Of protectionism and skinheads.

It’s really amusing how the government’s encouraging Singaporeans to improve themselves through courses, and through upgrading courses, citing reasons that encompass reasons such as being more competitive, increasing their employability and making themselves on par, or better than the foreign ‘talents’ that’re slowly taking over every single job available on the market.

It’s really sad how I walk to the coffeeshop near my place, and I see Chinese PRC nationals clearing plates and sweeping the floor. It’s even sadder when I head to the toilet at SMRT train stations, and I see Chinese PRC nationals cleaning the toilets. It’s not sad simply because they’re Chinese PRCs, but more so because these jobs were once considered to be jobs for the elderly, a “fall back” plan if you may, for the aged and old, most if not all of whom are lowly (or not) educated or qualified for any other kind of jobs.

I do not disagree that it serves the nation well to encourage and promote healthy competition between the citizens and the foreigners, as only the best person for the job will ultimately get it. I do not disagree that it serves the company, and ultimately the nation well, to give absurdly high salaries to these foreigners for taking over positions within various companies, as this will encourage them to stay on and contribute to the country in the long run.

I do not disagree that we as citizens, ought to improve ourselves, and to ensure that we can meet competition head on, and prove our worth. In a way, we are obligated, if you may, to ensure that we are the best man/woman for the job, by making damned sure that we have the skills required and the abilities demanded by the job.

I do not disagree that we ought to serve up some form of elitism when it comes to finding the right man for the job. I do, however, disagree when foreigners are hired over Singaporeans for jobs simply because their salaries are cheaper. How does expecting a lower salary naturally translate into better job performance? It’s a given that all companies operate with only profit maximization in mind, but what about the rights and the lives of the locals? What happened to protecting the lives of the domestic citizens? Since when did profit maximization trample over the rights and the lives of locals?

It saddens me to see a Chinese PRC national serving me Teh-C at the coffeeshop in Clementi because somewhere out there, an elderly old man lost his chance to get a job serving Teh-C.

It saddens me to see a Chinese PRC national clearing plates the foodcourt in Lot1 because somewhere out there, an elderly old woman lost her chance to get a job clearing plates the foodcourt.

It saddens me to see Chinese PRC nationals replacing our aged and elderly because most of them will probably not be able to get a job anywhere else, and probably need the job more than any of the Chinese PRC nationals. This is Singapore today, built by the hands of yesteryear – hands belonging to the very same group of people vying for menial, unskilled jobs that once were rightfully theirs.

As many of our esteemed ministers have said, Singapore is not a welfare state, and to expect the state to give monthly handouts to them would be downright unfeasible – which is why these elderly folk are taking to the streets to work, earning minimum sum wages just to tide their last remaining years through without being too much of a burden on their children, most of which would probably belong to the lower/middle – middle income group. How can the government expect these elderly folk to survive if there’s no welfare handed out, and no jobs for them to take up?

The very same group of silver haired patriots built our nation from scratch, protected it when it came under siege, voted the people in power today in power back when the nation was politically unstable and weak.

Who will protect them the way they protected the nation when She cried for help?

Do we need domestic protection, the way the skinheads in the United States ‘protected’ the whites in rural areas? Do we need explicit xenophobia to get our point across? Do we need to sour ties and burn bridges, with citizens taking the law into their own hands, to ensure that the rights and lives of our citizens are protected?

The government was brought in to serve the people, and serve them well it has!

The government was also brought in to ensure that the rights of the citizens were not trampled on, for they are the walking ambassadors of the nation – does the trampling on the rights of citizen not equate to trampling on the rights of the nation as a whole?

The government was brought in to serve and to protect, so serve and protect already.

We, the citizens of Singapore.

We, the citizens of Singapore…

are nothing more than “mere mortals”.

we are “mollycoddled”.

we “spend too much in times of crisis”.

we do not understand what it means to have “long term investments”.

we bitch and gripe too much about excessive transportation fares, even though we’re fortunate enough to have world class transportation systems in place – SMRT.

we whine and complain about rising GST (Goods and services tax), yet splurge $5000 on a new LV handbag during the great singapore sale.

we lack the intellect that our leaders posses and thus should not question wise decisions made by them.

we are a ungrateful bunch, and complain about the “rising costs of living” when there are “no poor people living in Singapore”.

We, the citizens of Singapore…

are “mollycoddled”, just like the thousands of taxi drivers driving at night, bleary eyed.

“spend too much in times of crisis”, like the old woman at the coffeeshop near my place who spends extravagantly on a plate of white rice with vegetables and a glass of plain water.

do not understand “long term investments” because we lack the “intellect” possessed by those who make decisions.

“bitch and whine about the rising transportation fees” because we’d rather drive our Mercedes Benz to work, much like how the CEO of SMRT does every day without fail.

“complain about rising GSTs” because the old uncle living above me has to think twice before buying his usual meat from the wet market because it has risen in price.

are an ungrateful bunch because we are too used to living in comfort – with GST implementations aimed at helping the poor, rising COE prices for us to afford cars, ERP gantries to grant us smooth and pleasant journeys towards town so that we could blow our 2 month paycheck on a LV handbag.

we are myopic, because there are no poor people in Singapore except for the few “ungrateful” individuals who refuse to upgrade their skills or find a job, much like the old lady i see sleeping on the benches near my house, or the old man who carries all his belongings in a tattered bag that serves as his pillow at night.

we are ignorant, because we have made the decision and kept THEM in power.

we are foolish, because we’re made to believe (and we do!) that their word is good as gold, and their decisions unquestionable.

we are helpless, because we made ourselves helpless, and because we have not yet found the balls to speak up, to step up, and to say, “Hey, its time that you guys moved on. It’s time that we chose who we want to be in power. It’s time for we, the citizens of Singapore, to make a stand, and to make an informed decision.”

It’s time for us, the citizens of Singapore, to leave our mollycoddled, ignorant, selfish and ungrateful lives behind, and to do what we have been encouraged to do, and to take control of our lives.