Sylvia Lim: the pace and scale of the influx of foreigners in the last few years was wrong
March 4th, 2010 | 
Author: Written by Our Correspondent
Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim became the latest MP to speak out against the PAP’s liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies yesterday after fellow colleague Low Thia Kiang and PAP MP Inderjit Singh.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Ms Lim reminded the PAP that the ultimate aim of growth “is to improve the welfare of all citizens.”
Quoting from an article by economist Manu Bhaskaran, she drove home the point that Singaporeans did not benefit much from the rising GDP as “profits took an extraordinarily high 46 per cent of GDP, almost half of which went to foreign-owned companies.”
The quality of life for many had also fallen in the last five years due to escalating business costs, influx of foreigners and sky-rocketing prices of properties.
“While I agree that we need foreigners to augment our population and talent pool, the pace and scale of the influx in the last few years was wrong,” she added.
When Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong assumed his position in 2003, he announced an ambitious plan to increase Singapore’s population to 6.5 million people by 2030.
All of sudden, the floodgates were flung open without warning and Singapore became swarmed by foreigners from all over the world, especially China and India.
Foreigners now make up 36 per cent of Singapore’s population, up from 14 per cent in 1990. Of the remaining 64 per cent who are citizens, an increasing number are born overseas. Because too many foreigners are let in within too short a period of time, we are now experiencing headache on how to integrate all of them.
Ms Lim also warned that the rising income gap between the rich and the poor could reduce social mobility:
“We should not dismiss increasing inequality as inevitable…..If inequalities in Singapore continue at such levels, we should seriously question whether our policies of promoting equality of opportunity are really working,” she said.
Her speech drew a sharp rebuttal from PAP MP Halimah Yacob who shot back:
“The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
Ms Yacob failed to realize the fact it is pretty pointless to have a job which does not ensure one a decent standard of living. The duty of a government is not simply to provide jobs but to improve the welfare and quality of life of its people.
Her stance echoed that of PAP’s octogenarian leader Lee Kuan Yew who said during a Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum last year that the widening income gap is of little significance so long the government continues to “create jobs for Singaporeans.”
In a later interview with the National Geographic magazine, he added that it is a “good idea” for Singapore to welcome many Chinese immigrants as they are more “hard-driving” and “hard-striving” than locals.
Though PAP leaders have tried to sing a different tune lately to assure Singaporeans that the inflow of foreigners will slow down to placate them, it is highly unlikely that they will make wholesale changes to their policies so long they remain in power.
New citizens are crucial to shore up their flagging support base in order for the PAP to retain its political hegemony. As Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong admitted, there will be no “U-turns” on the PAP’s pro-foreigner policies and the number of foreigners may actually increase in the next few years.
At the rate the PAP continues to mass import foreigners into Singapore, it is only a matter of time before native Singaporeans are relegated to being second class minorities in their own countries with the males having to serve two years of National Service to protect the new citizens, PRs and foreigners.
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MP Sylvia Lim has been more balance and senseble approach on foreigners as compare to other PAP Mps.
Certainly She contributes more constructive down to earth solutions than those PAP MPs blindly accept with head on and bulldozer support the policy.
Well done Sylvia..I will vote for you.
Where is LBW? The jamban that contain a lot of sh…it.
LBW is NO match for Sylvia.
LBW talks nonsense..and rubbish all the time.
Well,
My comments is : Boot this halimah out with immediate effect!
to be frank what is the use of having job but couldn’t affort of basic standard of living in singapore.
MP must really speak for singaporean welfare, let’s reduce Yacob salary to 1k and see whether he can survise in singapore, dun even mention of afforting high rocking hdb housing. I have to admit, probably Yacob was not voted by the singaporean, he is tag along to the parliament because of GRC.
It is very obvious why PAP choose him, they give him 13K/ and be a puppet and you opposite what your opposition again.
I not against foreigner and agree with Sylvia, they bring in too many and too fast.
Sack Yocob for his low productivity!!!!
“The duty of a government is not simply to provide jobs but to improve the welfare and quality of life of its people.”
i agree with that statement. but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Mdm Halimah is wrong. just that she hasn’t given a complete answer. the govt should put in place policies and initiatives such that people’s quality of life improve beacuse they have good jobs, which pay well, not because the wages are artificially inflated or depressed, but because people’s jobs, at all levels, are indeed creating real value and wealth.
so training, re-training, re-skilling, continuing education are things which should be given focus.
“The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.” – MP Halimah Yacob
The GREATEST dignity?
Really?
Please tell this to the face of the scores of underemployed PMETs who are now taxi drivers, insurance agents, etc. because they are replaced by foreigners.
国家到了这个地步是非常令人可悲的！我们要的是好看的GDP，还是平民的生活水准？政府是为了人民，还是为了好看的面子？为了自己的权力，还是国家的未来前途？政府永远是对的吗？我只能说：不下十年，新加坡已不成一个国家！再多二十年，国家必灭亡！
上苍救救我们的国家吧！
要救国家? 哼! 先把PAP推倒吧!
新加坡人不要只会怨天尤人!
@Halimah Yacob – “The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
What dignity and what job? Your Ong Ah Heng just told us he sack old Singaporean in favor of young foreigners. LOL r u trying to con us again by telling us you really care about our dignity and our job.
If you are honest, you should be concern that some of our better educated Singaporean is finding hard to compete with these foreigners who are from a poor country for a decent job. If you are bringing foreigners from a competing economy or one that is better than us, the chances we can hold our dignity is better.
Anyway if you send all these foreigners home, I guarantee that all Singaporean can have a good job.
Halimah is too obsessed with the labour movement to the extent that she has a myopic view of events. She is only concerned with jobs, but for whom??
Somehow like a cat in the well and can only see what is projected at the circumference of the well!
Halimah was the one who said the budget was the most compassionate one she ever seen in one of the budget in previous years. I remembered Chua Mui Hoong made fun of her in ST. Sylvia Lim was straight to the point. That is the merit of having alternate representation in Parliament.
To live in dignity, one will always live with conscious mind/ good heart, and stick with what is right most of time; in contrast, opposite will follow blindly/ stubbornly to do what is wrong, that cause great harm/ endless miserable to other people
To most Singaporeans, main purpose of getting job is to be able to bring in decent income to cover family expense, and to provide necessary support to ensure good upbringing of children
Instead of showing good role model for citizens to follow, government seem to be overwhelm by bringing in large foreigners to satisfy more economic gains; many time government have ignored real concerns that many Singaporeans face, and have forgotten about main duty to look after well being of most Singaporeans
Sylvia Lim please come to kovan, i will vote for you. Halimah Yacob please please come to kovan, my whole family will vote you OUT!
We should let Halimah knows that all SLAVES, in medieval Europe, ancient China or 18th Century America, had a job too…
And just dig a little deeper into history, you will know that many of these slavery regimes also achieved very high growth for their economies!
17th, 18th Centuries European practice slavery in Africa and gained precious resource for the Industrial Revolution back home.
18th and 19th Century USA had slaves to develope a vast land mass on a virgin North American Continent and build a solid foundation for future growth.
I guess thats what the PAP govt is trying to do to Singaporean.
“The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
If this is the case, the foreigners already have a job. Already enough then why the need to spend a mega $10 million dollar Community Integration Fund for the foreigners….
I saw the original speech on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr8RcDtIUFE
The problem we are facing here is a party in power for too long. They control everything and surrounded with YES MEN and YES WOMEN who wish to benefit from their success instead of helping the people.
PAP think and KNOW that Singaporeans are timid and selfish. There is NO consequence whatsoever to do whatever the PAP wish whenever they want to. In this case, open the flood gate to not hundreds, not thousands but MILLIONS of foreigners. It is called EXTERMINATION and total disregards for the livelihoods of the people that were behind the PAP the past 50 years +. To the PAP, MONEY COMES FIRST… YOU JOBLESS? GO JUMP OFF HDB.
PAP will still have a lot of people that will vote for them. People that have not YET been affected and people who are working in the civil service enjoying above average wages.
Remember this my fellow Singaporeans, when PAP are done with us, THEY ARE COMING AFTER YOU and we wouldn’t be around to help.
Touch your heart and see your fellow brothers and sisters suffer. Don’t let it be covered by money. Our life is short and you cannot bring money with your when you die.
these Miw still dun get it! it’s not the foreign workers,it’s the number!every trades with their presence,except MP.
How in the world can we keep getting more and more foreigners when there isn’t even enough jobs to go around, since as early as August 2009?
Take a look as these three links, which have very good videos done showing how foreign workers have been exploited in Singapore, and have been sitting around with no work, unpaid salaries and being forced to go home.
Get more workers in to fall into the trap? Cycle the workers around because there is an inexhaustible supply of bangladeshis to cheat in Singapore?
Well done!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isZfVhyKLsI&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9jdPDgo9bI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6glRTS6QbQk&NR=1
Sylvia, we FULLY SUPPORT WHATEVER YOU SAY. We WILL VOTE for you.
Halimah- what have you done for PMET especially those in the most vulnerable age group of 45-60? They have been totally neglected and dispute many of them being very highly qualified have to end up being taxi drivers, property agents or insurance agents or else remain unemployed.
The govt’s employment agencies only pay lip service. They grant you an interview and then ask you to attend courses on how to prepare your resume or how to present in an interview….when these PMET have university degrees. This is what they claim to have been providing services and help. Perhaps those organising these courses are the ones creaming off money from government coffers. That’s why I’m so sceptical when the government announced MORE TRAINING COURSES etc for the unemployed to upgrade themselves…..they are rubbish…all lip service.
What we want to see is ACTION….simply offer us a job and we will work hard. The govt need to shut up and just collect our income tax. The more the govt talks in Parliament about productivity, training etc is all crap, the more frustration and anger it builds up in us.
The present government and leadership is the worst in Singapore’s 50 year history.
Ya, agree with sad peasant totally,
if there is any garhment civil servant reading this, even if you are not affected by whaat is happening, but it doesn’t mean it wont happen to you in future…
If you are reading this, and know your many fellow singaporeans are suffering in many areas of aspect, be it housing, employment, all bread and butter issue , etc etc, pls touch your heart and your own conscience and ask this honest questions: Is this the garhment you want them to rule this country continuously, or is it high time for you people to start to vote for opp. like KJ, Sylvia Lim, GMS, LTK, and others opp…to form a new govt. to help singaporeans able to stand up their feet and their dignity high up.
Don’t keep on thinking of your own interest, becos everyone of us will have to face a downturn one day whether you like it or not. It will happen. Mark my words.
Start doing the right thing now.
What has truly happen in recent times is that what our forefathers,together with the Old Guards,have built painstkaingly has been squandered away literally by the presumably better “educated” sholar-ministers and elites.
Jobs that have been created and borned out of brilliant ideas form the likes of Dr Goh Keng Swee,Hon Sui Sen and others,have been unwittingly squandered away by recent ivory-towered policies.
Local expertise in commerce and finance have been made redundant instead of being promulgated as was the case.
Instead,even after the MNCs’ talents left our shores,their places were filled by presumably smart chaps from India etc,leaving local talents to waste and dissipate further.
This is indeed a less than rational move and would certainly contribute to he demise of local expertise by and by due to lack of honing their skills as they have been displaced and replaced by ‘CHEAPER’ labour from places such as the Indain Istitute of Management,etc.
If for every local expert/talent displaced and replaced by the foreigner;the foreigner sincertely becomes a full-fledged citizen,then it would have serve the national interest and locals would not been sacrificed in vain.
BUT,IF SUCH FOREIGNERS choose to leave after making a bundle,then,our own singaporeans have been sacrificed in vain.
I,of simple mind,would dare claim that singaporeans and singapore would be sacrificed in vain and this,we can witness by and by.
As with the two-child policy,this crazed policy will not bear honest fruits.
Hi J,
unfortunately, so far only 300 views counted for this video.
This is an indication of Apathy.
Sad.
Only the final retirement can give some kind of consolation.
1) The STUPID gahmen should clarify specifically why Singapore need a population of 6.5 million people.
2) What are the effects that Singapore will face if we do not reach the 6.5 million target.
3) The STUPID gahmen should clarify specifically why they need to raise their salary by 8.8%.
4) If the STUPID gahmen could not explain specifically to the citizens of Singapore on how they based their assumtions, then the obvious reasons are for their own benefits.
We the citizens of Singapore have the rights to know what the HECK is going on in our country.
Halimah,shut up and sit down.
To those of you that think the PAP are trying to help, please think again. Their so-called workforce retraining courses are useless. How do I know? I have participated a few of those courses.
First of all, they are not free. You do have to pay a certain amount from $65-$100 or more. The fees are marked up so ridiculously so the numbers will look good when the PAP subsidies them. Imagine a 2 weeks course conducted by some retirees and they claim it costs $2000++ per person????
No, job placement is not guaranteed. Most who completed the Workforce retraining courses are still jobless. Those you saw on TV praising the course said so because they were pressured to. The pay they got? Less than $1000/mth.
And no, I am not saying that it is PAP’s job to help us find a job but the least they could do is NOT TO SCREW me up by letting in foreigners as if we were invaded.
The point of this post is the Workforce retraining courses are all waste of money and time to make the PAP look like they are helping.
OUR PROBLEM IS NOT WE ARE NOT TRAINED. IT IS MOST COMPANIES PREFER FOREIGNERS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT NEED TO SERVE NS AND PAY CPF. AND THEY DEMAND LOWER PAY DUE TO THE FACT THAT MOST OF THEM CAME HERE WITH THEIR FAMILIES BACK AT HOME(LOWER COSTS OF LIVING) TAKEN CARE OF.
Hi Alvin,
Would you like to write us an article to share your personal experience with our readers?
You can use a pseudonym and we will pay you a honorarium for your efforts.
Please contact us at temasekreview@gmail.com
MP Halimah Yacob. “The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
What’s is the use of this “GREATEST DIGNITY” when that job that require one to spend 8-12 hours a day, depriving one away from basic life quality and family time, pay peanuts! That “DIGNITY” was taken away from the cleaners by your fellow “comrade” Ong Ah Heng!
Again, i emphasize, if you Halimah have nothing conducive for Singapore citizens, keep your mouth shut.
What? 46% of our GDP goes to foreign-owned business. Then the Moron_in_white just make love to them to get their pay rise, what happened to the rest of Singaporeans???
Yes admin, I am willing to share my personal experience with the workforce retraining programme. I also met a few friends who took up 3 weeks(if I remember correctly) Logistics course at CDC and paid $900. They promised him job placement but it did not happened.
Please understand that every single dollar means a lot to jobless people like us. The workforce retraining programme created false hope and cost us some valuable money we need bad.
I will contact my friend and contribute an article for free that talk about both of our experiences.
Reading what Alvin wrote, the whole workforce training scheme is just a public relations stun of bullshit.
IT IS DISGUSTING of public deception.
Sylvia Lim p/l come to kovan I’ll vote 4 U. KJ P/s come to Tampenis I’ll vote 4 U.Singaporean are just like barking dogs.
At the end the vote will go back 2 “Papa Anak Party”. U wait n see the result in the comming Election (Maybe Next Month)
Thanks Alvin, we need more Singaporeans like you to step forward and reveal the truth.
go sylvia!
The greatest diginity is to make sure all the citizens in the country are taken care of, placing them above foreigners.
so Halimah Yacob – is it acceptable that a salaried SGD 6,000/mth manager be displaced by a SGD 3,000/mth foreigner ?
and it is a blessing that this local manager get to be a taxi driver by the good grace of Comfort ? or go sell Income insurance products ?
Halimah Yacob – I have been looking for a job for a long time, I haven’t found one. Not because I am choosy or fussy, but because employers prefer younger foreigners. What dignity now?
Dear Mdm Sylvia,
I have utmost respect for you and your party. You are rational and you actually listen to the concerns from the ground. It is unfortunate that Singapore is plagued with authoritarian greedy pigs, but pls be assured that Singaporeans are not blind to your efforts.
Do step up your party’s propaganda online. You are doing WONDERFUL work but it really needs to be recognized.
PLS SAVE OUR DEAR COUNTRY, I BEG OF YOU!!!!!!
I watched the 3 Migrant Dream videos about the exploitation of Bangladeshi worker and read about alvin’s plight and found that there is a similarity between the two: Both were promised a job that did not exist.
Let’s have talented and well connected foreigners to displace our PM, DPM, Ministers, Police Chief, SAF Chief, CD Chief, Sch Principals, HR Directors n Managers, Chief Justice, MAS Chairman, etc. Give our local incumbents a run for their monies.
I have been to several “career” fairs and talks held by the e2i at Bukit Merah. It’s true that they “looked” as if they were helping, but really of no help.
“The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
i dunno abt dignity of job but all i can say is dat i sure will lose dignity if i not allow to pangsai by myself but must have to have someone “chit ka chng” 4 me.
oso, tink of how “gan kor” u will be if u never pangsai one week.
“The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
aw, gee, this coming from people who are paid $13000 per month parliamentarian allowance, plus some civil service or quasi-civil service or chief executive salary plus directorships. Not to mention their pension of 2/3 last drawn salary after they have completed two and a half terms in parliament. Aw, this is really steep.
Halimah Yacob, let me share with you a few VERY UGLY TRUTHS if the much admired MP Sylvia Lim’s speech is of acute embarassment offence to your ear drums.
First, if the pace and scale of the influx of foreigners in the last few years was NOT wrong – contrary to what Sylvia Lim asserted, you have this glamour opportunity to explain to all TR readers why “S’pore tightens framework to better manage pace, growth of PRs & new citizens.” Will you publicly humiliate Wong Kan Seng’assertion that he was wrong of those views?
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1041502/1/.htmlthan right fropm the mouth of your nation-building media source.
Why did Wong Kan Seng said we DONT “WANT TO carry a large Permanent Resident population who are content to remain as PRs indefinitely.” ?? In other words, the revised framework acknowledges recent past influx was WRONG IN THE FIRST INSTANCE without explicitly of political suicide of admitting the wrong policy. Is this NOT true?
Wong Kan Seng also said…”We will ensure that those who become one of us are of suitable quality and not only contribute to Singapore economically but also integrate well into our society…” In other words, the past influx contain too many “migratory bird specie” who won’t integrate at all. THE SCREENING, IF ANY, IN THE PAST WERE FLAWED – again that was WRONG policy. Do you deny this, Halimah Yacob?
And what about quantity error PR/citizenship mix? Mr Wong Kan Seng also said Singapore must focus on getting good-quality citizens, not carrying a large PR population” Again wrong quantity focus of the wrong kind i.e. PR., right Halimah Yacob???
And what rubbish of wrong in total quantity? Last 2 years to 2009, increase in population was 10%, GDP rose a mere 2%. POLITICALLY IT IS NO LONGER VIABLE OF SUSTAINABLE LIES AND DECEPTION OF PUBLIC MIND THAT HIGHER POPULATION ADD TO GDP ADVANCEMENT. Wong Kan Seng and the PAP were caught out of their own depth of economic logic by contrary evidence of economic downturn’s negative impact. In other words, population growth is NO INSURANCE to GDP growth. THEIR ECONOMIC HOAX WERE PROVEN FLAWED OR FRAUD OF TRUTH. IS THIS NOT TRUE?
How to lie Singaporeans when unemployment rose and people find their day time MRT and bus rides so congested. Nobody seems to have work to do BUT ALL OVER-CROWDING ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT!!! The political lies of population economic disintegrated right before the shock impact hitting the Government’s face and public shocked staring of realities. Is this not true again?
RATIONAL THINKING WOULD TELL THAT IF WE INCREASED OUR POPULATION TO 6.5 million, others will do the same, any competitive advantage – FICTITIOUS AS IT WAS – don’t add up to real competitive race in economics for us. IT IS BULLSHIT, Or is it NOT???? Halimah Yacob and Wong Kan Seng and PAP must be able to rationalise this WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF ECONOMICS LIKE MYSELF, don’t you?
AND WHAT IS THE TRAGEDY OF POPULATION EXPLOSION AND ECONOMIC STAGNATION. WE DON’T GET STAGFLATION OF COURSE, Halimah Yacob, please? WE GET ECONOMIC STARVATION OF THE PUBLIC PURSE, falling tax revenue BUT SAME AND EVEN HIGHER PUBLIC EXPENDITURE SUSTAINING HOSPITAL SUBSIDIES AND OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR COSTS IMPACT WHICH THE BUDGET CANNOT CARRY MUCH LONGER TO HOLD ALL THESE LARGE PERMANENT RESIDENT POPULATION ON TOP OF NATIVE SINGAPOREAN.
In other words, the ECONOMICS SCREWED US HARDER BECAUSE OF HIGHER POPULATION BASE GIVEN A LARGE PR POPULATION. So the cutback of migration – urgently was needed, Ms. Halimah Yacob, not to appease Singaporeans but to contain budgetary strain and HID THE FULL BLOWN POLITICALLY ADVERSE DAMAGE OF POPULATION ECONOMIC LIES TOLD TO THE NATION just when everyone thinks an election is around the corner. Is this NOT true, Halimah Yacob?
Ms. Halimah Yacob, I await your denial in evidence of all these painful truth, which Sylvia Lim has partly expose the Government flawed immigration agenda.
Are you responding?
@sad peasant on Thu, 4th Mar 2010 7:35 pm
(quote)The problem we are facing here is a party in power for too long. They control everything and surrounded with YES MEN and YES WOMEN who wish to benefit from their success instead of helping the people.(unquote)
Yes you are spot on. People who joins the PAP have only pecuniary interest. Success to them is earning a truckload of money.
(quote)PAP think and KNOW that Singaporeans are timid and selfish. There is NO consequence whatsoever to do whatever the PAP wish whenever they want to. In this case, open the flood gate to not hundreds, not thousands but MILLIONS of foreigners. It is called EXTERMINATION and total disregards for the livelihoods of the people that were behind the PAP the past 50 years +. To the PAP, MONEY COMES FIRST… YOU JOBLESS? GO JUMP OFF HDB.(unquote)
Singaporeans are not only timid and selfish, they are completely mesmerized by the PAP and attribute the entire nation success to the PAP and ignore the fact that we Singaporean are the major engine of that success. PAP is condescending and arrogant, they believe in lies they exude from the deep gutter. You are right their motto has always being – so long as they earn high salary, “You die your business”.
(quote)PAP will still have a lot of people that will vote for them. People that have not YET been affected and people who are working in the civil service enjoying above average wages.(unquote)
Wow you forgot to mention about the new citizens that will one hundred percent vote for them too.
(quote)Remember this my fellow Singaporeans, when PAP are done with us, THEY ARE COMING AFTER YOU and we wouldn’t be around to help.(unquote)
Right now our foreign colleges may start up in a junior position at our workplace. Soon they will rise up and overtake us and take up all position from junior to manager positions. As days go by they will know about the way of life in Singapore and become familiar in the way we operate and the company will no longer need us whoever we are, our position is never safe. After you lose your job and become a burden to society, PAP and their buddy will quietly round you up and send you to the deep blue sea and clear you away expediently. To them we are just digits made of bits and bytes.
(quote)Touch your heart and see your fellow brothers and sisters suffer. Don’t let it be covered by money. Our life is short and you cannot bring money with your when you die. Don’t be sad, the day of reckoning is near because we are right there behind you whenever you need us.(unquote)
Don’t think our brothers and sisters suffer, it is ok because it is not us. Even though they are not as successful or better than us, they are still our compatriots and together we should stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Love our neighbors as ourselves, this is the way to redeem our souls from the devil.
Good job brother peasant, you have said in a way much better than anyone else could. Go and help your fellow citizens, join the opposition and we will vote for you, thereafter you will be upgraded from peasant to a governor.
just to add to alvin’s posts:
WDA and CDCs hook up with employers and recruitment companies to help find retrenched PMETs jobs. and some of these PMETs have gone through (re)training and what have you through SPUR.
HOWEVER, such “placement” exercises are often useless. employers find these candidates overqualified and are not willing to pay for these PMETs. i mean, instead, they can find a “cheaper” worker, train him/her a bit, and he/she can replace the PMET.
“cheaper” alternatives would either be fresh grads or PRs/ EP workers. doesn’t help that many companies are ageists too.
Dunno what that yakult tokking. Greatest dignity is to have a job?
This halimah should go work as a PROSTITUTE. it’s a job too, and the greatest dignity is to have a job!
This is the kind of flawed, subjective thinking that the pap retards have.
DO NOT ASSUME THAT THE PAP MPS ARE SMART. THEY ARE IN FACT DUMBER THAN MOST ORDINARY FOLKS.
THEY ARE MORONS WHO DO NOT DESERVE TO RUN SINGAPORE.
I used to go to Toa Payoh CDC to use the free computer, and there are many of those that went there too were complaining that they have gone for this course and that course and yet they still cannot find any job.
I was recommended to take up courses too but I rejected, because from my own opinion, the STUPID gahmen had stressed to much on certificates even for simple jobs. I had my own share of fustrations with the way the consultants worked, but I should give credits to the reception staffs.
I have worked with U grads, MBA, ABCs but they ask stupid questions during work, and if there are any problems they will give excuses.
That is why I look down on all these so called ’stupid elites’ without common cents.
Even a parrot can memorize everything that is taught.
To Admin
Trying going to TP CDC to use the computer and hang around, and you can get more stories for your forum.
Political SalesMaN
How do u manage to vote in both Alujnied and Tampiness?
Hello Ms Sylvia Lim, while my daughter is a fan of super junior, i am a fan of you. haha. anyway, bravo, way to go. we will fully support you, LTK, your party and in fact all opposition parties. we wish that all of you could tilt the balance of power in this country and save the people.
About the workfare and all those retraining campaigns, they are only for show, the biggest beneficiaries are the relevant govt agencies and some related training schools and consultants who are likely to be connected with grassroot.
they will continue to milk more money from the poor souls,
but there will be minimum result because the basic problem is not solved. (employers and business cost, not their fault, but who causes it?)
Hum,
You are one of the 300 … just help spread to 2 more.
Cheers!
sylvia lim is my new hero.
Aiyoh,
When is the election coming huh? Don’t want to wait. Very Sian..
I want to vote vote vote vote all the PAPPIES out……………
I want to vote vote vote vote now!!! I demand and called it now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hurray for Sylvia !!!
I support u !!!
Any rally you organise from now forth ..
I will go support !!!
When will more poorer SGeans work for the FTs and FWs, when they buy up the small businesses in red dot?
Will it be in 10 or 20 years from now?
Ask MM Lee. He knows how to predict the timeframe.
Peter Su,
Ha ha ha!
PAP will be in serious trouble if they allowed LBW to talk this round.
When the poor faces harder times year after year due to income gap widening in rising cost of living, and continue to live life struggling to make ends meet, where will it lead this society into?
If the government is not attending to this matter as one of its responsibilities, what will be the result? Who else can take care of such responsibilities if the government does not?
Hi Alvin and some others too.
Yes, I empathise with those poor suckers who spent good money attending useless WDA and SPUR “retraining” “reskilling” so-called courses. I went to listen to the marketing bullshit for that logistics course, as well as another one for SAP (no, you don’t become a SAP engineer or consultant — they just teach you mickey mouse SAP end-user key-strokes, same intelligence level as needed to operate Microsoft Office).
One of my acquaintances took up the mickey mouse SAP course, and now she is regretting like hell. The trainees are being forced by the training provider to take up bo-liao unrelated jobs like night-shift call centre operator, sim lim salesman, and even unpaid internship, so that the training provider can report to WDA that their trainees all found employment and thus meet the Key Performance Indicators and thus get payments from WDA.
In fact this retraining and SPUR courses are being abused like crazy both by the training providers as well as by some PR trainees. They are screwing the govt as well as citizens.
What do I mean? Basically because of all these retraining initiatives, many tom dick harry training companies apply to WDA to become authorised course providers. If selected, WDA will pay 90% of the course fees. The trainees pay 10%. The training companies simply make use of WDA and SPUR to bullshit people into signing up with them. They beh-deh you that they will connect you with a ready list of good employers. They are just interested in sucking in the course fees, 90% provided by SG taxpayers courtesy of WDA. Who knows how many of these course fees have been inflated to take advantage of the SPUR programme?
On the part of PR trainees, I often observed many Indian PRs (usually women) who like to apply for IT-based SPUR programmes. During those marketing previews by the training providers, I can often see that 2/3 of the audience are Indian women PRs, speaking among themselves in Hindi. What happened is that these women accompany their husbands who are working in Singapore. Once they get their dependent PR, they start looking for such “freebies” to apply, even though they don’t really need to work. WDA and SPUR courses are open to both citizens and PRs. Becoz when you are in such training courses, WDA will give you about $900 to $1100 monthly allowance. Of course, you are suppose to serve a bond usually 6 months to 2 years, but provided you can find a job. If you tell WDA “What to do? I want to work but no employer want me. Can I work for WDA instead?”, govt also lan lan. And I can bet with you that those PRs don’t really intend to serve their bond, unless they get an attractive salary offer, because in the first place, they don’t really need to work.
推翻PAP， 就在今朝！！
I appeal to PAP MP to speak from their heart in parliament rather then to dis-credit opposition. Instead of fetching 13k per mth as MP, she earn 1.3k a month to support a household, will she say so long one have a job. They has loss the morality to represent S’porean.
What type of dignity does PAP MP Halimah Yacob refer to when one has to slog long working hours but hardly survive in the increasing expensive Singapore ? Also, old people with limited mobility have to perform manual work like cleaning, picking up drink can, cardboard, etc in order to survive ? PAP government does not provide anything to the citizen as it is working on the fake subsidy i.e. market subsidy. In fact, it is generating revenue while claiming it is providing subsidy to the citizen e.g. HDB, public hospitial, etc. PAP is more interested to enrich itself by paying themself exorbitant salary than to help citizen in difficulty!
Alvin good on you for contributing your experiences!
Yes, I really wish Sylvia Lim gets voted in as a FULL MP.
The reply you see from Halimah Yacob shows that she has lost the point of Sylvia’s speech.
Can the PAP also benchmark the prices of houses and salaries to first world countries to ensure that prices will remain affordable? (and not just selected cities in certain countries where prices are known to be high)
Miss Halimah Yacob,
If you can accept your post being replaced by a foreigner for half your salary and left to find your own job and still feel dignified, then it is being exemplary and sincere.
Otherwise, it is only sensible that you stop talking rubbish and stop being a hyprocrite.
A good example of FW’s
MOE brings in 2nd language teachers who are not conversant in English to teach students. Before coming to Singapore they were given a crash course on coversational English. Perhaps some can make it but some are unable to. This is my personal experience and told to me by the school when I complain about the teacher not being able to speak English. Are they cheaper than trained and bi-lingual teachers? Of course, and this is an example of the subsidy offered by Tharman being part of the 450K for the poor. Real cheap and good lol.
Sylvia – you have done the citizens a great favour by being their voice. Well done…. speak some more on the alternative voice. The ruling party seems to be on a 1-track mind and group-thinking (except Mr Inderjeet Singh). We need you to show there is an other side.
It is very dangerous when everyone is thinking the same thoughts – actually then, no one is thinking. All views should be considered. No one is right all the time – thats why it is so important for the ruling party to welcome people like you who differe from them.
Last time, 50000 old citizens a year look for subsidised HDB new / resale flats. Nowadays, 50000 old citizens join the queue with 20000 new citizens a year to do the same thing. 71.4% : 28.5% ratio. And they won’t show up on the statistical radar screen because you can bet your bottom dollar that the day you know how many new citizens buy flats is the day we get Integrated back into federation of malaysia.
There must be some directive, step on and criticise the opposition MPs regardless what they say at very opportunity.
This like the opposition’s previous tatic in criticising the Papaya gang for everything they do to be bad.
These tatics clearly shows how narrow minded and how they view the general public to be silly dumb and easily influenced.
Happy to see opposition doing less of this now, let the Papaya gang continue this silly tatic, I always believe that they will reap what they sow.
We really need some good MPs like Sylvia around! Well Done!
I still see a lot of complain here. Only daft complain. At the end of the day all no balls. Sylvia from WP, no big deal. When LHL ask LTK, “do you think WKS should resign” he kept quiet. Show a lot about WP. My two cents. Unless there is a changes, all this talk is just talk.
I feel sad at times. Sillyporean really need to wake up. Give them another five years for the next GE, we will be forever slaves. I am sad for my children and the future genaration.
How they can cope if we are struggling like hell now.
Hi Sylvia.. I will vote for u again if u contest at the same area..
Foreigner Population in sgp are more than 1 million.. WAH.. How much our gov earn from the levy? Can someone advise me?
My mum – a loyal PAP supporter for 3 decades, went for some english courses just recently. I enrolled her for these classes from our ‘famous’ “N” organization to allow her to get some conversational knowledge of English and she came home depressed.
I asked her why, she said her entire class was filled with PRCs and she was the only Singaporean. She said from the second day of the lesson already they were so rude – kept talking in class and when the teacher asked them to tone down & listen first, they threatened to complain about her and continued to insist that even if they do not listen, its the job of that teacher (a SG retiree) to continue teaching till they understand (though they don’t listen) and one after another verbally they slammed the teacher till the teacher cried.
What really depressed my mum was the words these PRCs said… they said..”You Singaporeans are stupid, thats why your gahmen needs us to come, they begged us to come, otherwise we won’t even consider coming. We will share the loopholes we found with our own people to that allow us to run successful businesses overseas, using funds from you stupid people. At the end of the day, don’t worry we will not stay here forever, we will leave one day and that day you people will beg us to stay because we are already wealthy after using you”
My mum said she was really upset though she kept quiet throughout because she felt the PRCs gals were really smart and many of them claimed intimate connections to gahmen, and all of them working ‘professionals’ – some for our new IRs and she was afraid. She said she feel so out of place. But I told her this is Singapore – our home, so do not feel out of place because this is where we belong, sadly this is Singapore today.
Just sharing my personal experience. Though we need foreigners to a certain extent for construction, nursing, etc. But definitely not people who regard us as xxxx and despise us. Though we need to have competition to grow and globally no matter where we go… theres bound to be competition but what appalls me is the audacity of these new migrants in our country, where it now feels like we are the poor cowering migrants to the new masters of our home singapore.
so if there is a bench in hdb where we sit down to fill up forms and apply for BTO, of the 4 people sitting on the bench, one person is a new arrival invited by the govt to join in full citizenship privileges. i bet they’ll build more flats to let these 1 in 4 people co-apply together with the 3 of you old citizens. just you wait. long long.
Ms Huffnfuck is clearly an imbecile selected as an MP because she lick and carries balls and fart at Opposition. Seriously… Please be more construtive on your input. I am seriously sick of listening to MP who attack others opinion without putting forward theirs.
in last GE, i went to Aljunied GRC rally to sense the heat of singapore democracy. the enthusiastic scene was really impressive,i thought WP and Sylvia would surely win lah. Hahahahah…………………………………………
Yet, She still lost because majority of voters in that GRC still stood in favor of PAP candidates. same in nearly all other GRCs and SCs.
I am a foreigner happened to be in singapore for a few years. I feel so funny that you are now fiercely criticizing your MPs and Gov, but aren’t they elected by your votes? ah?!
I think it is you voters who deserve first to be criticized and dismissed instead of the elected MPs and ministers.
I look down you, a bunch of pitiful and pathetic kiasi sheep who can sell their political and democratic beliefs by some penny house upgrading, and repeated in-air promises that have never been reached.
I can say quite confidently while the date of next GE is not announced yet, you pig heads will vote PAP again in the end. because who else actually can you vote? I strongly advise those who shout to vote xxx out to stop shitting now, because after GE, you will find finally that you shit on your own.
Has anyone ever seen a well-dwelling frog had jumped out of the well? wahahahahahahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
no prize for guessing who is the decision maker of the FT policy . He knows that freak election is coming and hope the PRs will help him to win the election . He has made a very silly and bad mistake . he knows it .
Sylvia, thank-you for speaking up. I strongly suggest that all concerned takes her view seriously – for the good of Singapore.
Report have indicated that we have one of the lowest Domestic Purchasing Power in the world – although we have one of the highest GDP per capita. What this mean is that our quality and standard of living has declined very significantly.
Many Singaporean, as an individual or as a family must live in Singapore – they are subjected to the full impact of living standard here. Foreigners (PR, EP & WP holders) have a choice. They are here just to make money so that they can provide a better living standard to thier family back in their country – they spent very little and work very hard. This is doable because they are not subjected to the full impact of a higher cost living standard. They are strongly motivated because they see a bright future for themselves 3,5 or 10 years down the road – when they saved enough money to “go home” and live happily after there.
As Singaporean and being subjected to the full impact – we are now less fortunate.
Sylvia, would you like to ask if any of them know how many PRs you can squeeze into 1 flat? therefore would they like to calculate for us how many flats we need for them? and if they have time, can they later calculate how many we singaporeans need, if they’re so kind as to try building one or two for us?
The recent so-called “policy change” may be fake – to win the upcoming elections one. Among the senior ministers, I think Goh Chok Tong is the only one who still betrays a bit of his conscience (e.g. compare his letter to Kenneth Jeyaratnam to LHL about JBJ’s death). If he said there will be no “U-turns,” take is word for it. They will turn around and continue the pro-foreigner policy immediately after they win the elections again. S’poreans been fooled too many times liao. Having 65 year old retirees collect used dishes and wash public toilet, a national income disparity worse than USA are soon going to be as bad as having “your mother and sister become maid” (remember who said that?).
Spurs in PRs Ass on Fri, 5th Mar 2010 1:02 am
You are right on the dot.
The STUPID gahmen only create all these useless WDA and SPUR programmes so that there are businesses for their own people only (insider connection).
The reason for all these Indian PRs (usually women) applying for IT-based SPUR programmes is because they can teach their husbands at home. Most of all these imported (so claimed) IT Indians knows nothing about IT, they will be ashamed if they were to take up courses after obtaining their cert(fake) so their wives take up the course on their behalf.
Why now than she comments and criticize the profuse influx of foreigers? The “baking” of a timid “bitch” after relentless vehement on-line discussions of the netizens, in retrospect, sl should carry out some introspections how much she has done for the electorates whom have voted for her in the last “G-erection”, she is not any much better than gf her opponent from the ruling party! To be elected only to serve their selfish personal agendas!
@ suggestion
I watched that little exchange between LHL n LTK in you tube over n over again. I think LTK’s speech was clear that WKS should shoulder some responsibilities for MSK’s escape.
Did LHL not hear him? Had he been sleeping? daydreaming? Or Did LHL not understand that he had to ask again if LTK thought that WKS should resign? Such ashame then if LHL were too caught up in the heat of things and didn’t have a clear head to actually listen to LTK’s message.
I think it will be a slap across LHL’s face had LTK answered him and silence does not mean “that settle’s it” it probably meant “I’m glad he didn’t answer me.” A ‘Yes’ and will LHL sack WKS? A ‘NO’ does not solve the issue of lack of accountability either.
Anyway, the wait for LTK’s reply was too brief. LTK suggest WKS needs to shoulder some responsibilities but LHL asked if he thought that WKS should resign. Now, that will need to be given some careful thought.
LHL probably wants to get it over and done with asap and not humiliate PAP further. After all, it was the Home Team that did the mistake.
Bottomline, LTK’s intention was clear, WKS needs to shoulder some responsibilities. Whether WKS should resign or not, it is for the LHL to mull over, not LTK.
PAP MP Halimah Yacob who shot back:
“The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
There is no dignity in seeing someone old enough to be my grandmother having to clear tables at food centres or washing toilets just to make ends meet.
“The greatest dignity that we can give anyone is the dignity of having a job.”
This Halima woman reminds me of Woody Goh when he said
“We moron-in-white will take 8.8% and (maybe) give 3% to the rest of Singaporeans.”
I was shocked yesterday at ICA. I saw many foreigners with S’porean wife or husband applying for PRs. 1st they steal our jobs, than they still our daughters or sons, later they steal our HDB flats. Hope one day they steal our Gov.
Dear MP Sylvia Lim,
The PAP seems unusual to be so confident in supporting foreigners and new citizens in this recent debate in Parliament sittings.
All PAP MPs are speaking strongly in favor of new migrants with total disregard to Singaporeans feelings. This arouses my suspicion that the PAP might have already fielded many new migrants in large numbers into various constituencies in support of the coming GE.
Knowing our MM being an Military Inteligence Officer, he might have orchestra new migrants infiltration in large numbers even into Hougang and Potong Pasir and other GRCs to assure the PAP of a comfortable margin to return to power.
The ball is now in your court to counter these growing numbers.
Best wishes and good luck.
Peter Su