The Singaporean Identity

A few days ago someone posted this thread in hardwarezone forums: http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2458715&page=8

Which I concur - Why are we paying top dollar for ministers who have lost touch with the common ground? All they do is rule from their ivory towers with their own intentions and self-righteous convictions that many Singaporeans do not agree with?

Any minister in SG earns more than Barack Obama (the U.S. president earns $400,000 USD annually). Is this pay justified? Well, I only know that many of the policies are not created with true-blue Singaporeans in mind.

So what is a true-blue Singaporean - you might ask? By most Singaporeans’ definition, I would believe that this means born, educated and working in Singapore. This excludes many (if not most) first-generation immigrants.

It is unfathomable as to why we are “importing” so many foreigners with similar qualifications and skillsets when it is obvious that our economic infrastructure cannot support a bigger population.

I am pretty sure that most Singaporeans are fine with the hiring of true Foreign Talents (those this term has probably been overused and misused under too many circumstances that we are getting a little confused). It is important to hire and attract scientists, researchers, professors and other professionals/specialists that we lack in Singapore. Most people would also agree that we need foreigners to work in jobs (construction workers, cleaners) that Singaporeans shun. No doubt this can be seen as a selfish thought, however, as Singapore progresses into a more developed country with a “knowledge-based economy”, fewer youngsters would enjoy working in occupations which are seen as less glamorous and less well-paying.

Many Singaporeans are perturbed as to why we are funding foreigners with scholarships. We are also surprised at how our sovereign wealth fund is able to lose billions without the CEO (Ho Ching) batting an eyelid and nary an apology. I am hardly surprised at many of these moves but I am surprised at how the SG government is able to do so without much protest nor repercussion from the public. This goes to show how disunited and weak the Singaporean voice is. Singaporeans agree wholeheartedly on issues that need to be addressed but are too cowardly to speak up. That is truly and sadly the essence of the current Singaporean Identity.