and even freelance prostitutes! Where is the quality control? Are these immigrants "talents" which we cannot afford to lose? To put it bluntly, the PAP is mass importing foreigners to compete with Singaporeans in a playing field tilted strongly in their favor and expecting us to be "cheaper, faster and better" at the same time. How is this possible? The same old excuse that the government cannot shield Singaporeans from global competition is a complete hogwash. Singaporeans are more than willing to compete with foreign workers in terms of capability but not cost! We have a family to feed here, we have loans to service and we have a social life in our country of birth - how can we ever be "cheaper" than the foreigners? The onus then is on the government to formulate labor policies which safeguard the interests of Singaporeans first. In many countries, foreign workers are only employed in sectors with a chronic shortage of labor. We can accept foreigners to take up manual jobs in the construction industry and high filers in various fields, but not the ordinary rank-and-file workers like the PMETs. Ms Lim's argument that we need to welcome immigrants because we are an immigrant nation ourselves is most absurd. Australia, United States and Canada are immigrant nations too, do we see their governments mass importing foreigners to replace their own citizens at such an alarming rate? Due to the PAP's liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up 36 percent of Singapore's population. In contrast, foreigners make up only 25 percent of Australia's population and 12 percent of United States' population. A balance must be struck between increasing our population via immigration versus losing our core national identity with its resultant social repercussions. Despite accepting large numbers of immigrants over the past few decades, both United States and Australia have retained their core national identity: they are largely white protestant societies with a significant minority. Imagine an Australia dominated by Asians and the whites becoming a minority race or the United States having more Muslims than Christians, won't the social fabric of these two countries be torn asunder? Even among the white immigrants to the United States, there are significant racial bias and segregation among them - Anglo-Saxons tend to be viewed more favorably than the Hispanics who congregate in the southern states. But the United States have a large landmass to accommodate so many people of different races and religions, what about Singapore? When too many foreigners are squeezed into a small plot of land, it is inevitable that the demographic changes will become so blatantly obvious to make Singaporeans uncomfortable. Certain parts of the island like Geylang now resemble more like China than Singapore itself. Ms Lim claimed that the Government would continue to put the interests of Singaporeans ahead of non-citizens as a matter of policy and that efforts are put in to "integrate" the new immigrants. She cannot be more wrong. The recent cosmetic changes in policies made by the PAP are no more than a "wayang" to win the votes of Singaporeans ahead of the next general election. On a whole, the immigration and labor policies remain essentially the same - foreigners are still allowed to enter Singapore to compete with Singaporeans for jobs. As for the money splurged by the PAP to welcome the new immigrants, they are likely to go down the drain for a simple reason that we have accepted too many foreigners within too short a period of them, many of whom are unable to speak or understand a simple word of English. Ms Lim should really consider leaving her ivory tower for an instant and stay in the HDB heartlands to assess for herself how the "integration" process is going. The China immigrants will always stay within their own cliques because there are so many of them here that they do not have the incentive to reach out to other Singaporeans. Neither will the Indians bother to interact with the China immigrants who cannot speak English. Perhaps they may be seen snatching for free food at buffetts organized by grassroots organizations courtesy of Singapore taxpayers, but do you call this integration? If we had accepted immigrants at a more controlled rate and to screen them carefully first before granting them Singapore PRs and citizenships, we will not be in such a dire strait today! Singaporeans are absolutely rational in fearing the new immigrants brought in by the PAP en masse to boost its flagging support base because they are finding it harder to make a living in their own country. Unlike other developed nations, Singaporeans have no social welfare benefits to rely on. They are essentially left to fend for themselves and if they cannot make it, they will be cast aside by society. This is a heartless state governed by the PAP mantra: "You die your business!" If Ms Lim is earning only $20,000 and not $2 million dollars a year, she will be filled with irrational fears too.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans.   The UBS Series: >> Part 1: Singapore has lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among Asian Tigers >> Part 2: Moving towards a Russian standard of living >> Part 3: Why Singaporeans are paupers in a first world economy   Related articles: >> Lim Hwee Hua: Avoid irrational fears of immigrants >> SM Goh: Immigrants are still welcomed in Singapore >> Singaporean working in China lashed out at grouses of Singapore PRs >> Eight reasons why foreign workers will be preferred over local ones >> Declining wages of Singaporeans and the continued denial by PAP leaders >> Halimah Yacob refutes UBS study findings >> Halimah Yacob: Productivity drive will be derailed if foreign worker challenge not addressed  >> Exposing the six major flaws in the PAP’s immigration policies >> Wong Kan Seng promises to tighten immigration policies >> SM Goh: Foreign workers numbers may still rise >> Malaysian car mechanic applying for Singapore citizenship >> PAP launches Singapore Citizenship Journey to help new citizens integrate >> Compulsory for new citizens to attend “sharing sessions” with grassroots leaders >> Wong Kan Seng urged Singaporeans to be more tolerant of foreign workers >> Tharman: Foreign workers increase income of low-income families >> Sylvia Lim: Pace and influx of foreigners over last few years is wrong >> Amy Khor urges Singaporeans to welcome foreigners >> PAP MP wants more money to be spent to make new citizens feel welcomed in Singapore >> Shanmugam: Foreigners generate jobs for Singaporeans >> Vivian happy there are 4,500 new citizens serving as grassroots leaders >> Cosmetic changes made to immigration policy >> SM Goh: New immigrants needed to make up population shortfall >> PAP ministers hailed contributions of foreigners >> SM Goh expressed support for Zhang Yuanyuan >> State media: citizens have more rights over PRs >> Zhang Yuanyuan got her Singapore PR in only 2 months >> Official reply from government on the Zhang Yuanyuan fiasco >> Singapore PRC PR proclaimed loyalty to China publicly >> PRC resident hung China flag to celebrate its National Day >> PRC student in Singapore wants more scholarships for foreigners >> PRC prostitutes solicit for customers on Singapore’s cyberspace >> ERA: 40 per cent of resale flats buyers are PRs  Read More →