When Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong spoke last week that he wanted more Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs) to take up Singapore citizenships, I commented that it was wishful thinking. I said on this blog that it was more advantageous to be a PR than a Singaporean in Singapore and since then I had being proven right.
Since the SM spoke on the matter, response from the expat community in Singapore has been swift and pretty much unanimous. Most of them have no intention of giving up their PR status.
I find this very understandable. With their PR status, PRs are having the best of both worlds. They can make their money in Singapore and leave Singapore when things get bad. If you can have your cake and eat it at the same time, wouldn’t you do the same?
Since the SM statement however, the government has been in full retreat trying to backpedal on the matter. The Strait Times has been at pains to explain why PRs do not want to be full Singaporeans. Jurong GRC MP Halimah Yacob even says that “eventually” PRs will make up their minds if they want to take up citizenship and asking Singaporeans not to be “discouraged”.
Who is the one being “discouraged”? I know I’m not because I fully expect this response from the PRs. Most Singaporeans I know believe that the PRs in Singapore are only here to make money. The majority of the PRs (if not all of them) never had any intention of giving up their status to be full Singaporeans. This is almost common knowledge.
So I find it very surprising at how surprised the Singapore government is by the response of the PRs! It is almost as if the government is doing some sort of soul-searching on why PRs do not want to be full Singaporeans. This I do not understand.
PRs did not come to Singapore for freedom or because Singapore is their homeland; they came here to make money. Some of them will succeed, some will not; but none of them came to be Singaporeans. Add to that, you have more advantages being a PR than a Singaporeans in Singapore and it’s no wonder the expat community in Singapore has pretty much unanimously rejected the SM statement. This should NOT surprise anyone.
4 comments:
Yet again proved buggers like Goh CT is clueless what ordinary Sporeans knew all long. And this passed sell-by-date SM had the cheek to dismiss genuine criticisms as griping.
EXACTLY!! What only SM Goh.
Singaporeans are emigrating in droves. Even the newly naturalized citizens will soon be searching for greener pastures. So what is so surprising that few PRs are interested in the silly offer?
Yes, everyone seems to agree that the reaction from the PRs are expected. So it begs the question what sort of data and feedback the government has been receiving if they are surprised.
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