<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Publicise measurable contributions by PRs
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I READ with interest last Saturday's Insight article, "Minding the gap between the pink and the blue".
What distinguishes citizens and PRs is not so much their contribution to the country or society. A fundamental difference - and importance - is that a Singaporean who is born, nurtured and educated here has family, friends and fellow citizens here.
His forefathers made contributions to the country. A citizen must do national service when he turns 18.
However, permanent residents need not be drafted for NS and their contributions to Singapore begin only when they start to live and work here.
Whether they will contribute their best is hard to gauge as talented and ambitious entrepreneurs may feel the world is their oyster.
Hence, stringent criteria must be set to gauge the potential of prospective citizens and PRs.
For example, the authorities could make it mandatory for prospective citizens to commit to a lengthy period of community service.
This would be a test of their loyalty to the country they want to be part of. This will also help them understand Singapore history. Those who are not interested will drop out automatically.
The authorities should widen the gap in public housing benefits between citizens and PRs. For instance, a PR should be eligible to buy only resale three-room flats or bigger.
Differences in health subsidies, education fees and other key benefits should also be more pronounced.
To allay citizens' concerns about the rapidly rising number of newcomers, the authorities should provide concrete evidence about significant economic, social and cultural contributions made by permanent residents.
Teo Kueh Liang
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I READ with interest last Saturday's Insight article, "Minding the gap between the pink and the blue".
What distinguishes citizens and PRs is not so much their contribution to the country or society. A fundamental difference - and importance - is that a Singaporean who is born, nurtured and educated here has family, friends and fellow citizens here.
His forefathers made contributions to the country. A citizen must do national service when he turns 18.
However, permanent residents need not be drafted for NS and their contributions to Singapore begin only when they start to live and work here.
Whether they will contribute their best is hard to gauge as talented and ambitious entrepreneurs may feel the world is their oyster.
Hence, stringent criteria must be set to gauge the potential of prospective citizens and PRs.
For example, the authorities could make it mandatory for prospective citizens to commit to a lengthy period of community service.
This would be a test of their loyalty to the country they want to be part of. This will also help them understand Singapore history. Those who are not interested will drop out automatically.
The authorities should widen the gap in public housing benefits between citizens and PRs. For instance, a PR should be eligible to buy only resale three-room flats or bigger.
Differences in health subsidies, education fees and other key benefits should also be more pronounced.
To allay citizens' concerns about the rapidly rising number of newcomers, the authorities should provide concrete evidence about significant economic, social and cultural contributions made by permanent residents.
Teo Kueh Liang
