PAP has turned Singapore into a land of foreigners
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Casefan:
“Aren't there any FTs in parliament already?”
Yeah, You may be right but not quite!
They are all Singaporeans, now.
I have no qualms with FT if they are willingly to be US. -
I would rather you look at our ancestor this way: The ancestors of Singaporean were good therefore Singapore is what it is today, well ahead of China, India, Malaysia in many ways.Originally posted by Dogtor:Good attitude!! I have been campaigning privately for this issue - If India, Malaysian, China was so good - why did your ancestors end up in Singapore?
We need to promote a Singaporean identity defined by our values - some values are universal despite PAP protestations - Liberty and freedom in all respects attract people regardless of where they are from.
I hate foreign media who keep referring to Chinese- Singapore. I have nothing in common with the Chinese except skin colour and looks. I am Singaporean -period. The master race, Lord of the Realm.
Look at Australians, Canadians, Americans - the majority race is white - English or British stock - that de-ephasized Englishness and co-opted values from other cultures as required to forged a new "race".
How have Canadians, Americans and Australians de-emphasized Englishness and what other values or cultures were co-opted? the australian stopped saluting the queen only after 1986. Do we see any aborigines cultures in these countries being accepted as part of the country main cultures? no. At least in singapore, malays, tamil and erasian cultures and languages are accepted as on par with the majority. these countries had over 100 yrs of nation building but the australian abolished the 'white australian policy' only in the 70s. The french canadian still want to make quebec a separate state or country. Are the black in america taken as completely equal to the white?
There is no new "race" in america, canada or australia, just the same nationality in each country. there is no need to speak highly of any race in particular, but there is a strong need to be sensitive, recognise and accept the differences in the cultures, the language of different races, this is part of the freedom and rights of the people of all races, regardless of skin colours and looks, majority or minority.
Singaporean identity is there already. Many of us should realise that when we travel, even from the arrogance and lousy habits displaced by some singaporean tourists. But Good or Bad, we are singaporean. What is important is to be proud of who we are, and acknowledge who we are. Reading some of the threads here, when some "singaporean", for their unhappiness with the government over some policies, their disagreement with PAP, openly declare they are not proud to be Singaporean, they want to leave Singapore, believing that the majority of Singaporean are retard and ignorant, WE WOULD HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TO ESBALISH A STRONG SINGAPOREAN IDENTIY, but thank God, I believe these are just the minority.
We cannot build a strong identity if we are not proud of it. -
Its about local born and a PR and not race. They can come and go easily, bring down your wages and take away you rice bowl without serving NS.
2nd gen PR's have to serve NS.
They are not allowed to buy new HDBs, only resale flats,they don't get the same education grants and subsidies as citizens. They don't have the 'no-visa' requirement for travelling to ASEAN countries. There are many more disadvantages to being a PR.
And lets remember just as there are fair wethered PRs there are fair weathered citizens.
Singapore's ancestors were once 'PRs'.Every country in the world today is like that. -
Originally posted by plo30360:
well said.
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2nd gen PR's have to serve NS.
They are not allowed to buy new HDBs, only resale flats,they don't get the same education grants and subsidies as citizens. They don't have the 'no-visa' requirement for travelling to ASEAN countries. There are many more disadvantages to being a PR.
And lets remember just as there are fair wethered PRs there are fair weathered citizens.
Singapore's ancestors were once 'PRs'.Every country in the world today is like that.
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I am also not allowed to buy new HDBs, and until recently only 3-room flats in mature (ie. old) estates in non-central (ie. ulu) areas...all because I am single. And I have served 2.5 years of NS and done my 13 year cycle as a reservistOriginally posted by plo30360:[b]
They are not allowed to buy new HDBs, only resale flats,they don't get the same education grants and subsidies as citizens.
We need foreign talent but I agree that we should give out work permits, not PR unless they are prepared to serve NS. The older ones should serve 2 years of NS in civil defence or nursing homes before they are eligible for PR. -
This a policy of the government who wants more children
I am also not allowed to buy new HDBs, and until recently only 3-room flats in mature (ie. old) estates in non-central (ie. ulu) areas...all because I am single. And I have served 2.5 years of NS and done my 13 year cycle as a reservist Evil or Very Mad
Before a PR becomes a PR he is issued a employment pass(work permit). Not every PR to be gets PR after the employment pass.So in this way its the governmet who encourages people to stay for a while and leave
We need foreign talent but I agree that we should give out work permits, not PR unless they are prepared to serve NS. The older ones should serve 2 years of NS in civil defence or nursing homes before they are eligible for PR.
We need foreign talent but I agree that we should give out work permits, not PR unless they are prepared to serve NS. The older ones should serve 2 years of NS in civil defence or nursing homes before they are eligible for PR.
2nd gen PRs have to serve NS and there is no gurantee they will get citizenship after having served NS.
As for the older ones, the 1st gen PRs, they were given PR on the merit they'll be able to contribute to Singapore's economy by taxes etc. Its not practical for PRs who are over 45 to serve NS,their employers simply will not grant them leave. -
Japan high-flyer, with S'pore nest, is grounded
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Man who bought $16m penthouse here arrested in Tokyo for insider trading
Valerie Law
[email protected]
FOR some months now, Japan's best-known fund manager and leading shareholder activist Yoshiaki Murakami (picture) has been planting his roots in Singapore.
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In March, he moved the headquarters of 400 billion yen ($5.6 billion) MAC asset management fund to the Republic.
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Last month, he was making the headlines again by paying a record $16 million to purchase a "super penthouse" in The Boulevard Residence on Cuscaden Walk.
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Yesterday, he was in the news for the wrong reasons. The 46-year-old tycoon was arrested in Tokyo after admitting to insider trading in the run-up to Japan's biggest hostile takeover attempt. Mr Murakami bought almost 1.93 million shares in Nippon Broadcasting System (NBS) after learning that Livedoor, the now-collapsed Internet firm, was planning to take over the radio station operator.
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In a nationally-televised press conference yesterday, Mr Murakami admitted that the source of his information was none other than Takafumi Horie, the 33-year-old chief executive of Livedoor who used to be the poster boy of new Japanese business until he was charged with breaking securities laws.
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Mr Murakami said Horie had told him of his plans to take over NBS in late 2004. His fund then started buying NBS shares, which surged once Livedoor launched its takeover bid in February 2005.
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Mr Murakami made a neat profit by selling the shares his fund had accumulated to Livedoor and other market investors.
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Trying to defend himself yesterday, Mr Murakami claimed: "I didn't think Livedoor had the wherewithal to actually go through with it. I didn't buy (NBS) shares because of my conversation, but it's true that I heard what I heard."
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Livedoor eventually withdrew its bid, but Mr Murakami said that he continued discussing business matters, including NBS, with Horie.
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"We saw each other at the gym, so of course we chatted," he said.
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Both he and Horie had become cult figures for their attempts to shake up Japan's somewhat conservative business environment, where the interests of the management sometimes took precedence over those of the shareholders.
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A defiant Mr Murakami, who famously made his first equity investment at the age of nine and has been using his stakes in various companies to ask them tough questions, said that Japan was hostile to those who challenged the system.
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"Don't you think this country tends to kick out people who challenge?" he asked. "I may not be qualified to say this since I have done something illegal, but I hope that Japan will one day become a country that accepts people who challenge."
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Mr Murakami added that he would resign from his fund, now headquartered in Singapore, but that it would continue to operate without him.
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Asked to comment on this, a spokesperson for the Monetary Authority of Singapore said that MAC Asset Management was an exempt fund manager which undertook fund management activity in Singapore as well as an exempt financial adviser.
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"In Singapore, if an exempt fund manager or exempt financial adviser or any of its representatives are found not to be fit and proper, MAS can take appropriate regulatory action," the spokesperson added.
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Officers at MAC Asset Managment's Singapore office refused to comment.
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Mr Murakami, meanwhile, said that only a third of the fund's money has been invested, with the rest sitting on its books as cash.
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Insider dealing carries a maximum prison sentence of three years, something Mr Murakami should know, since he was heavily involved drawing up laws on mergers and acquisition during his time as an official in the trade ministry, which he quit in 1999.
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"This time I got a red card," he said. "I am going to leave the pitch once and reflect. I am not sure what's going to happen next, but I believe it would be right to stand back." -
Just think. At what rate is Singapore's economy improves since independence as compared to Australia. How long did it take for Singapore to climb up to a 1st class country and how long did it take Australia?Originally posted by fymk:I think it is the whole damn system that is the problem. I don't see Australia giving out jobs just because of global competition - they only allow foreigners to enter when there is no Australians with that specific skill set. Australians are favoured over foreigners- this I can tell you.
While I agree theres definately something the government can do to the foreign talents system to make is more acceptable, its very irresponsible and ungrateful to simply forget the contributions of our foreign talents and blame them as the cause of Singaporeans not getting jobs they wanted. -
I reject this argument. Even fewer employment pass holders should get PR. Unless they satisfy certain strict criteria like having at least 1million dollars to invest, highly sought-after skills that we cannot find in our own citizens, they should not even be considered for PR.Originally posted by plo30360:Before a PR becomes a PR he is issued a employment pass(work permit). Not every PR to be gets PR after the employment pass.So in this way its the governmet who encourages people to stay for a while and leave
2nd gen PRs have to serve NS and there is no gurantee they will get citizenship after having served NS.
As for the older ones, the 1st gen PRs, they were given PR on the merit they'll be able to contribute to Singapore's economy by taxes etc. Its not practical for PRs who are over 45 to serve NS,their employers simply will not grant them leave.
As for NS, what makes you think employers of Singaporeans are happy to grant us leave for ICT. During the 2.5 years of NS, we have to live on the meagre allowance and feed our family all the same. If these foreigners desire to be Singapore PRs that much, they must serve 2 years of NS...period. -
Read somewhere in dis forum you formerly malaysian is it?Originally posted by sgdiehard:well said. -
There are high paying jobs available in Singapore, but they require specialized skills. Those who upgrade their skills can have a decent job and salary. This is an abstract from today's ST:
"IF YOU speak Japanese or Korean fluently and are willing to work in a call centre, you could take home up to $4,000 a month.
There are even better earnings for consultants well versed in radio frequency identification (RFID), the wireless technology widely used in the logistics sector and ez-link cards.
With two to seven years' experience, you could earn as much as $10,000 a month.
A survey by recruitment company Kelly Services has found salaries rising by 10 to 15 per cent compared to last year in these and other posts in the technology, health and life sciences sectors...." -
Another bit from the article:
"Overall, it means good news for workers: Salaries are up 5 to 7 per cent this year. This is the result of a buoyant local and global economy which has prompted companies to beef up their headcount to meet rising demand for its products.
The health care and life sciences sector leads the pack and is expected to hire 40 per cent more people this year.
Mr Dhirendra predicts that Singapore will hold its unemployment rate, now at a four-year low of 2.6 per cent. But is not likely to drop further.
The reason: a mismatch of skills and expectations."
If companies cannot find Singaporeans with the necessary skills to fill these jobs, they will hire foreigners. -
yes, I was.Originally posted by Glimmerman:Read somewhere in dis forum you formerly malaysian is it? -
Damm, i shld have take japanese n korean when i was a kid
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Biotech is another field that has created alot of new jobs. Unfortunately, many of these jobs have to go to foreigners as many Singaporeans lack the necessary skills:
"Singapore's biomedical industry has created 10,200 jobs, and Government-sponsored labs have begun to spin off private companies. In 2002, researchers set up MerLion Pharmaceuticals, a drug research company that owns one of the world's largest collections of flora and fauna used to derive new medicines...."
(S'pore luring the West's best biotech brains, Straits Times 2 June 2006) -
All those Singaporeans - with the financial and grey matter ability - should sign up into some tertiary education and upgrade their existing education levels into BioTECH - (just make sure that the Final Degree is recognised or it will be a waste of time and money).
Then again, how many Singaporeans qualify for tertiary level education each year, and how many Singaporeans will ANNUALLY qualify for the Bio-Chem-Science-Medicine faculties ?
Can we expect a Finance Manager with MBa - (retrenched or otherwise) - to go back to school, upgrade himself with a BioTECH degree ?
How many Doctors - or wanna-be doctors - without work - will be willing to switch into BioTECH or into the NEW INDUSTRIES ?
If the older graduates in the Old Industries cannot qualify or will not move into the New Industries, and none from the Relevant Specialty will bother - which sector of Singapore Society should we be directing the retraining propaganda at - so as to benefit from all the NEW INDUSTRIES that we are attracting into Singapore ?
Perhaps the thousands of retrenched assemblyline workers from closed hard-disk drive manufacturers ? Or the thousands of jobless workers from banks, financial institutions, commercial and/or manufacturing firms ? From the Delivery Personnel up to the Senior Management levels ? -
Imagine if the ancestors of Singapore had to fufill such criteria. I suspect,very few would have come here.People tend to forget once upon a time their ancestors were foriegners.
I reject this argument. Even fewer employment pass holders should get PR. Unless they satisfy certain strict criteria like having at least 1million dollars to invest, highly sought-after skills that we cannot find in our own citizens, they should not even be considered for PR.
Are you refering the 1st gen PR or 2nd gen PR here?
As for NS, what makes you think employers of Singaporeans are happy to grant us leave for ICT. During the 2.5 years of NS, we have to live on the meagre allowance and feed our family all the same. If these foreigners desire to be Singapore PRs that much, they must serve 2 years of NS...period.
And why this concept only if you serve NS your Singaporean? Female Singaporeans don't serve NS. Are they thought to be less Singaporean? -
Imagine if the ancestors of Singapore had to fufill such criteria. I suspect,very few would have come here.People tend to forget once upon a time their ancestors were foriegners.
Once upon a time when our ancestors came, they were not required to serve NS either..
And I think women should serve some form of NS too -
Can we expect a Finance Manager with MBa - (retrenched or otherwise) - to go back to school, upgrade himself with a BioTECH degree ?
Yes, I fully expect them to go back to school and upgrade their skills.
How many Doctors - or wanna-be doctors - without work - will be willing to switch into BioTECH or into the NEW INDUSTRIES ? -
plo30360,
Quote:
" Imagine if the ancestors of Singapore had to fufill such criteria. I suspect,very few would have come here.People tend to forget once upon a time their ancestors were foriegners. "
Wah! you are very compassionate and trying to be fair to potential immigrants but my job as a citizen here FIRST is not to do that !?!!!
I am safeguarding my position and especially that of my children.
Our country is already very small, we pack ourselves like sardines in a tin-can, sweating like pigs when getting to work and not securing a seat during peak hours on a train because we can't afford to buy a car because some bright spark who gets paid world class pay says restrict ......
You get my drift ... ... I don't really want to compete in an unfair competitive environment.
You can get high value added jobs only if you have the skills ... those skills are just as in demand in other considerably more well-endowed industrial societies with considerably better living environments and conditions. We pay the FTs high salaries who can then afford many of the trappings of a better life in restrictive Singapore.
I can't compete ... ... I can't fund all these education and sustain a lifestyle that my parents achieved at a younger age than I. Yet when you fund this higher level education through scholarships you get bonded to work in a lower paying position in Singapore ... c.f. "foreign talents"!?!?! ... local conditions for local people instead of international wage levels.
My ancestors did not have to fulfil criteria because they were here as coolies - labourers. They got the land by adverse possession (thank you for English law) and terra nullis, and whack people who thought otherwise.
They endured poverty, low pay, built the country to what it is today for aliens? Of course not, they prevailed for us. We protect this legacy for our children by setting the criteria for others to join us ... ... riff-raff not welcome. That is the real world we live in. I am not going to make it easy for any potential immigrant. I am not about to let any government policy rip us off.
P.S. Are you an recent immigrant? -
Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
Are you for real, or simply "shooting off blanks" for the sake of a debate ?
Yes, I fully expect them to go back to school and upgrade their skills.
Have you seriously given some sensible consideration of your expectation for someone - having been retrenched at the age of mid-to-late 40s, or even early 50s - to go back to the university, to switch from a MBa to a basic BSc Degree ?
Having left basic science at the age of 18 or younger, are you serious in expecting an adult of the referenced age to pick up the strands of high school science or chemistry to a level sufficient to graduate and get a job in BioTECH; or some other High Tech Industries based on basic qualification in some other disciplines.
How long does it take for a retrenched MBa High Flyer in Finance, to be re-trained to graduate with a BSc, or to a sufficient level to work as a Laboratory Technician in a BioTECH or some other High Tech Industry ?
Based on the referenced age - after graduating, how many productive years are there left for this newly trained ex-MBa and newly graduated BSc Lab Technician to recover his cost of retraining ?
Is there some disconnect between your "simple idealistic talk" and the "pragmatism of such an enterprise " that is expected from an individual ? -
Originally posted by Atobe:
Time to wake up and see how the world has changed. Workers in developing countries are catching up fast and Singapore is too closely plugged into the global economy to use protectionism as a means of shielding ourselves from global competition. In any case, it will not work...we are too small. Singapore needs the world more than the world needs us..
Are you for real, or simply "shooting off blanks" for the sake of a debate ?
Have you seriously given some sensible consideration of your expectation for someone - having been [b]retrenched at the age of mid-to-late 40s, or even early 50s - to go back to the university, to switch from a MBa to a basic BSc Degree ?
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Nobody owes us a living. If a foreigner can do your job better and more cheaply, you will lose your job..period. As forumner vito_corleone puts it (in an honest but rather cruel way):
"in a capitalist economy, the job goes to the best man. if you can't swallow this fact then you'd probably like to move to africa to hunt lions and the lot."
Upgrading your skills or switching to a new job is tough for everyone. But if you cannot adapt to a changing world, then you will end up the way of the dodo. Don't expect the world to slow down for you. If we cannot or refuse to adapt to changing times and progress, we deserve to be fossilized.
If you cannot imagine switching from your MBA to a BSc at 40, then consider switching from your managerial job to being a baker with lower pay. It is better than being jobless. -
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Britain's economy was heavily reliant on wool and the textile industry. As its empire expanded and its colonies provided a cheaper source of textile with cotton from India and cheap labour to run its mills, British textile workers lost their jobs and moved on to mining, steel making and heavy industries. As the developing world moved into heavy industries and now make better and cheaper cars, we see British car makers lose their jobs as companies like Rover and now Peugeot close their factories. Britain now makes its money from its service sector, with London being the largest finance centre in the world.
Throughout its history, British workers have lost their jobs to cheaper foreign competitors but have successfully moved up the economic food chain. Singapore has to do the same. We cannot be reliant on our IT and traditional manufacturing industries when Indian and China can do these better and cheaper. We have to make high value electronics and pharmaceuticals that they cannot (at the moment). What about the MBA holder who is more comfortable in the commercial world? You cannot expect to hold that managerial job when operations have been downsized due to outsourcing. But if you can become a successful fund manager, you salary will increase, not drop.
If we try to protect our feeding ground from hoards of other ikan bilis, we will ultimately fail. The solution is that we must become bigger and go for higher value prizes. We cannot expect the government to help us find our worms as ikan bilis. We have to be larger fishes that feed on the new ikan bilis that have arrived.
China and India will take our lower skilled jobs, but as they progress they will demand higher value goods. Their population will demand better drugs, better electronics that they lack...so there will be an outlet for our pharmaceuticals and products of our nanotechnology industries. We will become the bigger fish that feed on the ikan bilis.
We now see our lower skilled jobs threatened by foreigners who can do them at a lower price. If you refuse to become bigger and upgrade your skills, because you are already 40, then the future will be dismal for you indeed. Do you expect a 40-year-old ikan bilis to be able to compete for the same worm as a 20-year-old new arrival? Especially when there are hoardes of them?
Grow up and move up the food chain. Be big or be eaten. -
Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
At least this part of your idealistic talk makes more practical sense for an MBA.
If you cannot imagine switching from your MBA to a BSc at 40, then consider switching from your managerial job to being a baker with lower pay. It is better than being jobless.
However, does switching from managerial job to being a baker necessarily be at a lower pay ?
Your statement hint of a sense of disdain towards the Commercial World of an MBA - ( especially a Baker, in favor of your World of BioTECH and Medical Science ) - or is your attitude due to your limited appreciation of an MBA ability that is reflected in your narrow awareness of how to be plugged to a Globalised World ?
If you believe in the capacity of the Globalised World and the free movement of skills, talent and labor - surely the enterprising spirit of an MBA holder will bring his new found baking skills to a Globalised Market, capitalising on his knowledge of finance, low cost centers, and market positions.
The world of BioTECH and HIGH TECH is a catch-phrase that is relevant for a passing phase - lasting a decade or so; to be replaced soon after by some other newer catch-phrase trend setter for the next decade.
Traditional skill need not necessarily fade away, but can be profitably tweaked and made more efficient and cost-effective for a new age.
The problem with those who believed themselves to be highly educated is that so much knowledge is crammed into the individual brain, it produces a bloated confidence on too many issues, but remains with too little training in discerning skills.
This has been the problem of our Leadership in assuming their exclusive monopoly of superior knowledge, which are supposedly discerned from a monopoly of superior talents. -
While your facts are based on historical information, in a fast paced globalised world dictated by politics, nothing remains the same.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Britain's economy was heavily reliant on wool and the textile industry. As its empire expanded and its colonies provided a cheaper source of textile with cotton from India and cheap labour to run its mills, British textile workers lost their jobs and moved on to mining, steel making and heavy industries. As the developing world moved into heavy industries and now make better and cheaper cars, we see British car makers lose their jobs as companies like Rover and now Peugeot close their factories. Britain now makes its money from its service sector, with London being the largest finance centre in the world.
Why has Audi announced a planned "expenditure of US$384 Million to expand its aging Ingolstadt plant to build the new Q5 sport utility vehicle" ?
This was reported in Newsweek 12 June 2006 Edition Page 6, which at the same time also mentioned that "Toyota has also increased production at home at a rate that is twice as fast as that of April, inspite of a 32 straight months of rising car production in low-cost regions of SE Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe".
Honda was also reported in Newsweek to be building a new assemly plant in Japan.
These new developments in the auto industry have contradicted your stated historical factors governing globalisation; as those factors are made irrelevant by the ruthlessly unpredictable and continuous increase in fuel prices, which no longer make it economical to ship large volume of components across global supply chains.
Monkey see, monkey do. Different monkeys will learn tricks at different pace, but in the end some monkey somewhere will do it better and faster before we even reach breakeven point due to some reason or other - (economies of scale for a start).
Throughout its history, British workers have lost their jobs to cheaper foreign competitors but have successfully moved up the economic food chain. Singapore has to do the same. We cannot be reliant on our IT and traditional manufacturing industries when Indian and China can do these better and cheaper. We have to make high value electronics and pharmaceuticals that they cannot (at the moment). What about the MBA holder who is more comfortable in the commercial world? You cannot expect to hold that managerial job when operations have been downsized due to outsourcing. But if you can become a successful fund manager, you salary will increase, not drop.
What value is there left if all the monkeys perform the same tricks - be a better and smarter monkey to perform a more specialised trick ?
The "golden peanut" may soon spell more trouble than it was worth mentioning in the first place.
We have to be smarter than simply to beat the lowest cost center, and learn from the Swiss who beat the cheap Casio with a high end SWATCH, and continue to extend their monopoly and reputation with higher end collectors' watches.
Must we always try to outrun other monkeys based on a limited scope of tricks and fear the competition from the low cost centers ?
As what the Owner of Las Vegas Sands had so intelligently put it - what maybe the flavor of the month in 2006, may not necessarily be the flavor of the month in two or three years time.
We need to be alert and attune to the changes in the market place, find niche areas, and capitalise with what we have at present so as to better compete with the World.
Can the 'Ikan Bilis" grow into bigger fishes by finding their own worms, when all the worms are supposedly hoarded and controlled by a BIGGER WHALE ?
If we try to protect our feeding ground from hoards of other ikan bilis, we will ultimately fail. The solution is that we must become bigger and go for higher value prizes. We cannot expect the government to help us find our worms as ikan bilis. We have to be larger fishes that feed on the new ikan bilis that have arrived.
Firstly, if we are the Ikan Bilis must have a safe and protected feeding grounds, that will be opened to those who will open their feeding grounds to us; so that all will simultaneously grow together in size and weight.
At the moment, it will seem that while we open our feeding grounds to others, their feeding grounds are closed to us, and some opened with restrictive terms and conditions.
In a Globalised World, such advantage can only be shortlived when there are multiple global points of execellence.
China and India will take our lower skilled jobs, but as they progress they will demand higher value goods. Their population will demand better drugs, better electronics that they lack...so there will be an outlet for our pharmaceuticals and products of our nanotechnology industries. We will become the bigger fish that feed on the ikan bilis.
The rat race demand that the pace be quicken at each higher level, or find the formula to work smarter to produce the best at the lowest cost.
Size may not necessarily be the sole criteria, as at times the 'Ikan Bilis' can be more flexible than a 'Big Fish' which requires regular and constant down sizing exercise.
Your call seems to be the often sung and tired refrain that does not seem to reveal any further creative inspiration in thought, other then mere words of exhortation from the leaders of some Animal Farm.
We now see our lower skilled jobs threatened by foreigners who can do them at a lower price. If you refuse to become bigger and upgrade your skills, because you are already 40, then the future will be dismal for you indeed. Do you expect a 40-year-old ikan bilis to be able to compete for the same worm as a 20-year-old new arrival? Especially when there are hoardes of them?
Grow up and move up the food chain. Be big or be eaten.
Let us be more realistic about this sloganic call for "Upgrading and Up Sizing" - both of which have to be relevant to our background.
Can we UP SIZE with our limited population and physical size ?
Ironically, the present call is literally to downsize to achieve lower costs.
It is not a matter of refusing to upgrade one's skill at the age of 40 PLUS - but a matter of how one can tap a person's experience, skill and talent to allow that person the shortest learning curve.
Should we count a Bank Manager's - or Doctor's - past experience to be irrelevant, and dump all his past training and accumulated experience to have him learn an entirely new trade ?
Why do we insist on these specialists aborting their rich past, and start Life in a fresh shell ?
If these experienced individual have no financial strength nor organisation contacts, why do we leave individuals to their own ends ?
Instead of making useless calls and recriminations, why could we not set up a national organisation to absorb all such talents, and deploy them into our neighboring Third World Countries to advance their society ?
This can help our retrenched professionals to regain their self-worth, expose them into new territories and new opportunities, advance our own National Prestige and diplomacy, and nurture new business opportunities for all sides.