<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Sep 14, 2008
YOUR LETTERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Workers' dorm: Address residents' security concerns
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-- ST FILE PHOTO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I refer to the debate over the proposed siting of a foreign-worker dormitory in the former Serangoon Gardens Technical School.
What is the Ministry of National Development (MND) going to do to address the concerns of Serangoon Gardens residents?
In last week's Sunday Times special report on foreign workers, only five out of the 20,000 workers housed in a cluster of dormitories were featured.
Those interviewed were exemplary in conduct and had clear visions of their future. But are they truly representative of the majority of foreign workers?
There have been past reports of crime and misdemeanours committed by foreign workers as well. The paper, by neglecting to highlight this aspect in the special report, has made it unbalanced.
Previous writers have described noble ideals about how we should work towards a modern integrated society, but the harsh reality is that the vast majority of foreign workers come from highly disparate cultures and poorer backgrounds. Their placement in a private residential estate is illogical as it simply magnifies the rich-poor divide, hence the security concerns.
At the very least, there will be spates of petty theft in the neighbourhood. At worst, bodily harm may come to residents who fall prey to more serious crime.
Would the MND shoulder the responsibility for such a consequence?
There are many more practical reasons why the siting of a dormitory in Serangoon Gardens is not feasible, and these have already been reported over the past week.
We hope the ministry will understand our genuine concerns and shelve this ill-thought-out proposal. Audrey Looi (Dr)
YOUR LETTERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Workers' dorm: Address residents' security concerns
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
-- ST FILE PHOTO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I refer to the debate over the proposed siting of a foreign-worker dormitory in the former Serangoon Gardens Technical School.
What is the Ministry of National Development (MND) going to do to address the concerns of Serangoon Gardens residents?
In last week's Sunday Times special report on foreign workers, only five out of the 20,000 workers housed in a cluster of dormitories were featured.
Those interviewed were exemplary in conduct and had clear visions of their future. But are they truly representative of the majority of foreign workers?
There have been past reports of crime and misdemeanours committed by foreign workers as well. The paper, by neglecting to highlight this aspect in the special report, has made it unbalanced.
Previous writers have described noble ideals about how we should work towards a modern integrated society, but the harsh reality is that the vast majority of foreign workers come from highly disparate cultures and poorer backgrounds. Their placement in a private residential estate is illogical as it simply magnifies the rich-poor divide, hence the security concerns.
At the very least, there will be spates of petty theft in the neighbourhood. At worst, bodily harm may come to residents who fall prey to more serious crime.
Would the MND shoulder the responsibility for such a consequence?
There are many more practical reasons why the siting of a dormitory in Serangoon Gardens is not feasible, and these have already been reported over the past week.
We hope the ministry will understand our genuine concerns and shelve this ill-thought-out proposal. Audrey Looi (Dr)
