PRC construction worker given Singapore citizenship
December 20, 2009
The Sunday Times published two full-page articles on the recent passing out parade of the SAF’s Officer Cadet Corp (OCS) which includes sons of four ministers as well as new citizens.
No efforts were spared to promote the sons of new citizens who were commissioned as SAF officers, one of them is China-born Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Chen Jin Chao.
Mr Chen’s father came to Singapore to find work 12 years ago as a construction worker before he became a renovation contractor.
He now run a stall in Ang Mo Kio selling noodles with his wife. Both of them are now Singapore citizens.
Not too long ago, MM Lee Kuan Yew reassured Singaporeans that the government is “very strict” with the criteria for citizenship and only the best “talents” are offered Singapore citizenship.
He also said that most foreigners are here to work on a short-term basis and will return home after their stint ends.
With due respect to Mr Chen, his previous occupation as a construction worker can hardly be considered as a professional or a talent.
How he managed to get his Singapore PR and somemore citizenship is anybody’s guess.
Is Singapore desperate for construction workers and noodle sellers that we have to “import” them from China to become our citizens?
Mr Chen’s mother was naturally elated when interviewed by the state media yesterday:
“Today is a very happy day for us……Jin Chao has proven that he could tough it out and can now start to contribute to Singapore’s defence.”
It will not come as a surprise if Mr Chen’s family were to vote for the ruling party in the next election due by 2011 who gave them the opportunity to start life afresh after all.
Faced wth dwindling support from locals, the ruling party ha been actively courting the new citizens. A $10-million dollar Community Integration Fund was announced lately by the Minister of Community, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to make the new citizens feel “welcomed” in Singapore even when he admited his pet project – the construction of the Singapore Sports Hub would be delayed due to financial constraints.
There are currently about 4,500 new citizens serving as grassroots leaders in various estates in Singapore and their numbers are likely to increase in the future.
Mr Chen is the kind of new citizen so sought after by the ruling party – he is likely to be hardworking, obedient and most importantly, politically ignorant, apathetic and inactive which will help consolidate and entrench its hegemony in Singapore for the next few decades.
The PRC construction worker is now a boss of a noodles stall in Ang Mo Kio providing piping hot bowl of noodles to his customers in PM Lee's constituency.
Fact is nobody in Singapore wants to be a construction worker.
Therefore, the job is scarce and is a form of talent as not many Singaporeans can do this job. =X
Nothing worng with this one becaoming citizen. Just a few examples. the rest still probably cannot earn and save enough to do the same.
voting for ruling party that one is another story.
This one is a mole hill, please don't make a mountain out of it.
You never heard of Family Sponsored Immigration before issit ?
must go try try how this FT's noodles taste ... must be damn good if he can get a citizenship..... soon it will be so good that even USA will invite them over
the beauty of meritocracy at its best in singapore .....should be the way for us to advance and keep head n shoulders over others
a telling difference between sg and elsewhere......
"Not too long ago, MM Lee Kuan Yew reassured Singaporeans that the government is “very strict” with the criteria for citizenship and only the best “talents” are offered Singapore citizenship."
The very strict rules on granting Singapore PR / Citizenship to FTs, so far, include vocations such as :
1. Cleaners
2. Masseuse
3. Construction workers..
What about PRC hookers be given Sinkapore PR / Citizenship so that they can ‘procreate’ with Sinkaporean males ?? suggests one wit from another forum.
It's not a bad idea, actually... something like a 2 for 1 Canadian Pizza
.. i.e when the baby comes to make a happy family.
isnt spore a highly industrialised nation from 1970s oonwards???how come they end up as noodle sellers,bargals and rubbish people??
so dis is da kinda future sporeans we ave now in spore!
Singapore devoted too much into manufacturing industry, when the other countries are gearing up for service industry...
Look at the sequence of country development (VERY SIMPLIFIED):
Agricultural -> Industrial -> Post-Industrial
Singapore devoted too much in Industrial competitiveness but fails to transit into Post-Industrial age. I think only SG govt as a major entity managed to transit to post-industrial due to its resources, other entities stayed relatively small and servicing the existing industry, and getting more obsolete as time comes, and imo singapore public schools are really not helping in this area.
I think it is time for PAP to go. The time seems to be ripe now. I would like a non PAP government in future to see how Singapore turns out.
aiyaaaaa, you all forgot that our forefathers came here as cheap labourers and coolies to the merchants back then in 1900s meh??????? and look at how these cheap uneducated hardworking immigrants turn singapore around to become what it is today.....
gahmen sooo smart....replaying the formula for singapore's success again.....who could have thought of that......wow!!!
to hgearthunter,
post industrial industries???no such thing...as long as they churn money with as little input cost...then that is viable!
service industry is not any solution!!they had waiters in service industries 100 years ago...so they will have waiters in service industries 100 years later.
post industrial age means government give u money free every month because they collected enough money thru the ages.....no jobs as all high tech factories relocate never to be seen in spore.then that is not post indutrial age.....its more like country becoming banana republic due to poor management.
no sucjh thing as post indutrial age thing...........is how they forsee $$$$ money is coming in in future.
Ha ha..
I think there's an Angel in disguise here.
7030 became 05 ??
From modern day 4 D to... chap ji kee of the past ??
Cool...
Post-industrial age are where we are transiting to some other industries other than manufacturing, like service industries for example.
It has nothing to do with government handling social benefits and stuffu.
You have severely misuderstood the context.
Another biased and one-sided SPH report on 2nd generation PRs serving NS
December 20, 2009
The Singapore media has sunk to another low with a blatantly biased, lop-sided and atrocious piece of editorial today to hoodwink and mislead Singaporeans.
The Sunday Times published a total of 4 articles on sons of new citizens and PRs who were comissioned as SAF Officers yesterday after completely the 38 week Officer Cadet Course.
It chose to highlight and give prominent coverage to 4 officers who are from Russia, China, Malaysia and India.
With the exception of one, all parents are Singapore PRs.
The report is nothing more than a propaganda to generate the erroneous public impression that sons of PRs are contributing to Singapore by serving National Service.
There is rising public resentment and anger towards the ruling party’s liberal immigration policies which allow some PRs to take advantage of the lax rules.
Their children are often enrolled in Singapore schools and sent overseas to study by the time they reach 18 years of age to avoid being enlisted into the army.
The parents will continue working in Singapore before retiring back to their homelands with their children.
Some Singaporeans perceive these PRs are “free loafers” who come to Singapore to enjoy all the perks without sacrificing as much as them by spending two years of their lives in the SAF.
Stung by growing criticisms, the state media has been spinning half-baked reports as such to placate the locals.
Are these 4 officers the only PRs in the cohort of commissioned officers?
The Sunday Times should provide some figures in its article to substantiate its claims:
1. The percentage of PRs who send their children overseas to study each year in order to avoid conscription.
2. The percentage of PRs now serving National Service.
Without these crucial facts, it will be impossible for anybody to come to a reasonable conclusion that PRs are indeed serving National Service and subjected to the same treatment as Singaporean citizens.
I had to say, our system is more delibrate in creating engineers, IT specialists, accountants and clerks,etc... this really feels like 1980s thing where there is a demand for such persons.
Well for 1980s, other countries had more diverse economy just not as focus as SG's manufacturing economy. By the time govt realized this, I think it was too late, the education system is merely there to generate non-thinking robots with only industrial skills, therefore we need 'thinking' foreign talents to supplement our scholars.
But if it takes more than 2 years to implement the FT policy, it would surely take more than 2 years to retract that. Our government is slow, unwieldly, inflexible and feels more like a incumbant corporation
Even when we are in a culture hard work, enterprise and cooperation are highly valued - empirically what I see are superficial maintance of such culture, fiercely encourages inflexibility, discourages individual accountability, and risks magnifying errors by concealing them
And also look at large manufacturing firms now, they are often the target of local retrenchment exercise because they employed too many sgians at that time but now getting less and less sales, well some may argue it may because of the rampant use of automation that make 'non-technical' staff irrelevant.
Clerks are also loosing value and value by the minute, I am sad to hear that most clerks' job is data entry rather than planning and reporting. Thats why they hardly find opportunities to learn skills beyond their tools (keyboard and msoffice).
I feel sad.
Originally posted by Lionnosy:Ha ha..
I think there's an Angel in disguise here.
7030 became 05 ??
From modern day 4 D to... chap ji kee of the past ??
Cool...
anyone also can change Display name, their freedom.
Can't be bothered with clones!
Edit:
"...now getting less and less sales, well some may argue it may because of the rampant use of automation that make 'non-technical' staff irrelevant."
to
"...now getting less and less sales, well some may argue it may because of the rampant use of automation that make 'purely-technical' staff irrelevant in todays unpredictable market situation."
There is a general feeling of loathsome and repulsiveness toward those in power I think. Yet those in power had other issues in mind, what issues, I may not know.
SPH is just a media company, it deals with opinions that are hardly from public domain, the main utility (for me) is to look at jobs and perhaps entertainment news and thats it. I think the news are skewed towards the benefits of those in power (expert or authorative), along with advertisement to keep the costs down... I mean they could have just do a survey and publish everything wholesale from the survey, but that newspaper would then have to cost a ton else they lose money!
eh
our forefathers came to Singapore as?
Originally posted by Lionnosy:"Not too long ago, MM Lee Kuan Yew reassured Singaporeans that the government is “very strict” with the criteria for citizenship and only the best “talents” are offered Singapore citizenship."
The very strict rules on granting Singapore PR / Citizenship to FTs, so far, include vocations such as :
1. Cleaners
2. Masseuse
3. Construction workers..
What about PRC hookers be given Sinkapore PR / Citizenship so that they can ‘procreate’ with Sinkaporean males ?? suggests one wit from another forum.
It's not a bad idea, actually... something like a 2 for 1 Canadian Pizza
.. i.e when the baby comes to make a happy family.
How to cater for strict rules when our lazy fat sg Uncles need Cleaners to clear their plate and wash their dishes, and with all fat fat, old old sg uncles, how to work in construction, sure get tired with lots of medicate problem, then they need masseuse to massage for them, so you got to get the masseuses in, be it clean or dirt, all sg Uncles like it.
Talking about PRC hookers, if there is no demand by old fatty and lazy sg Uncles, who crave for sex more than anything else, you think they will come ar??? As if there is no demand, where got supply?? Slowly and Slowly these hookers will go away if fat lazy sg uncles stop patronising them. So, before saying others, look at yourself ya.
Originally posted by sbst275:eh
our forefathers came to Singapore as?
as Magistrate Yap Ah Loy
Our forefathers came to singapore to get a better life, mostly as labourers.
Somewhat I believe that LKY's assertion that a degree holder + degree holder = better children comes from the assuption that cos perhaps we, singaporeans come from more inferior genetic stock, ancestors who are unable to survive in china,taiwan etc, had no choice but to move out.
In this case we also need influx of FT genetic pool to improve this genetic stock.. oh well...
Of course this genetic deterministic view seems to enforce that elitism is the way...
Originally posted by sbst275:
our forefathers came to Singapore as?
That is a lame argument. Singapore is an indepedent state now, not a british colony. Last time is like hotel, now is a home.
Originally posted by John Penn:PRC construction worker given Singapore citizenship
December 20, 2009
The Sunday Times published two full-page articles on the recent passing out parade of the SAF’s Officer Cadet Corp (OCS) which includes sons of four ministers as well as new citizens.
No efforts were spared to promote the sons of new citizens who were commissioned as SAF officers, one of them is China-born Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Chen Jin Chao.
Mr Chen’s father came to Singapore to find work 12 years ago as a construction worker before he became a renovation contractor.
He now run a stall in Ang Mo Kio selling noodles with his wife. Both of them are now Singapore citizens.
Not too long ago, MM Lee Kuan Yew reassured Singaporeans that the government is “very strict” with the criteria for citizenship and only the best “talents” are offered Singapore citizenship.
He also said that most foreigners are here to work on a short-term basis and will return home after their stint ends.
With due respect to Mr Chen, his previous occupation as a construction worker can hardly be considered as a professional or a talent.
How he managed to get his Singapore PR and somemore citizenship is anybody’s guess.
Is Singapore desperate for construction workers and noodle sellers that we have to “import” them from China to become our citizens?
Mr Chen’s mother was naturally elated when interviewed by the state media yesterday:
“Today is a very happy day for us……Jin Chao has proven that he could tough it out and can now start to contribute to Singapore’s defence.”
It will not come as a surprise if Mr Chen’s family were to vote for the ruling party in the next election due by 2011 who gave them the opportunity to start life afresh after all.
Faced wth dwindling support from locals, the ruling party ha been actively courting the new citizens. A $10-million dollar Community Integration Fund was announced lately by the Minister of Community, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to make the new citizens feel “welcomed” in Singapore even when he admited his pet project – the construction of the Singapore Sports Hub would be delayed due to financial constraints.
There are currently about 4,500 new citizens serving as grassroots leaders in various estates in Singapore and their numbers are likely to increase in the future.
Mr Chen is the kind of new citizen so sought after by the ruling party – he is likely to be hardworking, obedient and most importantly, politically ignorant, apathetic and inactive which will help consolidate and entrench its hegemony in Singapore for the next few decades.
As i said many time before, govt are taking in chinese to improve chinese population (no racial intended here), and the result or the fruits of it can only be seen on this foreign chinese generation, so now you see a true Singapore 2nd lieut born from a chinese parents, aren't we proud of it. Do you think this 2nd lieut will think of China??? and when he got married, his decendents will be truly Singapore, that was what MM said, we have to bear the culture shock of the initial immigration, nobody like their house to be enter by strangers, but that is the way to go, otherwise, we will face a inverted aging population, less army, less human resources and less Singaporeans.
We should salute this event that is happening before you eyes even before your generation is gone. Most of our early chinese ancestor dun even live to see our prosperity and harmony.