This article makes me so angry! I hope the good PAP government will hasten the arrival of more foreigners so that we can cleanse the place of the backstabbing, selfish and self-centred sinkies!!
I had worked for 10 years, of which half was overseas and I had experience in both public sector and private sector organizations. Writing this to share my experience and hopefully, everyone will learn the positive aspects. Not meant to be a political bashing article so will not go deeply into the liberal FT politics.
SMRT StrikeFirst reason, supply of FTs increases due to higher number of visas and permits issued . Standard supply and demand economic theory will tell you that when supply of labor increases, salaries decrease. At the same time, FT will make their way into Singapore economy.
Second reason, FTs are very cooperative within their own “gang”. They actively introduce and recommend jobs, business opportunities, and useful daily information among each other. FT also trust their own people from their motherland much more than other people. That is why it’s common to see the entire IT department become FT conclave once a FT moves in as a head.
The above 2 reasons appear to be good enough to explain why FT are displacing Singaporeans in Singapore workplace. But is this really the case? In my view, absolutely NO. Why? Because, I feel that, when you look at the outcome of a battle, other than looking at the actions of the attacker (FT), you also need to examine the defender’s actions (Singaporean). Below, I will argue how the defenders actively sabotage their own defenses, ultimately causing many of them to lose their jobs to FTs.
Singaporeans are generally apathetic, petty, jealousy, selfish and picky to each other. Singaporeans also very short sighted…..When you see a fellow SG colleague being scolded or sacked unfairly, what will you do? You will keep quiet, right? Well, do you know FT will form a team to protest, such as SMRT drivers example?
SG also like to score points on the expense of other SG colleagues, so as to better their own career and bonus. By screwing up SG colleagues, team unity is lost at best. At worst, you caused a fellow SG to lose his job or force him to leave the job. Well, FT also like to score points, but only over the body of someone “out of their group” –_ a SG individual who no one bothers to protect.
SG generally also petty. Sometimes, at work, a SG colleague unwittingly offended another SG. The second SG will then remember this “insult” in heart, and at the correct time, sprang out to revenge, causing the first SG to get into trouble in the workplace.
Worse still, some SG deliberately allied themselves with other FT in the workplace, and actively collaborated so that they can “teach other SG a lesson”, or so that they can gain points by cutting costs (firing other SG who are expensive), or to increase their own perceived power (when FT still junior to you, they suck your balls so you feel comfortable).
Finally, SG are short sighted. Why? Because after you screwed all the fellow SG colleagues through the above situations, how many SG colleagues will be left to defend you when you become the next target? Even if there are some left, they will definitely be ‘dulan’ with you and refuse to assist you then.
We can all take a seat back and ponder on my points above. I am sure you can find the above type of SG all around you in your workplace. Some of us may even be guilty of certain aspects. That is why Singaporean are being displaced by FT. While other people are teaming up to fight their way in, we are actively killing our own people due to us being petty and selfish. If we are united and dare to stand up to management on “if you fire him, we will all leave”, do you think so many SG PMET will be out of jobs? If we all teamwork and stood our ground against FT, do you think FT can come into good jobs easily?
All of those happened to me before, in me working with my fellow SG! I can vouch that SG are really mean nasty and vicious to each other in workplace! To share, once I performed well right after getting into a new job, so well that my Director even asked me to help HR improve in their manpower budget calculations. The HR got jealous and when I applied for 1 year study leave, the SG HR deliberately gave my replacement a 2 year contract instead of pre-agreed 1 year contract so that my study leave will be rejected and I am forced to resign instead. BTW, that entire HR team of 3 was forced to resign less than a year later when they screwed up a FT’s employment contract.
When I went overseas to work, my company hired 2 SG directors to expand the business. Both directors wanted to replace me with a PRC they know, even though I gave them red carpet treatment from day one and helped them in their transition to the company. In the words of 1 SG director, I had “too much power”, hence they want me out, and put a PRC in my place! ‘Bobian’, I displayed my skills and got 1 director fired. No need to touch the other surviving director, because, like what I said earlier, SG are jealous and petty of each other……a few other SG managers gang up to make sure the surviving director became impotent.
In a previous job, though I was a chartered accountant, a few of my dear SG colleagues, who did not have any degree, let alone formal finance accounting taxation training, kept wanting to score points with towkay by saying I make the company pay more tax and pointing out areas where my “accounting finance taxation knowledge are wrong”. Towkay very happy with them and always bring them to enjoy while I always got scolded. It’s only after a tax audit was conducted, that the company realized I was saying the right things all along.
Now, I worked in a PRC company, with PRC boss and PRC colleagues. Colleagues are very nice, cooperative, and watching out for each other. Ironically, my PRC boss will say “you are Singapore Chartered Accountant, your knowledge must be good, they should follow your words”, which is very different from my previous SG employer. That is why I realized why FT keep making inroads into Singapore, while SG PMETs are slowly and steadily being converted to taxi drivers, insurance agents, real estate agent, waiters….. if we cannot cooperate to work in a SG teamwork environment, the alternative is to work in a SG Lone Ranger job!
Marc Wang
http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/05/24/why-singaporeans-are-losing-out-to-fts/
