Today I bring
you my brief interview with my Facebook friend, Mr. Troy Parry, an Australian who
came to Singapore in January 2002. He is currently a Singapore PR, married to a
Singaporean wife who gave birth to two lovely kids (both Singaporeans). They
are living in a HDB flat in Tampines area where it is very quiet, far away from
the shops and MRT.
He chooses to
immigrate to Singapore back in 2002 because of our peaceful, safe and friendly
living environment. He was also attracted to Singapore especially its lowest
crime rate and tax as compared to Australia. He worked in an I.T field in
Singapore for almost 10 years. He also got along very well with his boss & colleagues.
He mingles
with people from all walks of life. People whom he met in person generally keep
to themselves when they see him but they are friendly when he makes the first
move to speak with them. What amazes him about some Singaporeans when he came
across them on streets is that they seem to prefer to stand-by, watch/ film or
take photos of a fight or accident than to help out. (Editor: we can pretty
well guess they are probably STOMPers!)
For some
Singaporeans whom he met online in cyberspace, most of them seem to be very
critical of non-citizens, posting hurtful remarks and sometime racial comments
on Facebook, forums and STOMP. But he rarely comes across verbal abuses or
physical confrontation from locals or foreigners on the streets.
When asked
for his opinion of Singapore internet, he replied that he is 100% for an online
Code of Conduct to encourage civilise behaviour online. Currently people feel
that their actions online don’t have consequences; therefore they can say
anything and everything!
Troy Parry
loves Singapore a lot. He thinks it’s going to get a lot more crowded than it
already is. With the current over-crowding on public transport and in shopping centres,
he only goes out when he really have to walk out of his house. He spends most
of his free time at home. With the lack of employment laws in Singapore, there
has been a lot of hiring of lower income earners from overseas, thus lowering
the wages in Singapore. He is now currently unemployed, and the previous
contract he had this year was lower than the wages he was earning 10 years ago
when he first moved here. He is not getting shortlisted for the jobs that he is
applying for locally, so he has been forced to apply for jobs back in Australia.
He hopes to be employed here soon so he can stay in Singapore to be with his wife and 2
children.
When asked
about his views on employment laws, he replied that he feels there is a need to
implement minimum wages so the wages of people won’t be depressed by business
owners & tighten the employment laws to control the influx. Singaporeans
& PRs need to be in their first priority. Nobody likes to be squeezed out
of their own country; we need to greatly reduce the number of non-residents,
which currently stands at 1.4 million. Many people are forced to compete for
jobs with workers from overseas.
If they're
not willing to reduce their salaries, or work longer hours, they won't be able
to have a job or keep one. Income gap widens as a result. Situations need to change in order for mindsets to
change. There's too many people on this tiny island, unless that can change,
mindsets will always be there. It makes people feel uncomfortable everywhere
they go, so foreigners gets blamed for many reasons why everything happens.
On xenophobia:
He mentioned that people need to direct their anger at the real cause of the
problem, and try to get bad policies changed. Most of them don't know which people are
responsible for these policies, or who to contact to share their views or
solutions. Therefore they directed their anger to the wrong group of people.
If we do
know, then xenophobia can be avoided, people could be pointed in the right direction.
Venting their anger in groups like Temasek Review will get them nowhere,
because that group is only serve to stir xenophobic tension within Singapore, and it is not gonna solve any problems for all of us.
As for those
who stir up xenophobic sentiments purposely, the only thing we can do is try to rectify
the situation with facts, logic and common sense. We must all stand together to set things right for a better Singapore.
---------------------------------
Dear readers, if you would like to Speak Up Against Xenophobia in Singapore to stop all the anti-foreigners nonsense that has been circulating on cyberspace, please visit & 'LIKE' my Facebook Page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speak-Up-Against-Xenophobia-in-Singapore/349773545082229?ref=hl
Nice piece of article. Most SG people are not at all xenophobic. In fact many of us don't mind foreigners. But the recent years of immigration policies are not well-thought out and they lacked public feedback.
ReplyDeleteIt is so like the PAP-led government to implement policies and shafting them down the throats of Singaporeans to accept and 'suck it up'. Singaporeans have to drink 'bitter medicine' for their own good, they tell us.
So expect a backlash from the public in one form or another because whatever feedback channels are not working.
Kaffein
In addition you have foreigners who are completely clueless of Singapore and think they are God's gift to SG. In just a recent spat, a Filipino commented on the recent LCP NSF's death as somewhat like it was his duty and no big deal.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of comments are completely selfish and insensitive. Again expect a backlash from the community. Gee... these FTs are 'guests' in our country. Learn and understand the locals and live like we do. We don't necessarily need to change for them, but rather they should change to be like us. The government got it backwards.
Kaffein
Kaffein, what of the Singaporean girl who mentioned that NS men were not strong enough and that's why one died while running. She was also sensitive and selfish. There is no difference between this girl and the filipino (I didn't see the latter). So don't put it like because the comments came from a foreigner, it's bad. Both are equally reproachable.
ReplyDeleteRachel
Hi Little Fish, how do I get in contact with you?
ReplyDelete