PAPee Will Only Shower Love on Sporns Who Dare to Emigrate!

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>March 11, 2009
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Singapore Day to draw 12,000 <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nilanjana Sengupta
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->THIS year's Singapore Day will be celebrated on a bigger scale despite the economic downturn.
In fact, the one-day event to be held at Hampton Court Palace, South West of Central London, on April 25, will cost more than double that of last year's in Melbourne.
'We asked ourselves whether we should continue with organising this event given the economic downturn. We went through the analyses, assessment, videos and feedback of overseas Singaporeans and we felt the firm response is yes we need to go ahead,' said Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Director, Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU), at a media briefing on Wednesday.
'We are expecting the cost to be double than Melbourne, so about S$6 million.'
Singapore Day at Melbourne, held last October, cost about S$3million.
'In good times and bad times we need to continue to reach out to the pool of 150,000 Singaporeans living overseas. We cannot neglect them,' added Ms Quah. Organisers are working very closely with the partners, artistes and food hawkers to keep costs low, she said.
This is the third Singapore Day to be organised by the OSU. There first was held in New York in 2007.
There are 40,000 Singaporeans living in Britain, with about 9,000 in London. But the organisers are expecting 12,000 Singaporeans to turn up for Singapore Day, from London and across Europe. So far, 3,500 Singaporeans from France, Germany, Czech Republic and Croatia, among others, have registered for the event.
For the first time, overseas Singaporeans can contribute to events through overseas Singaporean associations in Britain such as the Singapore Business Group and Singapore Creative Network. Other highlights will include a satirical version of The History of Singapore by the Dim Sum Dollies and Hossan Leong, a skit performed by Jack Neo, Mark Lee and Henry Thia and performances by Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah. And if all this is not enough, 22 different local food items to be served up by a team of 20 street food vendors promise to give visitors a taste of authentic flavours of home.

 

[johnny333]

There are 40,000 Singaporeans living in Britain, with about 9,000 in London. But the organisers are expecting 12,000 Singaporeans to turn up for Singapore Day, from London and across Europe. So far, 3,500 Singaporeans from France, Germany, Czech Republic and Croatia, among others, have registered for the event.

At least the gov't is spending money on Sporeans but to what purpose

Sporeans know whats going on in Spore & if they are outside the system, why come back?

 

[Loofydralb]

OMG!!!!

There is such a unit called OSU in the civil service?

LHL, please explain the objective of why this unit exist at all?

If the explanation is nonsensical, it will reinforce the notion and belief that PSC is an iron rice bowl with low expectations and obscure objectives. Good lifelong employers!!

 

[commoner]

why you ask Pinkoe AssLoong to explain

I think Wooden Goh's British Citizen Daughter and Son in law is there....

Spending millions for 12,000 poential quitters,,,, way to GO wooden GOH

 

[Ah Guan]

Most who turn up are scholars and civil servants posted abroad

Sinkaporeans generally do very well abroad. Imagine --- back in the 70s, the sinkaporean Ah Kong gangsters could even take over the Amsterdam drug trade from hongkie-backed triads.

Sinkies who quit won't go back unless they miss the food or family.

 

[kiwibird7]

Most who turn up are scholars and civil servants posted abroad

Sinkaporeans generally do very well abroad. Imagine --- back in the 70s, the sinkaporean Ah Kong gangsters could even take over the Amsterdam drug trade from hongkie-backed triads.

Sinkies who quit won't go back unless they miss the food or family.

Singapore Food in those franchised KOPITIAM Food courts are NOTHING to rave about, the standard of hawker food has DEGENERATED from those yummy fare of the 1970s to "MASS production food" served at exorbitant prices.

Most family members in S'pore eventually join their emigrant siblings as emigrants as well whilst the older generation parents who choose to stay in S'pore, finally end up in niches at Mandai.

 

[The_Latest_H]

They just want us to come back underneath the umbrella; they know this brain drain does nothing for the country in the long run.

The problem is that when you offend these folks personally and/or politically, and had deliberately shut them out during the good years, they are more unlikely to listen to you now, even if you have become a little more desperate.

The OSU has to do their jobs, I know that, and I respect them. They are also just looking out for themselves and they need a job to feed themselves and their families. Still, if the PAP thinks they can woo a big majority back, both pro-PAP and non-PAP alike, by means of empty promises, you may have another thing coming.

 

[halsey02]

At least the gov't is spending money on Sporeans but to what purpose

Sporeans know whats going on in Spore & if they are outside the system, why come back?

Exactly, I am having the same thoughts as you have. I have childhood friends who had migrated after they graduated, and never looked back. They only misses certain of the food, anything else, with the internet, they can recreate it in the kitchen or ask for recipe from people here.

Why on earth do they want to see Dim sum dollies etc...in Lodon, there are much better theatre scene...

The money should have been spent on struggling, SINgaporeans....

 

[johnny333]

The money should have been spent on struggling, SINgaporeans....

There was a time when the gov't was very careful in what it spent $$$ on e.g. buying 2nd hand military hardware, resononable salaries for civil servants, (real) public housing, ...

With bad gov't you had more & more bloated gov't, layers upon layers of bureaucracies. Over Spending is sign of the rot thats taken place. This attempt at wooing Sporeans is just another artifact of history dating back to before they opened the floodgates to foreigners.

PAP gov't is broken lah. :(