Why Singaporeans’ fear of new immigrants is not ‘irrational’

AT the first anniversary celebration dinner of Crossroads, a segment in the Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao on new immigrants and citizens, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Hwee Hwa spoke of the need to ‘avoid developing irrational fears’ of foreigners by Singaporeans, and instead stressed on the need to embrace them collectively in our society.

Ms. Lim Hwee Hwa’s comments came after a series of strong vitriolic criticisms against the increasing influx of foreigners into Singapore, now composing more than one-third of Singapore’s total population.

Pointing out that these foreigners add ‘color and vibrancy’ to our country, two new permanent residents were cited as examples of how new citizenry contributed to in more ways than one to well-being of Singapore. Of them, Mr. Welkers, a managing directory of a software bundling company, was commended for his voluntary contributions to the Toa Payoh neighbourhood police post, totalling some 40-50 hours a month.

The fear of this influx of foreigners by ordinary Singaporeans, in this sense, was ‘irrational’ for Ms. Lim.

What kinds of new immigrants are Singaporeans fearful of?

The on-going debate regarding the influx of foreigners in Singapore will stand to benefit if we can take the simple step of differentiating between the kinds of new immigrants in Singapore.  By coalescing the different kinds of new immigrants in Singapore together, there is not only a sense in which both sides of the debate are talking at different things altogether, but it will also lead to an oversimplification of the complex reality on the ground.

It is highly doubtable that the ordinary Singaporean is fearful of foreigners such as Mr. Stijn Welkers from the Netherlands, a managing director of a software bundling company, and Mr Jim Rogers, an American investor and financial commentator as mentioned in the reports.

Much of Singapore’s economy hinges on the inflow of foreign investments into the country, and surely most if not all Singaporeans would gladly welcome these ‘new immigrants’ to startup a company in their shores and then subsequently creating new jobs for the locals.

Singaporeans by and large are not xenophobic. As mentioned, Singapore was originally a country of immigrants who came from areas as diverse as India and China. Growing up in a country of extant religious and racial diversity, most Singaporeans are able not only to understand other differences in culture, but also to accept them as part of the manifold threads of the Singapore social fabric.

The ‘foreigners’ that Singaporeans are fearful of are those who easily enter their shores without serving any concomitant duties such as National Service and yet access highly similar or equal privileges in comparison. These foreigners typically enter the workforce at the middle or lower level and are able to work for a pointedly less amount than the ordinary Singaporean, for the Singaporean dollar when exchanged to their local currencies would be able to fetch very much more.

For new immigrants such as Mr. Welkers and Mr. Rogers, most Singaporeans would surely give them a pack on their back and say a warm ‘thank you’ for not only investing in our country and creating jobs, but also contributing in remarkably sincere ways such as volunteering at a police post.

It is foreigners such as Zhang Yuan Yuan, however, that enter our shores and enjoy the fruits of our educational system on local scholarships, and not only gained permanent residency in roughly 5 years of her time here, but also obtained a job at a MNC in Singapore, before readily putting down Singapore on China’s State TV that are the real ire of Singaporeans.

Trickling down from Ms. Zhang’s example are countless of immigrants easily obtaining employment at various places such as credit card call centers, restaurants, banks and other firms in the professional fields. A high amount of students from other countries have also obtained places at local universities and other educational institutions.

Singaporeans are not xenophobic, but are merely saying that the government of Singapore that they have placed their trust in and elected must serve to protect their interests first. In a tiny country such as ours, the middle class Singaporean is being squeezed out of employment opportunities, not by the likes of Mr. Rogers and Mr. Welkers, but by the class of foreigners that Ms. Lim has neglected to refer to.

While tiny steps are taken to sharpen this citizen-PR divide and to restrict the inflow of Singaporeans, it is certainly not helpful to label the Singaporeans’ fear of new immigrants as being ‘irrational’.

For the Singaporean that has to wake up before 7.30am every morning, only to squeeze on board the MRT train and buses with ‘new immigrants’, work his life away at a colorless office for fear of losing his job to these ‘new immigrants’, before returning to the very same train/bus in the late evening, sweaty body to sweaty body with them again, the frustration is definitely not irrational.

It is an experience that one who travels to work in the comfort of a BMW or Mercedez-Benz, one whose job is never being threatened, will never truly understand.