Monday, October 17, 2011

'Stuck' ...'Stifling'...Singapore

I was on a bus last week and overheard two teenage students talking. They are studying in local government schools as I can gathered from their uniform. One is a Canadian Chinese while the other from India. The Indian girl was telling her friend that as long as her kid brother does not become PR or take up citizenship, he need not do NS. Sigh - her brother is probably around 10 years old and her family is already planning for his escape. The Indian girl then lamented that she is 'stuck' in Singapore, while the other said the country is 'stifling'.

These are the feelings of youngsters from new immigrant families who the government welcome and try to integrate. They are doomed to fail. These foreign students prefer to mix amongst themselves. They miss their motherland and their heart is not here. When they grow up, they will return to their homeland or migrate to some other countries.

Our government is in denial. They are pouring millions into integration programs for new immigrants. They offer generous scholarships to foreign students and subsidies their education in S'pore. All these efforts and money could have been put to better use to benefit local students and the disadvantages.

Our elderly are working in their twilight years, struggling to make ends meet have been so glaring that it not only sadden most of us, but also surprise foreigners. This is a side of S'pore they don't expect to see. After all, the city projects a 'wealthy' and 'clean' image of 1st world country, that even beggars do not 'exist' on our streets.

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