By Khalil AdisMay 14, 2010
Khalil Adis is an experienced property writer, with in-depth knowledge of Singapore's and Malaysia's property market. During his career, he's written for Property Guru, Property Report and Property...
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| Foreign workers at Jurong Point |
To cut the story short, I finally managed to free the cat and took it with me. Trying to be a good neighbour, I went knocking door-to-door at the same corner unit of each floor hoping to find its owner. Each of the 5-room flats that I knocked on appeared to house foreign nationals who again, could hardly speak English. Some were downright rude, slamming their door when they saw the sight of the cat and me. It got me starting to feel like a stranger in my own country.
My worst suspicion was confirmed a month ago when I was taking a cab back home at night. I swear, it felt like I had taken a walk on the wild side. As the cab cruised by the neighbouring blocks, I saw a police patrol car. To the left and right was a gathering of foreign workers of the same nationality. Behind me, was another group who was drinking beer and lying down on the bench underneath the void deck. I get the feeling that my area is not as safe as it used to be.
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| Police patrol car in Taman Jurong |
When a neighbourhood feels more and more like a ghetto, obviously property values will drop, never mind the hype surrounding the Jurong Lake District coming up in 10 years time. This isn’t the neighbourhood that I used to know. Over to you Minister Shanmugaratnam.
“Property prices in Singapore will dip...
A recent headline on Forbes.com grabbed my attention...
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Reader Comments (19 comments)
Our dearest government wants FT/FW influx because they forsee that the Singapore nation will lack the manpower, talents & younger generations to run the nation in the next era. Such comodity can be nurtured but the ultimate shortcut had been chosen by & openning the floodgates. I guess everybody at that point of moment loved the idea that talent & manpower would materialize overnight in our homeland...without compromising our own rights. However, over the years I begun to wonder whether Singapore can be still called 'home' for the various reasons: 1. Alot of foreigners do not even know the basics of English language which made multi-racial/national integration difficult if not complicated. This upset the balance of social integrity. 2. Alot of foreigners took the nation for granted & unappreciative by showing their negative attitudes such as being obnoxious, rude to locals, racist, speaking in unbearable loud tones, arrogant, unhygenic (spitting around), establishing unsightful enclaves, oh the list can go on. 3. Quotas have been implemented to deny singaporean families of their rightful HDB units just to accomodate foreigners. I don't think Singaporeans take that into comfort. 4. Dear Singaporeans are denied jobs because employers can conveniently look for much cheaper, obedient & professional workforce. Imagine the size of the floodgate. Finally, does the gov care about all these? I think in their opinion, as long as the country operates and the wealth of important figures can be maintained...why bother? To be honest, I don't mind to have foreigners working and living together to build a stronger society. I detest & discard racial/cultural/religion differences & focus on individualism. I want to be friends with foreigners. To no avail, they do not want to be our friends. To the gov, they have the rights not to be our friends but have every rights to be our fierce competitors.
i understand that blogs are opinionated. but i must say that that it speaks of pure bias. the writer is actually hitting on the foreigners, without regard of the POSITIVE contributions that these "downright rude" foreigners have given the country in general
dont u see guys, without foreigners, the country will be left behind in terms of productivity and quality of services. lets face it, they are more jolly and friendly when dealing with other people, and are more calm in handling situations. i guess the fuss is only about YOU, singaporeans, feeling inferior and being insecure of your skills to maintain the image of the country.
Dear All, I have been following this discussion closely since I got wind about what Mr Khalil wrote. I agree with what Mr Khalil wrote. There is indeed a great many number of FTs and FWs in Singapore. Being a Singaporean myself, I welcome foreigners here with open arms. It takes a great deal of gumption to move to another country to live and work (or study). I have done that on three occasions – Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Humans instinctively fall back on habits and are comfortable with what/who they are familiar with. Thus, you see enclaves happening in various suburbs. Some more obvious than others. It is disheartening to have read that Mr Khalil had witnessed foreigners in a drunken stupor and misbehaving in public but he is right (and HAS the right) to have pointed that out. Would you behave like that in a foreign country? It is basic social behaviour which we all should observe. I believe that the Government should have installed a minimum English requirement to FTs and FWs right from the very beginning. In New Zealand, for example, the Government initially required migrants to purchase and participate in an English course after he has arrived into the country. It did not work out and hence, ended up with a wave of foreigners with the inability to speak the language. A change was then ensued with a minimum English requirement (5.5 IELTS bandscore). This was lambasted by mainly Chinese nationals but was welcomed by the Kiwis. This move helped the migrants integrate into society. I feel that even with measures put in place, we Singaporeans should also play a part in welcoming FTs and FWs to our country. I strongly believe that we Singaporeans are not xenophobic. We just need to have a bit more patience and try to understand their culture. This would go a long way.
Hi Willy. They are definitely PRs. I guess their home has become like a safe haven or transit point for fellow citizens from their country. Sometimes the traffic is really too much. You feel like you are not living in an HDB flat. Having said that, we cannot blame foreigners for the current problems that we are seeing now in the heartlands. After all, it is our government who opened the floodgates in the first place.
So happens that now foreigners are a convenient target. To openly declare that all of them are of the same character as the immigrants in the writer's block is presumptuous. And to say that we do not respect/acknowledge these foreign workers' contribution to our nation-building is wrong. All I ask is that before you start labeling someone as xenophobic, please take a step back and think if you would entertain such thoughts if you were in the writer's shoes? Talk is cheap and if you think you wouldn't, then I would suggest you prove your word and buy a HDB that has these foreigner neighbors, speak to them and touch that lift button which one of them just smeared his mucus on right in front of you. P.S. Khalil, are you sure the immigrants are staying there legally? I kinda doubt it.
2. Property values may decline - this assumption is based on the writer's view that the neighborhood has become somewhat of a ghetto with the foreigners loving to booze and laze around and it feels less safe because of their habits to get drunk. While this isn't a fact, I do understand what the writer is theorizing. Imagine if you had a drunkard constantly yelling away next door and you're trying to sell your precious home. Would any sane buyer, excluding any major discounts nor any sky-high selling price, meet your sales price with someone POTENTIALLY making such a ruckus next door every now and then? I wouldn't. In fact, I'd be turned off and place that unit at the bottom of my shortlist if it ever gets there and subject to a discounted price compared to the might-be-safer blocks a street or two away. I certainly admit that MOST Singaporeans are xenophobic. Even among ourselves, we have prejudices and biases against certain races/religions.
excellent points from Hamidah. thank you for being the voice of reason here. to summarize what the writer is concerned about into 2 key points: 1. social integration of foreigners into our community - Mr Khalil Adis has pointed out facts that the foreigners in his block were rude and unwilling to hold any form of conversation, let alone in English. I truly believe he is right about their general lack of willingness to socialize and to even attempt to adopt our hygiene habits. Of course, this context applies to the foreigners in his block mostly but I have personally witnessed what Hamidah has mentioned on a larger frequency. With that said, Singaporeans spit too, just not as blatantly and unhygienic as to spit on the middle of a footpath. And don't get me started about the nose-blowing. >_< 2. To follow in next post
I'm completely foreigner nor worker but investor and my English is on the only initial level. Had read all comments but didn't recognize any racist or xenophobe tunes at all. I'm agree that Singapore established high standard environment for living. So all citizens could expect from newcomers maintaining of established order. But why just talking ? Make an observation to them who tramples the grass. Bring sanitary napkin back to their appartmnet. But in first - give them an information what to do and what not. Than - discuss in community and produce a kind of bill or petition to next level lawmaker formation. Do anything, not just talking here. I love Singapore because it's high standards of living. I think it was not so easy to build and why You think it is easy to maintaine ?
Dear all, noted some of the comments. You need to understand that there are certain areas where it has become a total enclave for foreigners. Especially in Boon Lay where there is a lot of industries ongoing. Now this topic about being xenophobe is totally wrong. The writer is just addressing some issues that foreigners do bring with them. For example: I noted Chinese workers don't flush toilets & why is that? Coz in their countries, they do not find such facilities. But again, this cause a public nuisance & of course a qn of public hygiene for everyone. Same thing with the Indians. Why must they lie on the grass and cause it to go bare? Soil erosion can take place and frankly it is not aesthetically pleasing to the estate. Would you feel safe if you see a group of guys sitting on a grass patch drinking? As a woman, I don't feel safe. Winny does have a point. The whole reason why Singaporeans are upset is the failure for integration from the foreigners especially the Chinese & Indians. How do you expect Singaporeans to understand considering that English is the medium for working? Have you been to a shop and the salesgirl don't understand what you are asking? In other parts of the world, if you are coming to their countries, you have to speak their language. And that is a minimum. If not, why would there be English requirements TOEFL? I am saying all this coz I do worked with foreign workers. I don't look DOWN on them and I do find some of them are hardworking. But by being stubborn and refusing to adapt to our ways is totally wrong. How can you tolerate people spitting along the roadside or throwing sanitary napkins out of windows? Not to mention, blowing your nose & then press the lift button. There must be a certain quality of workers that we can employ instead of lowering it further. If so, then we are no different than India, Myanmar or China. This is not a racist comment and pls don't bring in comments about chinese looking down on malays. In case you haven't noticed, there are more malay-chinese marriages for the last decade. So this issue have to stop. This is not discrimination and I do appreciate their presence in making our life easier. But there are also some glaring facts that you can't ignore: loss of jobs & housing (simple basic needs). We are not earning enough for our families. Frankly, I am sure you would agree I am not here to earn peanuts for my family. But for them, they have the options to choose. We can't. The writer is highlighting the problem right in your face. But then Seow, are you staying near any foreign workers as densely populated in Boon Lay? Integration is critical. Failure to do so means there maybe racial riot and political instability in the future. Our government must address this issue. Look at the big picture. Would you like it if you lose your rice bowl to a cheaper worker? You can't afford to buy houses coz the COV was jacked by influx of foreigners. Again, this is not abt being racist but a matter of economic purposes.
Simply utterly chocking point of view from an extremely narrow-minded person. This is sad. "Because foreigners are hanging around, the area is not safe." What a shortcut!! Has the writer witness any wrongdoing or misbehaviour? None. Or he is talking about the safety of cats in Singapore? I wonder.... Very fair point from Seow Boon Loh. Xenophobia is rampant in Singapore and the wider region. Nations look down on each other. As a result, people are judged and comdemned before they have a chance to integrate. Who would want to integrate in a country where people do not respect you? I wouldn't. I don't want to share anything with someone stating such racist opinions openly, that's for sure.
Mr. Adis if you have a problem with your neighbours deal with it. You have the authorities who you can assist. I am also a foreigner and have worked in many countries, and seen the same attitudes, from people who blame everyone else but themselves for their plight. From Australia to China. Writing articles targeting social sectors is dishonourable. There is good and bad in all, we cannot label everyone.
dun stay in singapore, move back to malaysia or indonesia!
Hi everyone. Thank you for your comments. The aim here is to provide a healthy discussion regarding housing policies. Now, it appears there are two separate rules governing Singaporeans and foreigners. Singaporeans are subjected to strict racial quotas when applying for HDB flats so as to ensure no ethnic enclaves are formed. However, foreigners are not, leading to enclaves that you are seeing now. Everyday, I have to deal with a large number of immigrants who do not speak English, who come and go to a certain foreign household on my floor creating a din. Would you feel safe?
A very dissapointing and extremely Xenophobic point of view. One can only bow one's head in shame when people reach this level of conciousness. How can we change or improve the world if we perpetuate these negative sentiments of resentment and selfishness. What are we going to teach the next generation.
Its not about discrimanting against races. Thats too wayward thinking. Its looking at the community at a whole and we see foreigners, after foreigners. Yes they contribute to labourious duties that Sporeans shun away. But i put it to the powers that be: 1) why sporeans shun these jobs? realistically employers hire foreign workers bcos its cheaper! and of course how can we sporeans support ourselves and our family with the same salary as these foreigners. DID WE ASK FOR A RAISE IN THE STANDARD OF LIVING TO BE SO HIGH? 2) Since there are no Sporeans for the jobs, (of course!) they hire on the pretext that its talent! Specialized skills and talent. 3) and where else to house them? Neighbourhood homes. OUR HOMES! WE BOUGHT WITH OUR HARD EARNED SPOREAN DOLLARS. 4) from a property stand point - it does lower the value of the properties bcos who wld feel at home in a densed foreign worker estate? Wld you as a buyer say YES, I WILL? If you are one of them, please go ahead and purchase one of these houses from one of the poor residents who is willing to sell. Anyways, all these comments is just goona waste everybod''s time as NOTHING WILL CHANGE! IT WILL ALL BE THE SAME. WE SPOREANs ARE JUST SUCKERS FOR COMPLAINTS AND WE STILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LIVE IN THIS LIFE AND COUNTRY!
I agree with writer, is not that we do not accept foreigner (I was a foreigner before), is just that the new citizen acceptance level was too low back in previous years. There're many new citizens who can't speak english, how are they going to interact with the locals?
I wun agree with what the writer is saying. I think he is being xenophobic. Pls lah, these foreign workers is doin a lot to help our nation progress. Why are u looking down on them because they are poor or lowly educated. Some chinese look down on malays too and dun want to live in Malay enclaves. I believe U dun think it is the right way to behave too... Why discriminate against others.
i agree, i stay near jurong point but i fully agree what the writer have say. The park and the empty bus interchange are for the foreigner, not for us.