The global trend

[littlefish]

Just wanted to inform SGreans of what I have been observing.

In the past, people tend to stick to one job and lived in one country for most of their lives. Then came the age when people would job-hop for better conditions. Recently, the trend of people moving from country to country is getting stronger. I think it started with the EU but it is now very common in most first world countries.

For SGreans, the message is this. If you think you can live comfortably in SG your whole life, you might be in for a rude shock. Nowadays, if you do not have the ability to work in multiple countries, you will most likely encounter a lot of hardship and be very resentful of foreigners. Although it is true that most countries do not have as high a proportion of foreigners as SG, people in first world countries are very mobile nowadays. If you are young and do not want to be left behind in this global trend, I suggest that you pack your bags and head for a first world country to experience life there rather than cocoon yourself in a fake democracy like SG.

There is also the reason why SG needs foreigners. The only problem is that they are getting too many and mostly, the wrong kind of foreigners.

 

[scroobal]

Singaporeans should have understood this trend better than any other nationals of other countries as Singapore is clearly impacted by it. Foreigners from all over the world are taking up jobs across all sectors from the high end to lowly paid cleaners. Even the ubiquitous clerk, the traditional preserve of locals are open to foreigners despite it requiring no special skill. The only exception is the taxi vocation.

Some have realised that and have moved to pursue careers and business in foreign countries from China to Canada.

Those who are resistent to recognising this trend or are in self denial are those that are unable to move for the lack of qualification, held back by family commitments and worse still held back by the belief that government and PAP will continue to provide the trappings of a well run nation. The fact that Singapore is run along corporate lines, with obvious coporate and economic markers rather than markers that measure the march to nationhood and a viable country is lost to them.

PAP MP Tan Cheng Bock did one major favour for this country and he fought hell and highwater to get it - unlock CPF to finance overseas education. This enabled the younger ones to see the world and realise the opportunities that are there.

It never fails to amaze me that we still have locals that think that Singapore is ahead of 1st world nations and still talk about how save Singapore is. The fact that for the first time, middle aged Singaporeans are displaced in mid career, the neighbourhood taking on a profile of a 3rd world ghetto, the infrastructure slowly giving way does not seem to resonate with this lot.


As one pundit said in a closed door seminar at a Bukit Timah Campus last week that if the trend continues, most people will eventually wake up and make the move. The ones who will remain are the retirees, PAP staunch followers, Church going zealots who have a false sense of confidence purely by listening to one another and their faith, the Malays who are consider this their land and the vast majority of foreigners working here but would be planning their retirement in their home or another country.

 

[Leongsam]

http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?p=317554#post317554

 

[littlefish]

Those who are resistent to recognising this trend or are in self denial are those that are unable to move for the lack of qualification, held back by family commitments and worse still held back by the belief that government and PAP will continue to provide the trappings of a well run nation. The fact that Singapore is run along corporate lines, with obvious coporate and economic markers rather than markers that measure the march to nationhood and a viable country is lost to them.

Precisely. Maybe twenty years ago, it would have been alright to tie yourself to this tiny piece of island perpetually for your whole life. But now, the mere idea is ridiculous and suicidal. With the huge population, there is no way the island can be turned into some tropical paradise where the locals get by simply by fishing and/or tourism income.

We can no longer begrudge people who choose to move elsewhere as it is now imperative for their survival. Either they get used to deteriorating conditions (with or without PAP) or they pack up and move. It is stupid to believe that paying exorbitant salaries to people for running the country will ensure that you have a good life (maybe not so much belief but the feeling of helplessness). It is this stupidity that will sink SG ultimately.

If LKY saying that they need to stick spurs into SGreans' hides is not enough motivation for these people to learn more about the world, I don't what is. Despite the tagline, you can't learn enough about the world by sitting at home and watching Discovery or NatGeo.

 

[zuoom]

Singapore is more of a City than a Country.

many major cities around the world have a population that's bigger than Singapore's 5M ~ approx.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_proper_by_population

it probably need to double that figure to be "self sustaining", and not overly dependant on tourism income. that's from personal observation of the cities that i visited. all were above the 10M mark. (some not reflected on wiki as above 10M, but the locals would say otherwise.)

the idea of staying mobile is not new. in war, it pays to be mobile. you can do first strike, or blitz warfare, or even flee n run (stay alive, live to fight another day). likewise, in present time.

as for "wrong kind of foreigners". as long as they consume and adds value to the economy here. then there's no wrong .... even when they sometimes displace the locals from their job.

in the past, the local guys probably just had to complete with the region best. ie: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand etc...
now, it's the world stage. the best n the brighest will come, and probably go. ie: springboard stage.

 

[littlefish]

as for "wrong kind of foreigners". as long as they consume and adds value to the economy here. then there's no wrong .... even when they sometimes displace the locals from their job.

in the past, the local guys probably just had to complete with the region best. ie: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand etc...
now, it's the world stage. the best n the brighest will come, and probably go. ie: springboard stage.

From my conversations with many people, I will tell you straight off that SG is nowehere near the top of their list of choice work locations. It is only when they can't find good jobs in cities like New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, etc that they start looking at SG. That does not mean they are no good at all but it means that SG is still not able to get the best talents and is constantly losing out to these cities (worse, it is losing its own good people at a horrendous rate and they are not coming back). The point still stands that having too many of such people does not help the common man in the street. It only helps those who rent out their investment properties to these people. Even if SG were to grow to a size to rival the cities I mentioned, its attractiveness will only decrease rather than increase due to the space constraint.

 

[zuoom]

yes. Singapore is not the top destination to be. but as a gateway, it's ok. 1-3 years turnaround.

yup, we are experiencing "brain drain". the brightest here is typically the most mobile. personally know of a local guy who's scored perfect 1600 SAT (old system) and he's not staying here for too long. he's idea is to go to the states and expand his business. and another guy is in UK for his work, citing research opportunity.

but oddly enough, they still consider this little island as home. probably due to family n some friends issue. but that will change if they can get their family to be mobile also. the older members might have an issue as they have spend pretty much their entire life here. that issue though, will lesser with their passing n the next gen would probably have slightly less attachment/baggage.

i get what you mean when you mentioned the common man on the street. and i'm afraid some of them will definitely be left behind. there's no doubt about it.

 

[IWC2006]

From my conversations with many people, I will tell you straight off that SG is nowehere near the top of their list of choice work locations. It is only when they can't find good jobs in cities like New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, etc that they start looking at SG. That does not mean they are no good at all but it means that SG is still not able to get the best talents and is constantly losing out to these cities (worse, it is losing its own good people at a horrendous rate and they are not coming back). The point still stands that having too many of such people does not help the common man in the street. It only helps those who rent out their investment properties to these people. Even if SG were to grow to a size to rival the cities I mentioned, its attractiveness will only decrease rather than increase due to the space

Its the low income tax attracts them to be here especially now with the global financial system still being cleaned up in the US and UK, Spore does preceived as a good alternative (apart from HK) as the destination for those in the banking & finance industry. However, once they are here, they would wish they never step-in the first place. Spore is just a 'hub', and a hub can move anywhere, Spore by itself has a very small market and its financial system are nowhere close to the depth and breadth of the western world, not even close to HK (just compare the trade volume and exchange houses in Spore vs hk). The 3 local banks are literally unknown outside the country.

 

[Leongsam]

Another typical sinkie... A golden opportunity for overseas training and he wants to cop out!

http://www.sammyboyforum.com/matters-heart/170187-resistant-job-change-tagged.html

Resistant to Job Change? [Tagged]
<hr style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" size="1"> Hi Bros,

I just change my job, until now, almost 2 weeks already, still feeling miserable everyday in my new company. next week, company say sending me to overseas for training, however i miss my family.

When i took up the job, they say not much travel, but i forgot to ask each travel how long. until my first travel date a couple of weeks later, then say stay in the canada for 1 months...OMG

however the job got very good propect.

Fucking hell, now thinking whether to quit or not..

 

[kiwibird7]

The IRONY to all that is SM GCT used to praise the 'STAYERS' as the "BAH SI BUAY CHOW" and deride the opportunistic ex-S'poreans as 'QUITTERS'. SM GCT is and was such a hypocrite; when his own daughter is resident in UK! And the PAP is still so HUNG UP and secretive on DUAL CITIZENSHIP.

It now seems the 'STAYERS' (BAH SI BUAY CHOW) are now on the losing end and becoming marginalised even in their own country of birth.

See how 'enlightened' and 'honest' NZ DPM Bill English is;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3347066/Fly-the-nest-Englishs-advice-to-kids/
FLY THE NEST - English's Advice to Kids
Finance Minister Bill English says he would not discourage his children from moving overseas to live until they are 30.

Mr English, a father of six, made the comments yesterday at the Finance 2010 event, hosted by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Massey University, where concerns were voiced about young Kiwis heading overseas to chase greater opportunities.
He noted his daughter was currently competing in a debating competition in Qatar with students from 70 to 80 countries. She was an 18-year-old whose head was filled with ideas of global citizenship.

Most young New Zealanders were "globally attractive human resources" because they were practical, hard-working, well-educated and had a good way with people.
"So I'd tell them that I'm going off to work to make sure that when they're 30 they're back here to raise their kids."

 

[scroobal]

Good and accurate points - a hub and that it can move anywhere. It would have been good if the PAP had focused on both the economy and building a nation. They did that in the first 2 decades but began focusing solely on the Economy and ignored nation building aside.

There is no a glue to hold the people together.

Spore is just a 'hub', and a hub can move anywhere, .

 

[littlefish]

Another typical sinkie... A golden opportunity for overseas training and he wants to cop out!

http://www.sammyboyforum.com/matters-heart/170187-resistant-job-change-tagged.html

You will be surprised at how many SGreans have never lived outside of SG by themselves for more than 2 weeks (not counting NS because with NS, you are still accompanied by familiar faces).

 

[scroobal]

It seem that are 2 systems - one for them and another for the rest of the Singaporeans. It common knowledge that many of their kids are working overseas. That the reason why all this ambiguity over dual citizenship.

Also concur with your comments that Singaporeans are marginalised. The irony is that its their own country.

The IRONY to all that is SM GCT used to praise the 'STAYERS' as the "BAH SI BUAY CHOW" and deride the opportunistic ex-S'poreans as 'QUITTERS'. SM GCT is and was such a hypocrite; when his own daughter is resident in UK! And the PAP is still so HUNG UP and secretive on DUAL CITIZENSHIP.

It now seems the 'STAYERS' (BAH SI BUAY CHOW) are now on the losing end and becoming marginalised even in their own country of birth.

 

[neddy]

Most young New Zealanders were "globally attractive human resources" because they were practical, hard-working, well-educated and had a good way with people. [/COLOR]
"So I'd tell them that I'm going off to work to make sure that when they're 30 they're back here to raise their kids."

My Kiwi ex-colleague is returning to his NZ South Island roots.

He is packed with riches and goodies from his overseas exploit and will do a world tour before semi-retirement in NZ.

Strange, he always considered the North Island - another place.

 

[jw5]

Just wanted to inform SGreans of what I have been observing.

In the past, people tend to stick to one job and lived in one country for most of their lives. Then came the age when people would job-hop for better conditions. Recently, the trend of people moving from country to country is getting stronger. I think it started with the EU but it is now very common in most first world countries.

For SGreans, the message is this. If you think you can live comfortably in SG your whole life, you might be in for a rude shock. Nowadays, if you do not have the ability to work in multiple countries, you will most likely encounter a lot of hardship and be very resentful of foreigners. Although it is true that most countries do not have as high a proportion of foreigners as SG, people in first world countries are very mobile nowadays. If you are young and do not want to be left behind in this global trend, I suggest that you pack your bags and head for a first world country to experience life there rather than cocoon yourself in a fake democracy like SG.

There is also the reason why SG needs foreigners. The only problem is that they are getting too many and mostly, the wrong kind of foreigners.

I have worked and lived in other countries as well, so I know what it's like to be a foreigner in a foreign country and perhaps can empathize a little with the foreigners in SG.
But I can't seem to empathize with our extremely well paid government, who seem to think that their policies are always right and for everybody's benefit, when that is clearly not the case.

 

[chewed]

Good and accurate points - a hub and that it can move anywhere. It would have been good if the PAP had focused on both the economy and building a nation. They did that in the first 2 decades but began focusing solely on the Economy and ignored nation building aside.

There is no a glue to hold the people together.

focus on the economy? they are not doing it well either

 

[scroobal]

I stand corrected. They are screwing that up as well.

focus on the economy? they are not doing it well either

 

[tanwahtiu]

Elite Singaporeans have been sending their children in doves to overseas universities all over the world. These so call oversea graduates are just a bunch of 'text book students', know only how to pass exams and finish the studies quickly, but are dumbhead when comes to creativity.

Or perhaps, it is the Leegime ISA system that do not encourage these return students to be creative (from what they learn overseas). Therefore, they will leave for better places that allow freedom of speech and creativity to flow unrestricted.

'It never fails to amaze me that we still have locals that think that Singapore is ahead of 1st world nations and still talk about how save Singapore is.

[COLOR=_______]Singaporeans have high savings too and is a safe country.... hehehehe[/COLOR]

 

[littlefish]

But I can't seem to empathize with our extremely well paid government, who seem to think that their policies are always right and for everybody's benefit, when that is clearly not the case.

That is LKY's legacy. He knows what is good for you better than you yourself and he prefers to be feared rather than loved (I can't fault him for the latter view). His views may be accepted wholesale when the population was a lot less educated but not only are they unacceptable today, they are extremely outdated. The man may be very clever but he has a huge ego as well which will be his downfall. If he had the sense to step down earlier, all the dirty politics he played to consolidate his power might be forgiven but now, there is no way he can escape the stain of ignominy.