In an interview at the end of the 20th Asean Summit in Phnom Penh, he raised his concerns about these two trends.
A 'self-centred' Not-In-My-Backyard syndrome that has been increasingly seen among some vocal Singaporeans,
and what appears to be a growing gap between Singaporeans and new immigrants.
He cited the example of angry reactions to Chinese student Sun Xu who has apologised for derogatory comments about Singaporeans.
He mentioned that "we should have been able to move on from that ..."
So, fellow Singaporeans, do you think we are???
It is not realistic to expect modern society to be selfless or even gracious people. Especially one such as ours.
Up till recently Singapore is so open to foreigners to the extend of giving away PR and citizenships like cheap candies. So much so we have so many foreigners who comes here, not so much grateful for the opportunity to grow and develop themselves; but rather with an entitlement mentality. They are ever ready to criticize, or even insult the very host country that has treated them exceedingly well.
Which country in the world offers such VIP treatment to aliens?
To survive in this kind of harsh environment, where the children of the land - those who are burned and grew up here, are disadvantaged compared to the aliens; where we are told we should "integrate" with the aliens, instead of they integrate with our norms; it's just normal for people to become self centered.
To protect their own turf, and whatever that is left of their own dignity.