Foreigners

Hi,

Recently, there has been a lot of unrest among Singaporeans saying that there are too many foreigners who have immigrated to Singapore, because they take away privileges that should belong to "true Singaporeans". I would like to express my views on this issue and suggest some initiatives that Singapore can take.

There are two types of foreigners in Singapore: foreign talent and foreign workers. Foreign talents are those that are highly-skilled and have the capability to work in white-collar jobs. On the other hand, foreign workers are foreigners who take up jobs that are unwanted, like construction workers and domestic helpers. Nowadays, more and more foreign workers are entering Singapore to find jobs to provide for their families back home. The same goes for foreign talent. This has resulted in the problem of a rapid population growth and puts a lot of strain on Singapore's already limited resources. For example, the public transports are now very packed during peak hours and almost every cabin has at least one foreigner getting ready to go to work. Some Singaporeans also accuse foreigners of bringing their poor hygiene standards into Singapore ad taking up jobs that Singaporeans are capable of doing, which worsens the unemployment rate. As time goes by, some foreigners also decide to stay here for good and buy housing units, which further drives up property prices. The most important problem that Singaporeans point out is that Singapore will lose its national identity and they do not feel proud to be Singaporeans with this huge influx of foreginers. As such, foreigners are targeted, but foreign talents tend to be victimised more than foreign workers.

In my opinion, I feel that this huge influx of immigrants is definitely a problem for Singapore because I agree that many of them take up our jobs, houses and identity. I just have to step out of my front door to see the huge extent of this influx. Out of four units on the floor that I am living in, half of them are owned by families who immigrated from China. However, I have to say that it is a stereotype to say that foreigners have lousier hygiene standards compared to us. We need to also look on the bright side of the matter and see how foreigners contribute to our economic sector. For example, look at Aleksander Duric, Shi Jiayi, Qiu Li, Mustafic Fahrudin and Daniel Bennett. They were all foreigners once but they toiled their hearts out to allow Singapore to enter the 3rd round of the World Cup qualifiers. Furthermore, since the foreigners are already here, it would be very cruel to send them back and Singaporeans will aggravate the situation by creating tension between "true" and "foreign" Singaporeans. Therefore, I think everyone has a role to play to minimise the negative effects of the influx of foreigners and instead use this to our advantage.

Firstly, I think that the government should enforce stricter laws on immigration to Singapore because we need to curb the number of people coming in. The government should also encourage companies to hire locals first, before considering foreigners to join the company. On a community level, I think that organisations should organise some activities for locals and foreigners to interact so that Singaporeans can understand the foreigners' situations, which will aid in promoting social cohesion. Finally, I hope that individuals can become more tolerant and understanding towards these foreigners and recognise their contributions, just like how I respect the construction workers for their silent enduring of the hard work that they do.

In conclusion, I think that the influx of foreign workers is a serious problem that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. However, things can be done to bring out the potential of these foreigners.