Foreigners in Singapore

This posting on foreigners in Singapore is long overdue with the hooha going on in the past few weeks. Before anyone thinks that I am here to blast or praise foreigners in Singapore, let me state that I am a foreigner or foreign talent in Singapore; depending on how you look at the situation but I am so localised that few people would guess of my "expatriate" status ;-p

There are two types of foreigners or expatriates in Singapore - the lowly paid work permit holders and the highly paid P1 classification employment pass holders. The lowly paid work permit holder would attract the terms "kling" or "bangla" or "cheenapek" in the most derogatory tone.

First I guess I should share my thoughts about the proposal to have 1,500 lowly paid work permit holder expatriates live in an old school in Serangoon Gardens and the brouhaha that created with the residents there. The gamut of complaints ranged from "lowering the values of the properties" to increased crime and what have you. I won't say that I am for or against these foreign workers living in Serangoon Gardens, but I would like the authorities to think about the living conditions in the whole equation.

The disused school proposed as a residence for the these foreign workers was not purpose built as a residence. IT WAS BUILT TO BE A SCHOOL so many years ago. Nobody would be living on the grounds with the exception of the caretaker. How on earth would the authorities expect the premises to cope with 1,000 people living on the grounds. The toilet facilities would not be able to cope, to say the least!! Imagine the queues of people using the toilet facilities - that would be a logistical nightmare. Yes, I believe that there will be improvements made to the existing facilities but I seriously do not think that the whole area will be able to cope.

The traffic jam to get in or out of the estate would be madness. It is already heavily congested and it will get worse with these foreign workers living there. The human congestion would also be bad.

Serangoon Gardens was not built to handle that sort of human traffic. Plus there are plans to re-develop the old cinema there into some swanky new shopping centre in future. With this "village" closing there will be more stress on the remaining facilities. As it is now, it is almost impossible to get a seat at Chomp Chomp makan centre unless you go really early or late. If you get there too early, the stalls are not opened. If you get there too late, they are closed or are closing and are running out of food. What a catch 22 situation.

Then I have lots of comments about what would be the other end of the expat spectrum. These are the high fliers who come to Singapore to and hold P1 employment passes for a start and then may "graduate" to become Permanent Residents.

These people will attract the term "ang mo" and would be held in awe by the rest of the local populace. I suppose the phrase "Pinkerton Syndrom" would be good - The Pinkerton Syndrome is a derogatory Singaporean term describing the tendency of some local Asians who tend to consider Caucasians superior, usually having a bias towards favouring Caucasians over locals.
The term traces its origins from the character of Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton in Puccinni's opera Madame Butterfly.

So do I start with the good or bad of these angmos who come to Singapore and think they have made it in life. At the risk of sounding jealous of these people in Singapore, I beg to differ because I am not interested in their so called posh lifestyle, but I am sick of them in Singapore.

The men come out here and suddenly, they think they are God's gift to women. The local girls or the Sarong Party Girl (SPG) throws herself at him in the most subservient manner. Some of these girls think that the angmoh man is her passport out of Singapore so she will do what she can to land herself the coveted MRS title. Sigh!!

These men come out with a full expat package - international school paid for, Volvo xC90 as part of the car package, an accomodation package that would be an apartment or a house in the expat enclaves of Holland Village, Orchard Road, Bukit Timah or where there are the posh supersmarket, maid allowance, two trips home to their home country, entertainment package and all the trappings of luxury that seem to go with the job. The package could be something in the region of $30,000 a month for the low end posting.

These people who come out here are SO BLOODY RUDE that it is sometimes quite impossible to tolerate them. Last month, the office was shooting a series for a TV show (watch out for it in October 2008) at Turf City. We were there for 4 Saturdays, so I think I am good authority on their idiotic behaviour. The angmos use the fields at Turf City for some recreation on weekends - there is football, rugby, cricket, baseball - all in little enclaves. They drive to Turf City and then start behaving badly. They park and refuse to give way. They cause traffic jams with their inconsiderate ways. In a traffic jam situation, they do not give way or drive in the most inconsiderate manner. They cut you off most rudely . They act arrogantly like Singapore owes them a lot. This is just at Turf City where we encounter their rudeness.

Elsewhere they cut queues at the check out counter at the supermarket, they cut you off at the MRT escalators or on the roads or at the lifts, they show great impatience at "slow" service or having to wait a little longer than what they deem acceptable as waiting time.

They think their money is very big - to use a very SINGLISH term - but they are nothing big, just assholes who come out here. When I was a student in England, I was told to blend in, be like them but to hold onto our Asian manners. So what happened to these people when they come out from England - do they try to blend in?? Not really - they acquire more airs and graces and think that they have arrived by virtue of their expat posting. From the sound of the accent they utter from their mouths, I can tell that back home in England - they were from some village or council estate.

To the Singaporeans out there, please remember that some of these people have never travelled out of their village or country until they got a posting to the exotic Far East as a reward for their hard work. They would really be considered "kampung" folk or country bumpkins. Back home, they would be watching their budgets, shopping in Tesco or Sainsbury for their groceries, taking the bus and train to work and are ordinary folk. The sudden grandeur of wealth has gone into their heads and they have puffed their egos.

So do I sound disgruntled??? I am just sick of their rudeness, arrogance, patronising and condescending manner.

.