TODAYonline | Singapore | The 'Singaporean core' must remain, PM says

TODAYonline | Singapore | The 'Singaporean core' must remain, PM says

Over your pineapple tarts and CNY gambling, do think about this question:

"Exactly what is the percentage of true-red Singaporeans in Singapore?"

The 5 million population in Singapore we hear so often is made up of the following (based on my own rough estimates. It is difficult to get exact official figures:

True-Red Singaporeans are those who have been born and bred in Singapore, i.e. someone who has never had a non-Singaporean citizen status. This group of True-Red Singaporeans currently stands at around 2.2 million, out of the 5 million population.

In other words, true-red Singaporeans are a minority within our own sunny isle. And with more aged Singaporeans than Singaporean babies, True-Red Singaporeans are indeed a critically endangered species.

There are other races/states of people who are like us. E.g. The different groups of natives in the Gulf Region (Qataris, Emirates etc.) These people and nations are backed by oil wealth. And this wealth is shared amongst the natives, albeit not equally, but it is distributed in a way to ensure that everyone is well-taken care of.

For a rich nation like ours, not only is our citizenship not sacred, the wealth and opportunities which the country has are not distributed in a manner to ensure that natives are well taken care of. Of course, 'well taken care of' is relative. And precisely because Singapore is a wealthy state, this should be relative to the standards enjoyed by the foreigners who are enjoying themselves on our shores. Why shouldn't this be the case?

There is this argument that goes as such: If you give to the natives, it will become a crutch mentality. They will become dependent on the state. Sounds very true.

But the reality is that the booming economy is like a rocket rushing through the skies. The well-endowed white collar foreigners board the SG rocket only because they have found a grip within the rocket, and these are usually good grips, comfortable seats with a view. The blue-collar foreigners were never meant to 'find grips' in the SG rocket. Their purpose is to keep the rocket neat and clean. Those who do not manage to survive here, make their way off the rocket and go back to their overcrowded and leaking ships very soon.

Meanwhile, many natives find themselves smashed at the bottom of the accelerating rocket and being told repeatedly that the SG rocket has many available grips. That if you can't secure yourself to any grips in the SG rocket, it's your fault.

Let's be clear here. Yes, there are natives squashed in the SG rocket without grips. And Yes, there are many 'grips' created and reported in the news. The reason why these 2 pieces of information do not make sense is because there are 2 myths about the so-called grip reality:

(A) Foreign workers' jobs are NOT grips.
Foreign workers' jobs are NOT grips. Sounds counterintuitive, but this is a fact. Singaporeans must learn to discern that not all jobs provide one with a grip.

• Whatever these foreign workers (i.e. blue collar jobs) make in SG is unlikely to ensure a long term stay in Singapore like a native. Staying in Singapore like a native means one can shelter, clothe, feed, educate, medicate a family adequately. 
• The existence of cheap foreign labour suppresses the wages of these jobs, making it impossible to raise a family on such salaries. E.g. When I was waitressing in the late 1990s, a full-time waitress at a mid-tier joint was paid SGD1,400 per month and my colleagues were either Singaporeans or Malaysians. 15 years later, in 2010, a waitress is paid less than SGD1,400, and the team is made up of Filipinos. Are Singaporeans choosy or that the 2010 pay is not enough to raise a family?

Hence, even if the natives willingly take up these low-paying jobs which exist in abundance, they will not get a grip within the SG rocket and will still be thrown to the bottom.

(B) Many natives do not have the opportunities to reach for the grips. 
So while there are new real grips being added to the rocket all the time, some natives are unable to secure these grips, or replace the worn-out grips in preparation for higher and higher accelerations. Then when the rocket accelerates, many natives fall to the bottom of the rocket, crushing one another.

But whatever happened to Meritocracy? 

Meritocracy within the rocket sounds fair, but it isn't in a context where the natives have nowhere else to turn to. In reality, the new grips created onboard are not opened to the natives and foreigners equally. If a foreigner makes 10 new grips within the SG rocket, he is NOT obligated to keep open these grips for grabs to natives. What's stopping the foreigner from allocating all 10 new grips to his own kind? In reality? Nothing.

Hence, Meritocracy is not a reality. Meritocracy is a slogan. 

A slogan which politicians (who eventually got Adrian Pang to) have been repeating on TV and in the papers.

So then what is reality?

The pie chart above is. The fact that True-Red Singaporeans are now a minority is a reality, and there are many crushed at the bottom of the SG rocket.

Even if the natives had wanted to get off the SG rocket to move else, where else can the natives go? Most nations have closed their immigration gates. So, the natives are stuck. Crushed in a pile. Smelling one another's armpits. While one shifts his face away from the nearest stinking armpit, his mind wonders about the natives in the Gulf, and wonder why their lives are so different, when our GDPs per capita are similar.