<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Be prouder of this great little red dot
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Thursday's report, 'Singapore a top choice for migrants'. I am a new permanent resident, and this report not only makes me proud, but also affirms my fundamental belief that Singapore is destined to be a global centre from a financial standpoint and a cultural and social perspective.
After living most of my life in Sydney, Paris and Tokyo, I have embraced Singapore as my home - I never felt so intimate with the other cities.
My only beef with Singapore is that its citizens do not necessarily share my passion for this country. From personal observations, I have noticed that Singaporeans are both competitive and in a constant pursuit to improve their daily lives, whether economically or in some other sphere.
In this challenging environment, it is natural that one loses perspective of the overall big picture, which is that Singapore, a country of about 700 sq km, has come a long way from a backwater trading post to establishing itself as arguably the financial and technological hub of Asia.
Perhaps Singaporeans should be prouder of their country. Cab drivers complain about everything and university graduates I come across talk of saving up and moving to Spain or Italy.
Perhaps it is time citizens took a step back from the frantic demands of everyday life to reflect a little on what their country has to offer - a safe, ecologically aware and technologically advanced metropolis with excellent public transport and infrastructure, a thriving arts scene and a welcoming multicultural local population.
If foreigners from all over the world can see this and are coming to Singapore, why can't Singaporeans?
Sam Ahmed
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Thursday's report, 'Singapore a top choice for migrants'. I am a new permanent resident, and this report not only makes me proud, but also affirms my fundamental belief that Singapore is destined to be a global centre from a financial standpoint and a cultural and social perspective.
After living most of my life in Sydney, Paris and Tokyo, I have embraced Singapore as my home - I never felt so intimate with the other cities.
My only beef with Singapore is that its citizens do not necessarily share my passion for this country. From personal observations, I have noticed that Singaporeans are both competitive and in a constant pursuit to improve their daily lives, whether economically or in some other sphere.
In this challenging environment, it is natural that one loses perspective of the overall big picture, which is that Singapore, a country of about 700 sq km, has come a long way from a backwater trading post to establishing itself as arguably the financial and technological hub of Asia.
Perhaps Singaporeans should be prouder of their country. Cab drivers complain about everything and university graduates I come across talk of saving up and moving to Spain or Italy.
Perhaps it is time citizens took a step back from the frantic demands of everyday life to reflect a little on what their country has to offer - a safe, ecologically aware and technologically advanced metropolis with excellent public transport and infrastructure, a thriving arts scene and a welcoming multicultural local population.
If foreigners from all over the world can see this and are coming to Singapore, why can't Singaporeans?
Sam Ahmed