Foreign workers causing social problem in Singapore

Straits Times reported on Sunday “Foreign workers at void decks leaves residents seething”. I concur with the report as I am one of the frustrated residents living in the area. In the report, residents staying along Jurong West Street 61 complained that groups of Indian foreign workers have been gathering at the void deck of Blk 651A during weekends, drinking beer bought at the nearby mini-mart and are normally quite rowdy and when they get drunk, they would urinate or sleep wherever they like and might even get into fights among themselves and with residents.

However, what Straits Times reported is only part of the big social problem that we face in the area. I shall illustrate my experience here.

At the end of the corridor of my flat unit, there is a unit which is occupied by a group of Indian foreign workers (They could be Sri Lankans but I can’t confirm as I don’t communicate with them at all). It is supposedly rented by their employers to house the 6 to 8 of them.

What irks me is not them being Indians (I am not a racist) but the problem is that they are usually quite noisy at night. As they are on weird work shifts, probably starting at around 3 or 4pm, they would normally not sleep before 3am. They would watch TV and VCD or talk loudly in the house. Sometimes, they would even walk out of the flat and start talking on their mobile phones during the wee hours.

You might wonder why we don’t make a complaint to HDB which, as far as I know, rents out flats under 2-year contracts to employers of foreign workers. Yes we did, few years ago and we managed to get rid of the previous occupants because they were even worse – some walking around in the house in underwear. We are already thinking of complaining to HDB about this batch of foreign workers because we are suspecting them of allowing unauthorised workers to stay in the same house but we are keeping watch over the situation as we do not want any over-reactions.

Apart from the problem at my block, Boon Lay Interchange, which is near the reported Blk 651A, is another location where you would see foreign workers congregating in public places. They do not gather in small groups of 3 to fives like in the Blk 651A situation. The problem at the interchange is somewhat more serious.

During the night of every weekend or public holiday, hundreds or may be a thousand of foreign workers (mostly if not all Indian nationals) congregate over a large area stretching from the rectangular open space in front of the MRT Station to the periphery of the interchange and the overhead bridge leading to the new park which is currently under-construction (See the picture obtained from Streetdirectory.com). They normally do not drink there but the amount of litter they leave behind is a lot. You can take a look at the areas on Monday mornings. Really unsightly and unhygenic.

I am trying to heed PM Lee’s advice to be understanding towards foreign workers but this social problem involving foreign workers in Singapore has been affecting us for years and there seems to be no perfect solution to our frustrating problem. Repeated complaints to MPs do not work. So we are in a Catch 22 situation where on one hand, we take in more foreign workers (estimated to be 50,000 more over the next few years) to boost our economic development but on the other hand, we tax-paying Singaporeans are forced to share more of our common spaces with foreign workers who behave so differently from the majority of us.

Educating them would also not have the intended effect as most of them are on short-term contracts so when a batch of foreign workers finally learns our social habits, it’s time for them to leave and the next batch which knows nuts about our culture and habits takes over.

Voting against the government to show our displease in the poor handling of this situation would not work either as the areas affected are only a fraction of West Coast GRC and Hong Kah GRC. Worse still, oppositions don’t seem to be interested in the western GRCs. Seriously, so what can we do other than shifting house?

I need to be Liu Xiang to jump over your high hurdles

To quote MCYS Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan from the Straits Times article:

“I would rather have high political hurdles, so that anybody who seriously enters the contest is a good, strong, honest person, willing to pay the price and able to withstand the scrutiny of the public.”

Oh my, I am so attracted to the term “high political hurdles”. It really reminds me of Liu Xiang, the Chinese world and Olympic record holder in 110m hurdles. The PAP has set many “hurdles” for the oppositions to jump over over the years, all the way to Parliament.

The GRC system is one. Although I do agree it is difficult to elect minority MPs into the Parliament because I think the majority Chinese will naturally vote for a fellow Chinese even if both the candidates are of same calibre, it is ridiculous to increase the size of a GRC from a 3-member in 1984 to the current 5 or 6-member GRC. I do not understand the rationale behind the setting of this “high political hurdle” when the percentage of minorities in our society stands at around 25%. Shouldn’t 4-member GRCs be enough to ensure the representation of all races in our Parliament to be proportionally similar to that of Singapore’s population even when we take into consideration of SMCs which are historically contested by Chinese?

Next, election deposits are forever increasing to match about 8% of the total annual salary of a MP in the preceding year. While it is important that we set reasonably high election deposits to prevent “clowns” or “monkeys” from contesting to cheapen the election process, there is really no need to make it so high (S$13,500) for a SMC and an unbelievable total of S$81,000 for a 6-member GRC. How would “willing to pay the price” make one a good candidate? Must we judge a person’s worth first (his ability to foot the election deposit) before we consider if he is compassionate enough to represent us?

There are many other things which I need to rant on the topic of “high political hurdles” but it is getting really late and I do need my precious sleep while I count my sheeps in my dreams. Fear not, I will not set too high a hurdle for them to jump over while I count my worthy sheeps.

WP chief sets target of winning GRC in next election

THE Workers' Party (WP) aims to achieve a breakthrough in Singapore politics by winning a GRC in the next General Election, said its leader Low Thia Khiang last night.

The task is 'a must', said the Hougang MP, if Singaporeans want its parliamentary democracy to function properly.

'In my view, as long as the opposition is unable to secure a breakthrough in a GRC, the opposition remains a marginal player and at risk of extinction one day,' he told about 700 people at a dinner to celebrate the WP's 50th anniversary.

'Any talk of checks and balances and alternative government would be just talk, let alone the dream of seeing an opposition party winning an election and taking over the government like in mature Western democracies.'

The dinner, held at the Fortunate Restaurant in Toa Payoh, was a lively occasion, with people seated at 67 tables.

Guests included the wife and son of the WP founder, the late Mr David Marshall - Jean, 81, and academic Jonathan, 38, - along with leaders of other opposition parties such as Mr Chiam See Tong of the Singapore Democratic Alliance and the National Solidarity Party's Sebastian Teo.

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam, the WP leader before Mr Low took over the helm in 2001, was absent.

Since the GRC was introduced in 1988 to ensure minority representation in Parliament, no opposition party has won such a group representation constituency, which has at least three seats.

Its introduction has divided elections into two leagues, said Mr Low, who is the WP secretary-general.

The first league is the GRC and the second is the single member constituency (SMC) where no opposition candidate has unseated an incumbent since 1991.

He slammed the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) for redrawing electoral boundaries to dissolve SMCs and create new ones.

Now, even single wards are hard to win for the opposition as the PAP fields office-holders such as ministers of state, or incumbent MPs with strong grassroots support, he observed.

'If the situation continues, the opposition will be significantly weakened and its ability to contest elections to allow Singaporeans to exercise their political rights will be affected.'

He is, however, optimistic that there is a general aspiration among Singaporeans for the opposition to thrive.

This aspiration has not materialised because of the ruling party's moves to limit political space and change election ground rules, among others, he said. But he acknowledged that it is also due to voters not having enough confidence in the opposition.

'For those who feel that WP is not up to the mark, how about coming forward to do some public service? I challenge the critics of WP to join the Workers' Party to make it better,' he said.

Both Mr Low and party chairman Sylvia Lim paid tribute to veteran members - including former party chairman Tan Bin Seng and former organising secretary Ng Ah Chwee - who made 'great sacrifices' for the party.

Speaking to reporters at the dinner, Mr Chiam, the MP for Potong Pasir, welcomed Mr Low's bid for a GRC win.

'The fact that the opposition has not grown shows that the PAP has put obstacles in the way.

'I believe we must win a GRC. If he wants to, he should get the strongest team,' he said, adding that he would not rule out joining forces with Mr Low.

The article was written by Peh Shing Huei & Jeremy Au Yong. Reproduced from the Straits Times