By Nur Dianah Suhaimi

Since he came here three years ago, Indian welder R. Baskaran, 25, has developed a ritual of visiting Little India every Sunday for a meal with friends and some shopping. For the past month, however, he has added a new activity to his Sunday itinerary - a visit to the temple.

'I pray that I will not lose my job. At work, I hear other workers talking about the company losing business and how they may fire people. I don't want to be sent home,' said the native of Tamil Nadu state.

Foreign workers have not been spared the jitters from talks of layoffs and pay cuts since the global financial turmoil hit Singapore last month. They fear that they will be the first to go in the event of massive retrenchment.

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