At 26 years of age, Singapore permanent resident Yoga Dirga Cahya has threw in his hat for the next Indonesian election scheduled next year. It seems that the Indonesian Parliament has a seat for the 4.5 million Indonesians living overseas and Mr. Yoga intend to be that MP.
Mr. Yoga came to Singapore in 2004 at the age of 18 to study at the Nanyang Technological University’s School of Biological Sciences, with the aid of a grant from the Singapore Ministry of Education. He then served out his three-year bond at the National Environment Agency (NEA) while volunteering with the Indonesian community here in Singapore.
Now some Singaporeans are unhappy about this as Mr. Yoga is staying in Singapore and had been a recipient of a grant from a Singapore ministry. They feel that Mr. Yoga being an Indonesian MP would somehow constituted disloyalty to Singapore.
I said "somehow constituted" because I don't get it myself. My fellow Singaporeans; please under stand this. When foreigners come to Singapore, they come here for the money and the jobs. Singapore do not sell a Singapore dream like America. We are not the homeland of an ethnic people like China, India or even Malaysia. We are $!
So when the job is done and the money is earned, the foreigners will go back to their home country. What's wrong with that? Is that unusual or even unexpected? No, it's seem perfectly normal and natural to me.
Yes, Mr. Yoga got a grant from the MOE. I didn't forget but if someone is going to help you fund your education, what are you going to say? No? I don't think so. Mr. Yoga took the money and had already fulfilled his bond. That is over and done with. So if he intend to be a MP in Indonesia, I say good luck to him.
3 comments:
Maybe he was not invited for the "tea party", and hinting that he need the "tea party" for him to stay..
What do you think.
I do not think the typical S'porean is sore over this case but more likely that we have seen PRs and foreigners getting the better deal. Locals seems to be be perpetually on a treadmill while foreigners unencumbered with NS and having to sink roots here in this expensive place, can relocate back to greener pastures. Such incidents were only prevalent in the last 10 years, when we opened the floodgates to foreigners.
But that's not Mr. Yoges' fault, is it? He took advantage of a situation that frankly most people would too. Any blame should not be on him, and the sniping by Singaporeans showed more about us than it does about him.
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