“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
American President J.F. Kennedy.
Every Singaporean guy has contributed to Singapore by serving the mandatory 2 years in National Service and subsequently another 10 - 13 years of reservist during their most productive years of their lives.
But what has the PAP government done for Singaporean guys ?
All citizens are entitled to certain benefits and privileges such as the right to vote and change government, access to subsidized education and healthcare etc. to distinguish their unique status as “bumiputera” from other foreigners and ailens not born in this land.
We pay taxes to the government and in turn we expect them to treat us in kind, take care of us and give us a decent standard of living. With the exception of the $3000 tax exemption granted to NSmen, what other advantages does a Singaporean guy have over a PRC PR working here ?
A Singaporean male has to pay for his own education from primary school right up to college. After college, he is coerced to serve 2 years of National Service where he is paid a mere pittance to serve in the army where he is exposed to dangers from training, exercises, explosives and other hazards not encountered in civilian life which can cost him a limb or even a life before he can proceed to complete his studies in a tertiary institution.
Most of us have to borrow from the bank to finance our university education whose fees are increasing yearly faster than inflation itself. Saddled with debts upon graduation, we have to start slogging hard to repay our debts in a saturated labor market where employers frown upon reservist as a liability while foreigners are always lurking in the background to snatch our jobs.
Even after a decade of working, unless one is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the average Singaporean male starting a family will still be paying off the bank loan of his HDB pigeon-hole which depletes his CPF and of course when he reaches 50, he will have to buy a “Lifelong income scheme” from the state to ensure that he does not burden them with his healthcare expenses if he is somehow fortunate enough to live beyond 85 years of age !
On the contrary, our friends born in PRC appear to have a more blessed life than us, no thanks to our elected PAP government, swept to power years after years since Singapore gained independence in 1965.
Their education from nursery to college are all sponsored by the Chinese government. Upon securing a scholarship to study in Singapore, they will be ”bestowed” a tertiary education completely FOC here together with allowances to pay for their living and study expenses ! They don’t even get such a good deal from their own government in PRC itself !
Though they are bonded for 6 years upon completion of their studies, they are guranteed a job with a decent starting pay. Moreover, they have no debts to pay and they do not have disrupt their work with yearly call-ups for reservist.
Whatever they earn go into their pockets and it is little wonder who is better off 5 years into the workforce: the Singapore male citizen or the PRC male PRC who is “encouraged” to take up permanent residency within 3 months of starting work.
How many of these PRCs actually stay on in Singapore after finishing their bonds ? In fact, there are many who are merely using Singapore as a stepping platform to emigrate to other countries and will jump at the chance to move on to elsewhere where prospects are better such as Australia, Canada, U.S. and Europe and there, they can enjoy a much higher pay coupled with a better quality of life and welfare provided by the state. Most importantly, they do not have to worry for their retirement and are spared the agony of working till their bones are creaking like the elderly in Singapore.
We hear that Australian students are heavily subsidized for their university education while foreigners like Singaporeans have to pay a lot more to study there. Australians get priority first in the job market with unpopular jobs in unfancied industries and far-flung places going to foreigners only if the employers can’t find native Australians to fill them.
In Singapore, it is directly the opposite ! We Singaporeans pay with our taxes to sponsor the education of these foreign students at the expense of our local graduates only for many of these “foreign talents” to advance their careers in a third country when their “contracts” end !
If this scenario is repeated in Australia, the ruling party will definitely be booted out in the next General Election. As citizens of this country, it is a shame we have less rights and benefits than these foreigners from PRC and elsewhere who do not serve NS and certainly have little if no attachment to Singapore as compared to somebody who is born and thoroughly bred here.
We understand the need for Singapore to recruit more foreign talents to keep our economy competitive, but this should not be at the expense of local Singaporeans and it is impertinent that more studies are done to assess the social impact of this unfair and lop-sided policy which indirectly penalizes Singapore-born male citizens. We call for the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Home Affairs to set up a special committee to study ways of leveling the playing field between local and foreign graduates as well as between Singapore and foreign workers.
To the PAP government: you have always reiterated time and time again that you do not owe Singaporeans a living. Let us remind you now and in the future again and again that we tax-paying Singaporeans do not owe PRC students and workers here a living. Bear this forever in mind.
