Influx of foreigners a threat to our National Identity?
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well .... how do you think we can go about securing gainful employment ? ...Originally posted by ShutterBug:I think our gov is making a big mistake by puting locals in the backseat over the population and economic issues, just like their "Stop at Two" family planning policy.
Giving people monetary INCENTIVES to locals to have babies can potentially skew society's sense of value of a new born life!
The solution is so simple; REDUCE SOME BASIC COSTS OF LIVING, HELP LOCALS SECURE GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT.
So hard to do???
Or is it because they don't make much this way??
as a businessman yourself, what do you think about policies that impose quotas on the number of foreigners, talent or otherwise, businesses can hire ? ... -
I'm in the believe that coming up with a better solution is the million dollar salary duties of the gov.Originally posted by Fatum:well .... how do you think we can go about securing gainful employment ? ...
as a businessman yourself, what do you think about policies that impose quotas on the number of foreigners, talent or otherwise, businesses can hire ? ... -
Is foreign maid really cheap? u hve 2 pay a levy of S$295 p.m in addition to S$300 and provided her with accomodation and foods etc which all these added up 2 be about S$1000 pm.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Why do we have so many foreigners working as domestic maids? Surely that is a service that can be easily provided by unskilled Singaporeans? The fact is, foreign maids are cheap. Singaporeans would not want to pay a decent salary for fellow Singaporeans to clean their homes and baby sit when they can have a full-time maid for $300 a month, working 12 hours a day without annual leave or weekend off.
Singaporeans want a cheap service, and that means foreign workers even if the service can be provided at a higher price by Singaporeans.
What we stated here must be a factual information . In chinese words "When we eat rice,u must know the price of rice b4 u talk." -
Is foreign maid really cheap? u hve 2 pay a levy of S$295 p.m in addition to S$300 and provided her with accomodation and foods etc which all these added up 2 be about S$1000 pm.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Why do we have so many foreigners working as domestic maids? Surely that is a service that can be easily provided by unskilled Singaporeans? The fact is, foreign maids are cheap. Singaporeans would not want to pay a decent salary for fellow Singaporeans to clean their homes and baby sit when they can have a full-time maid for $300 a month, working 12 hours a day without annual leave or weekend off.
Singaporeans want a cheap service, and that means foreign workers even if the service can be provided at a higher price by Singaporeans.
What we stated here must be a factual information . In chinese words "When we eat rice,u must know the price of rice b4 u talk." -
yes, of course, as it should be ... but i was asking you for your opinion, not for solutions ...Originally posted by ShutterBug:I'm in the believe that coming up with a better solution is the million dollar salary duties of the gov.
I'm really interested to hear perspectives from the local business community ... so, as a businessman yourself, what do you think about policies that impose quotas on the number of foreigners, talent or otherwise, businesses can hire ? ... -
Mine is very much a family business, and I have ALWAYS been hiring Singaporeans. Not one single FOREIGNER.Originally posted by Fatum:yes, of course, as it should be ... but i was asking you for your opinion, not for solutions ...
I'm really interested to hear perspectives from the local business community ... so, as a businessman yourself, what do you think about policies that impose quotas on the number of foreigners, talent or otherwise, businesses can hire ? ...
As of the quotas; I'd say it should adjusted to include MORE locals than foreigners. That's my opinion - as a government they should see to it that its citizens are able to make ends meet. -
In fact, the foreign troublemakers in Indonesia also cause Chinese nationals.
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agree. local talents more important. Our monies use on our own S'porean, that ll be fairer to us. Foreigners are no better than us, they only care for themselves (those seniors in position playing with politics with the subordinates)! The influx of them only bring unrest to us - rise in criminal cases in S'pore.Originally posted by gUms:im anti-foreigners :> and also anti-foreign talent ....
why not use that money , and invest on singaporeans ? -
actually, I believe there are already quotas in place for various industries on the number of foreigners vs locals .... I'm not sure how that would be changed now though ....Originally posted by ShutterBug:Mine is very much a family business, and I have ALWAYS been hiring Singaporeans. Not one single FOREIGNER.
As of the quotas; I'd say it should adjusted to include MORE locals than foreigners. That's my opinion - as a government they should see to it that its citizens are able to make ends meet.
so, about you hiring only Singaporeans, good for you ! I only hope that when my own time comes, I'd be able to make the same decision and still make business sense. Was it a purely business decision, or an emotional one, if you could hire foreigners who are "better, faster, cheaper", would you ? ... or how about older, less educated workers, say a lady in her 40s-50s, with only O'levels ? ...
this is important, because much of all this is perhaps driven by the mindsets of the business community, if they are willing to hire older, less educated and less skilled workers, and higher wages, then of course, perhaps we need not import so many bodies into our already over-populated island ! ...
but let me share with everyone a little observation from my polytechnic attachment days, 7 years ago... I was attached to a factory in Tuas, to trouble shoot quality problems on the production line, to do that I threw in all the industrial engineering knowledge I've learnt, which meant that I had to spend long hours on the shop floor observing and timing people at their tasks. there were a bunch of young johor kids, super hard workers, OTing every single day, working 7 days a week, with nary a word of complaint, among the Singaporeans, there's this uncle in his 50's that stuck in my mind, he was a champion kengster, his eyes were always busy, roving around to check that the supervisors were not around, so his hands could be still, he spent more time doing this rather than packing the manufactured items, which was his job, as an unskilled, general worker. his basic wage was only 650 then (yes, that's right, six hundred and fifty Singapore dollars), and I heard he had three school going kids, how he managed on that pittance I have no idea, but, callous as it may sound, it was hard for me to sympathise with him. The factory IS Singaporean owned, with "Singapore" proudly part of it's name. Last i heard, it has set up a satellite factory in Malaysia, no doubt because of our friendly neighbour's cheaper wages and hard workers.
that general worker ah pek stuck in my mind, in such stark contrast to the johorean chaps. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting a middle aged ah pek to compete in strength, speed and agility to some strapping young men, but his day to day attitude towards his work stuck to my mind. Nobody owes anyone a living, and we are not a welfare state (I've seen too many bums on the dole in my time overseas to ever want Singapore to go down this path). like I said above, we got to where we were because we WERE the better, faster, cheaper workers, and we still can be. As businessmen such as yourself can probably tell us, "better, faster, cheaper" doesn't always mean a lower salary, eh ? if the uncle can upgrade himself and learn the skills to replace the johoreans, why not ? ... the company needn't pay foreign worker levy then ! ... do (older, less qualified) Singaporeans have this upgrading spirit ? I'm not sure ... my father is a teacher, he teaches in the ITEs, and he conduct lots of NTC and industrial certificate courses. Those courses were designed for Singaporeans in mind, but he told me that so there are so many foreigners in some of his night classes that if foreigners were barred from those classes, he wonders if he would have enough applicants for classes to start at all ! ... he has had bangladeshi workers, indian chaps with master degrees in engineering back to school again simply because their papers were not recognized here, PRCs who had to attend classes with those electronic dictionaries, Burmese nationals, off duty Gurkha policemen, phillipino workers, thais, vietnamese and cambodians ... all hoping for their NTC 1,2,3s, ... so they could go onto the polytechnics later on .....
Are we as hungry as they are ? or we have already become too complacent ? too comfortable ? no one owes us a living, and in this borderless world keeping foreigners out is not enough for people to keep their jobs. Companies would always look for the best value, and though we cannot compete in costs and wages, we can certainly make up for it in terms of productivity and quality. I certainly wouldn't like to see more companies, homegrown or otherwise, relocate to other countries like the abovementioned, but it's up to us Singaporeans really ...
We can gripe, or we can fight ... but if we continue to behave like ostriches, then we're well and truly cooked .... -
Originally posted by Fatum:
Actually, going global in singapore isn't the cause for all these complications and tribulations, it's how our gov is doing things that's making living here for locals, tough.
actually, I believe there are already quotas in place for various industries on the number of foreigners vs locals .... I'm not sure how that would be changed now though ....
so, about you hiring only Singaporeans, good for you ! I only hope that when my own time comes, I'd be able to make the same decision and still make business sense. Was it a purely business decision, or an emotional one, if you could hire foreigners who are "better, faster, cheaper", would you ? ... or how about older, less educated workers, say a lady in her 40s-50s, with only O'levels ? ...
this is important, because much of all this is perhaps driven by the mindsets of the business community, if they are willing to hire older, less educated and less skilled workers, and higher wages, then of course, perhaps we need not import so many bodies into our already over-populated island ! ...
but let me share with everyone a little observation from my polytechnic attachment days, 7 years ago... I was attached to a factory in Tuas, to trouble shoot quality problems on the production line, to do that I threw in all the industrial engineering knowledge I've learnt, which meant that I had to spend long hours on the shop floor observing and timing people at their tasks. there were a bunch of young johor kids, super hard workers, OTing every single day, working 7 days a week, with nary a word of complaint, among the Singaporeans, there's this uncle in his 50's that stuck in my mind, he was a champion kengster, his eyes were always busy, roving around to check that the supervisors were not around, so his hands could be still, he spent more time doing this rather than packing the manufactured items, which was his job, as an unskilled, general worker. his basic wage was only 650 then (yes, that's right, six hundred and fifty Singapore dollars), and I heard he had three school going kids, how he managed on that pittance I have no idea, but, callous as it may sound, it was hard for me to sympathise with him. The factory IS Singaporean owned, with "Singapore" proudly part of it's name. Last i heard, it has set up a satellite factory in Malaysia, no doubt because of our friendly neighbour's cheaper wages and hard workers.
that general worker ah pek stuck in my mind, in such stark contrast to the johorean chaps. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting a middle aged ah pek to compete in strength, speed and agility to some strapping young men, but his day to day attitude towards his work stuck to my mind. Nobody owes anyone a living, and we are not a welfare state (I've seen too many bums on the dole in my time overseas to ever want Singapore to go down this path). like I said above, we got to where we were because we WERE the better, faster, cheaper workers, and we still can be. As businessmen such as yourself can probably tell us, "better, faster, cheaper" doesn't always mean a lower salary, eh ? if the uncle can upgrade himself and learn the skills to replace the johoreans, why not ? ... the company [b]needn't pay foreign worker levy then ! ... do (older, less qualified) Singaporeans have this upgrading spirit ? I'm not sure ... my father is a teacher, he teaches in the ITEs, and he conduct lots of NTC and industrial certificate courses. Those courses were designed for Singaporeans in mind, but he told me that so there are so many foreigners in some of his night classes that if foreigners were barred from those classes, he wonders if he would have enough applicants for classes to start at all ! ... he has had bangladeshi workers, indian chaps with master degrees in engineering back to school again simply because their papers were not recognized here, PRCs who had to attend classes with those electronic dictionaries, Burmese nationals, off duty Gurkha policemen, phillipino workers, thais, vietnamese and cambodians ... all hoping for their NTC 1,2,3s, ... so they could go onto the polytechnics later on .....
Are we as hungry as they are ? or we have already become too complacent ? too comfortable ? no one owes us a living, and in this borderless world keeping foreigners out is not enough for people to keep their jobs. Companies would always look for the best value, and though we cannot compete in costs and wages, we can certainly make up for it in terms of productivity and quality. I certainly wouldn't like to see more companies, homegrown or otherwise, relocate to other countries like the abovementioned, but it's up to us Singaporeans really ...
We can gripe, or we can fight ... but if we continue to behave like ostriches, then we're well and truly cooked ....
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I am in the believe that older people doesn't mean they cannot learn new things, in fact, most of my local employees are above 35 and 40 years of age. I find them more serious at work, committed, and don't harbour unrealistic "dreams". It is good to have dreams when you are young, but after a certain age, one must in a sense "wake up".
I have colleagues who themselve in business in various industries, and they are always looking for replacement emplyees as most of the young ones they hired, are like grass hoppers. That's a pain I don't relish to put up with.
But if you talk about age in terms of physique, yes perhaps in certain industry you need young bodies so this is subjective. But If you know what you want in business and for long term objectives, I'd gladly pay a little more for local above 35 years age. And if I do come across anyone above 50 who can do the job, I wouldn't mind either. Things here, have to change.
All the other points that you mention with regards FTs are just so much sediment kicked up by the employment market.
Key points I consider in employing older workers are Attitude, Experience, Character, and not so much Education or Qualification. The owner of the multi-chain Kopitiam was a Primary 6 dropout, so am I, and he is quite comfortable now as the owner of a thriving business in the food industry.
Attitude of an employee is the key. I don't care if you hold a Degree, a PhD but can't bluddy swim at work! -
I like to quote from 'bluelantern' (with compliments) who put up a very good article:
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Mr Wang Bakes Good Karma
Pulling a Fast One
Is Mr Wang done with PM Lee's rally speech yet? Almost. First, let's recap two major trends/policies for Singapore:
(1) Singapore faces the challenge of an ageing population (or so we're told). Current projections show that one in five Singaporeans will be over the age of 65 by 2030. The government therefore wants to encourage Singaporeans to have more babies.
(2) Singapore's economy lacks skilled manpower (or so we're told). The government wants to import huge numbers of foreign talents, to keep the economy going strong.
PM Lee's rally speech is perhaps the first time that the Singapore government has tied Point (1) directly to Point (2). Let's look at the relevant passage:
"Two years ago, we introduced major policy changes to encourage couples to have more babies. So far the results have been very modest. I understand why some Singaporeans do not want to have more children. But I have not given up hope and will continue to think of ways to encourage couples to have more babies.
Let me explain why we need new immigrants. To maintain a population of 4 million, Singapore needs at least 50,000 babies a year. Last year, we had 36,000 babies. This means that we are short by 14,000 babies. No matter how hard we try, it would be hard to produce another 14,000 babies. Hence we need to attract more immigrants."
Something is very wrong with the above reasoning, and no one in the blogosphere seems to have pointed it out yet. So I guess I'll have to do the job again.
This is it - babies are not adults. Adults are not babies. Let's imagine that PM Lee's baby-making incentives had succeeded beyond his wildest dreams and Singaporeans produced 75,000 babies last year. That means we would have 75,000 one-year-old cute little chubbies in Singapore today.
But babies can't work. They don't contribute to the economy. They're not research scientists, engineers, bankers or teachers. That would take another 20 to 25 years to happen.
Meanwhile, we import foreign talent. Let's say A*STAR finds a 40-year-old stem research scientist in the US and imports him into Singapore. He settles here, and because of his valuable skills, immediately starts contributing to the economy. However, he is not a baby.
In 20 or 25 years' time, he will be 60 or 65 years old and would have become one extra member in the senior citizen population for the Singapore government to worry about. In fact, the more we import foreign talent in their 30s and 40s, the greater our future "aging population" problem will become!
Of course, I have also oversimplified. The true dynamics are more complicated. For now, my point is just that PM Lee is talking nonsense here:
Last year, we had 36,000 babies. This means that we are short by 14,000 babies. No matter how hard we try, it would be hard to produce another 14,000 babies. Hence we need to attract more immigrants.
I see his attempt to tie the lack of babies to the immediate need for foreigners as just another sales strategy to convince the Singaporean public about his foreign talent schemes. Furthermore he gets to shift the blame ("See? YOU Singaporeans are not producing enough babies, so I, the Prime Minister need to import foreign talent".
The truth is - babies are not adults. Adults are not babies. PM Lee is surely smart enough to see that. I think that he thinks you're not. Here's another example of his quicksell tactics, from April 2006.
Meanwhile, Singaporeans are getting fooled. Look at poor Ms Lee Pai Ping, writing to the online ST Forum:
Aug 23, 2006
S'poreans have to pay a price for not heeding govt's plea for more babies
I missed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally Speech on television last Sunday.
When I read about it in The Straits Times the next day, a sudden sadness overwhelmed me.
The Singapore government has decided to be more aggressive in attracting immigrants with talents of all kinds to Singapore with the offer of Singapore permanent residence status, once purportedly aimed at graduates, professionals, bankers, lawyers and the like.
What a huge price Singaporeans have to pay for not heeding the government's persistent plea for higher birth rates among its people, and to be less picky about jobs.
I am for the Singapore government's move to import foreign talents to fill the gap and boost the economy by creating job opportunities as entrepreneurs.
But I shrug at the thought that some native Singaporeans, especially the young and educated of marrying age, do not think it their duty to marry and procreate as part of nation-building, and the unemployed who still fuss over jobs, choosing to remain jobless rather than accepting a job below their expectations.
Singaporeans should not be complacent. Nation-building is our utmost duty and responsibility.
Lee Pai Ping (Ms)
Ms Lee Pai Ping, try to understand this. If today we import skilled foreigners in their 30s because we lack Singaporean working adults, then our problem isn't with young, married, childless Singaporean couples today. The problem really happened 30 years ago - when the government was busy telling young couples then to "Stop At Two".
So no need to suffer all that guilt, Pai Ping. The government is to blame. That's what PM Lee doesn't want to tell you. He'd rather just blame you and make you feel bad instead.
Pai Ping isn't the only person who got suckered. Seems like a senior ST columnist also got suckered too. Click here to read the ST editorial of 22 August 2006. There he goes - putting the blame on "career-minded young couples" without kids. Or maybe the Straits Times guy does know the truth, but just wanted to perform one of those "nation-building-press" gymnastic tricks. -
May I know the topic of this thread?
I think a lot of u do not know the issue here and write out of the pts!!!
The influx of Foreigners threaten our National Identity?
The answer is of course when they become PRs and citizens who do not serve NS and Rs ,how much they know about S'pore,making $ and f off !!!
why Sporeans are no.2 in the world to migrate overseas? we are also being threaten by the cost of livng here and fed up with this stupid gov's policies?
Many of us have just followed wat the Gods said w/o analysie the real issue?
But when we become more mature,we are not like 2 be fooled ard by this stupid gov policies. -
What about those FTs taking up all those low paying jobs our uneducated elders are doing now ?
Eg. PDMMs undercutting our local aunties.
That is just sad. Now these aunties can only walk around picking cans from dustbins. PDMMs are naturally younger and therefore more energetic and appealing(looks wise) when compared to these drink stall aunties.
Who you wanna hire if you're the boss ?
Also, does anybody foresee this scenario in the future ?
PRC student enters SG primary school right up to uni, all paid for by the govt , finishes his bond, goes back to china, comes back again hired as an FT. He accepts a lower pay than his local counterparts and does not have to serve NS/Reservist.
Who would an employer choose ?
The FT(already with relevant work experience) or a local fresh poly graduate ?
Not worrying ? As optimistic as i can be, however, I beg to differ.
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thought lesser Sporean employer will want to hire these study mama from China cause of image problem?Originally posted by Sagara:What about those FTs taking up all those low paying jobs our uneducated elders are doing now ?
Eg. PDMMs undercutting our local aunties.
That is just sad. Now these aunties can only walk around picking cans from dustbins. PDMMs are naturally younger and therefore more energetic and appealing(looks wise) when compared to these drink stall aunties.
Who you wanna hire if you're the boss ?
Also, does anybody foresee this scenario in the future ?
PRC student enters SG primary school right up to uni, all paid for by the govt , finishes his bond, goes back to china, comes back again hired as an FT. He accepts a lower pay than his local counterparts and does not have to serve NS/Reservist.
Who would an employer choose ?
he FT(already with relevant work experience) or a local fresh poly graduate ?
Not worrying ? As optimistic as i can be, however, I beg to differ. -
This IS already happening, albeit with Malaysians instead.Originally posted by Sagara:PRC student enters SG primary school right up to uni, all paid for by the govt , finishes his bond, goes back to china, comes back again hired as an FT. He accepts a lower pay than his local counterparts and does not have to serve NS/Reservist.
Who would an employer choose ?
The FT(already with relevant work experience) or a local fresh poly graduate ?
(
Like I said, we have to level the playing fields by reducing the costs of education and living in Singapore so that Singaporeans can accept less pay and be as competitive as the cheap forei... i mean foreign talents. -
I see many coffeeshops having only 1 local auntie... the boss of the drink stall...Originally posted by will4:thought lesser Sporean employer will want to hire these study mama from China cause of image problem? -
Biomedical, precision engineering and semiconductor industries are growth areas..if older Singaporeans are able and willing to re-train in these areas, there will be jobs for them.Originally posted by ShutterBug:I am in the believe that older people doesn't mean they cannot learn new things, in fact, most of my local employees are above 35 and 40 years of age. I find them more serious at work, committed, and don't harbour unrealistic "dreams". It is good to have dreams when you are young, but after a certain age, one must in a sense "wake up".
Our national identity used to be characterized by high ambition and no-nonsense hard work. Nowadays we seem to be turning into a nation of whiners. Foreign workers who are hungry and desperate to upgrade themselves will strengthen our national identity. -
that is but one interpretation of national identity. I certainly do not want Singapore's national identity to be of a corporate maquiladora-wannabe.
Sure, all these new sectors are fine and fancy. But they do not sustain the entire economy, and economic/national growth is multi-faceted. You have to tweak the whole engine if you want greater fuel efficiency, not just cleaning the fuel injector ports everyday. -
No country in this sorry world, is made up of Scientists, Doctors, and or Engineers alone.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Biomedical, precision engineering and semiconductor industries are growth areas..if older Singaporeans are able and willing to re-train in these areas, there will be jobs for them.
Our national identity used to be characterized by high ambition and no-nonsense hard work. Nowadays we seem to be turning into a nation of whiners. Foreign workers who are hungry and desperate to upgrade themselves will strengthen our national identity.
It takes all kinds of people, to make this sorry world, go round.
Even the humble hawker COUNTS!
In this sense, you are saying all non-Scientists, non-Doctors and or non-Engineers should rot away??
Crap, what National Identity? We are only known as a country that is TIGHTLY controlled, and a people that CANNOT SPEAK! -
Chill man, everyone is important.Originally posted by ShutterBug:No country in this worry world, is made up of Scientists, Doctors, and or Engineers alone.
It takes all kinds of people, to make this worry world, go round.
Even the humble hawker COUNTS!
In this sense, you are saying all non-Scientists, non-Doctors and or non-Engineers should rot away??
Crap, what National Identity? We are only known as a country that is TIGHTLY controlled, and a people that CANNOT SPEAK! -
National Identity my foot...
We already have an International Reputation!
And I need not say what that might be,.... -
Sure the hawker counts...but remember that the foreign hawker can do just as well, if not better, than the local hawker. Why do you think so many people drive all the way to Malaysia for good food. Unless you have skills that the FTs do not have, you will lose your job to them.Originally posted by ShutterBug:No country in this sorry world, is made up of Scientists, Doctors, and or Engineers alone.
It takes all kinds of people, to make this sorry world, go round.
Even the humble hawker COUNTS!
In this sense, you are saying all non-Scientists, non-Doctors and or non-Engineers should rot away??
Crap, what National Identity? We are only known as a country that is TIGHTLY controlled, and a people that CANNOT SPEAK!
Look at the growth areas in the economy...that's where the new jobs and opportunities are. You can acquire the requisite skills and soar with the new economy or stick your head in the sand and be left behind. It your choice.. -
FOR FAKE SAKE FT AKA FOREIGN TALENTS ARE NOT EQUIVALENT TO LOW PAYING JOBS!
LOW PAYING JOBS ARE SWEEPING FLOORS AND CLEANING TOLIETS!
FOREIGN TALENTS ARE EDUCATED FOREIGNERS WHILE FOREIGN LABOURS ARE CHEAP LABOURS DOING UNDESIRED JOBS!
SO THERES A DIFFERENCE!!!!
no offense...juz find that it may mislead the mass here that FT=foreign workers,cuz its not... -
I think it is more helpful to classify them into 2 categories. Foreigners who cost less than to employ compared to Singaporeans would be in the first group. The second group would be those that bring in skills that Singaporeans do not have, or who are businessmen who bring in money and jobs.Originally posted by olala:FOR FAKE SAKE FT AKA FOREIGN TALENTS ARE NOT EQUIVALENT TO LOW PAYING JOBS!
LOW PAYING JOBS ARE SWEEPING FLOORS AND CLEANING TOLIETS!
FOREIGN TALENTS ARE EDUCATED FOREIGNERS WHILE FOREIGN LABOURS ARE CHEAP LABOURS DOING UNDESIRED JOBS!
SO THERES A DIFFERENCE!!!!
no offense...juz find that it may mislead the mass here that FT=foreign workers,cuz its not... -
That's a dumb reason.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Sure the hawker counts...but remember that the foreign hawker can do just as well, if not better, than the local hawker. Why do you think so many people drive all the way to Malaysia for good food. Unless you have skills that the FTs do not have, you will lose your job to them.
Look at the growth areas in the economy...that's where the new jobs and opportunities are. You can acquire the requisite skills and soar with the new economy or stick your head in the sand and be left behind. It your choice..
People here go to Malaysia (JB) because their curency is lower, hence cheaper. If you say that local hawkers overpriced their offerings, then blame the government for inflation!
What you are saying is that FTs are a UNIVERSAL SOLUTION. Therefore, existing old-school locals who aren't ambition should be left to rot away??
You may sound very educated, but you sure lack human touch.