Contributing in their own way

SOME weeks ago, I was immensely annoyed with a construction worker from China working on the lift outside my flat.

He was shouting at the top of his voice in a thick incomprehensible accent, disturbing my enjoyment of the Olympics' table tennis singles semi-final between Singapore's Li Jiawei and China's Zhang Yining.

The excitement of the match was the only thing that held me back from telling off the worker.

Then, the irony hit me: I was resentful of a foreigner's presence while cheering on a foreign talent.

Both, in their own ways, have chosen to come here from afar to contribute to Singapore's progress.

As much as I am proud of Li, I should also give credit to that worker upgrading my lift.

Anything less would be hypocrisy.

Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nasir, 18, is a second-year International Baccalaureate student at the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

Moral high ground uncalled for

EVEN though I am a permanent resident on paper, I have resided in Singapore since I was four and consider myself a Singaporean at heart, so much so that I intend to apply for citizenship in the near future.

This unique position allows me to empathise with the concerns of Singaporeans, while making me resentful of self-righteous citizens who demand protectionist policies and criticise foreigners for every mistake they make.

I know this resentment stems partly from insecurity over increased competition for jobs.

As I am going to graduate and enter the job market in a year's time, I am subject to such competition too.

But such selfish reasons do not warrant Singaporeans taking the moral high ground and discriminating against 'outsiders'.

After all, meritocracy is one of the core values of Singapore.

If these outsiders are better than Singaporeans, why should they be deprived of an opportunity to perform?

Christine Chong, 22, is an honours student in literature at the National University of Singapore

What being a global city means

WHILE it is natural for any country to be wary of the motives and loyalty of foreigners, it is detrimental to reject them altogether.

Take the example of Manhattan in the United States.

It owes its success and vibrancy to multitudes of foreigners who offer their talents in a city that neither discriminates against their origins nor judges their worth.

As a resident of three years, I have been treated with warmth and friendliness. Despite the competitiveness, mutual respect remains because we share not only the land, but also the individual desire for success.

If Singaporeans are still so reluctant to welcome foreigners, perhaps they should spend some time residing in these cosmopolitan cities.

Then they might realise that it is possible for a 'global city' like Singapore to embrace both locals and foreigners.

Melissa Khong, 21, is a final-year student at the Manhattan School of Music

Protect locals' pockets first

I AM fine with foreigners taking on low-end jobs shunned by Singaporeans, and high-end jobs where there may not be enough Singaporeans with adequate expertise.

But I draw the line at foreigners competing with Singaporeans for middle-level jobs.

This is because foreigners in these markets are prepared to work for far less than the going rate for locals.

While a Singaporean has a family, mortgage payments and a relatively higher cost of living to contend with, the foreign worker supports a family back home where the cost of living is lower.

And the nature of price competition is such that we have no choice but to accept lower wages, while the foreigner takes home what is to him or her first-world wages.

I already have to compete with my peers in the future.

I do not need a flood of low-paid foreigners to make life harder for me.

Eef Gerard Van Emmerik, 20, has a place to read law at the Singapore Management University

Singapore's our home too

I WAS filled with pride when I came to Singapore from Indonesia five years ago on a government scholarship.

But over time, I realised that foreigners are not so welcome here after all.

Last week, my Singaporean friend showed me a leaflet given out by an opposition party.

It expressed concern about scholarships and jobs given to foreigners 'at the expense of Singaporeans'.

Worse, I wonder if my friend, deep down, agrees with the pamphlet's arguments.

Some of them feel that foreigners like us are unwelcome competitors who should just 'go home'.

We want to be regarded as human beings with feelings, not just robots that churn out straight As and 'spoil the market'.

We may have the option of going home, but we choose not to because we have come to love your country and treat it as our home too.

Michelle Virgiany, 19, is a first-year law student at NUS

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sept 8, 2008.

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