Is it in your interest to vote for PAP? (Part 1)

(source: The Temasek Review)

The following is a chat between husband and wife on the general election. Mrs Tan is a die-hard supporter of PAP. She has given her vote to PAP since day one. She is often impatient when her husband speaks against PAP. The husband has not made up his mind yet but is moving towards the opposition. He is a rational man given to cool calculations.

Mr Tan:
The general election is just round the corner. This election will be crucial to the fate of many Singaporeans, especially to us.

Mrs Tan:
Why so special this time?

Mr Tan:
Look around you. Don’t you feel the presence of foreigners overwhelming?

Mrs Tan:
The statistics show that 36.4% of the population are foreigners. http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2010acr/key_demographic_trends.pdf
We are still in the majority.

Mr Tan:
Most foreigners come here for our jobs to make money while our citizens has a sizable group of non-working old and young. Therefore, the working population is probably much higher than 36.4%. So many Singaporeans have already complained about being the minority group in the office, working with foreigners and working under foreigners. If the manager is a foreigner, he will hire people of his own nationality/race to strengthen his political base and alienate other groups(native Singaporeans) which do not belong. Once the number of foreigners reach a critical mass, we will be permanently sidelined as a group in the workplace.

This is why the coming election is so crucial. Once the influx of foreigners reaches a critical mass, we will be forever sidelined.

Bosses are humans too and playing favouritism is a human tendency. If bosses prefer their own kind, our job prospects will cease to be secure even if we are good at our jobs. Either we lose our jobs when times are bad or we lose the promotion when times are good.

Mrs Tan:
Don’t be paranoid. Anyway, the figure is only 36.4%. Still a long way to go before the critical mass is reached.

Mr Tan:
The critical mass is not far. The 36.4% is misleading. New citizens are also counted as Singaporen citizens. Be honest with yourself. Can you really accept them as citizens when they have not done their fair share of National Service but expect to receive the same privileges as us Native Singaporeans?

New citizens are in fact more damaging to our interests than the PRs. At least PRs do not get the same amount of subsidies. New citizens jump aboard when the going is good, expect to receive the same amount of goodies but did not make the proportional sacrifice that Native Citizens have done. Is this fair to us Native Singaporeans who have done National Service? The government has further insulted us by spending tens of millions of taxpayers’ money to integrate them into Singapore. Why can they expect Native Singaporeans to accept them with such unfairness not corrected?

In this coming election, we have to send a strong message to the Government that we are serious about the influx of foreigners. If the government does not take us seriously and continue this influx unabated, we will become minorities in the workplace. This will certainly not be to our interest.

Mrs Tan:
Don’t be silly. Why would it be in the government’s interest to bring in the foreigners to replace us? With the smart people working there, surely they must know that this will cost them votes. How can our government be so stupid? Do you know our Ministers are paid millions and high-ranking civil servants hundreds of thousands per year?

Mr Tan:
Of course they are way smarter than me. They are just smart when it comes to serving their own interests.

Do you think they will place the country’s interest above their own? Their salaries and bonuses are pegged to GDP growth. Hence, they will pursue GDP growth to the detriment of the citizens’ interests for the sake of their own interests. The easiest way to achieve GDP growth is to open the floodgates for the foreigners to come in. This is why you see the quality of foreigners in recent years degenerating from acceptable talents to cheap replacements.

A society can only accept so many foreigners before it loses its own sense of identity, even if the foreigners are real talents. As if this is not bad enough, our government is worsening matters by letting the cheap replacements come in. GDP growth at any cost, as long as it boosts their year-end bonuses.

Mrs Tan:
Haven’t you read the news lately? The government is reducing the influx of foreigners this year.

Mr Tan:
This is because the election is coming. Are you sure the government will not resume the foreigner influx after the election? Lee Kuan Yew recently blamed Singaporeans’ negative attitude towards foreigners influx as the cause of slower growth this year. If this is how he feels now, he will surely resume or even boost the foreigners influx after the election.
http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/02/15/mm-lee-blames-singaporeans-for-slower-groth-this-year/

Remember how the government raise GST and their own salaries soon after the 2006 election? Would you prefer to believe someone based on what they say or what they have done?

Mrs Tan:
So, what do you suggest we do?

Mr Tan:
We have to send a strong message to the government to tell them we mean business this time round. To do that, we have to hit where it hurts. The only time ordinary mortals we can exert some influence over the elites is on election day. The government has set a cooling-off day to let us decide rationally. Vote wisely this time.

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