<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Not much of a gap between 'pink' and ' blue' - so offer dual citizenship
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LAST Saturday's commentary, 'Minding the gap between pink and blue', is timely. When I saw the cartoon table, 'Only citizens can...', it was plain there is not much of a gap between pink and blue, and why many permanent residents (PRs) are very happy to remain 'blue'.
- Only citizens can vote for their MPs. My constituency had walkovers during the past two elections, so I have not been able to exercise this right.
- Only citizens can speak at Speakers' Corner and organise a protest there. Really? If anyone has a burning issue, he just writes to The Straits Times Forum page. No need to go all the way to Speakers' Corner to reach a wider audience.
- Only citizens can hold a political talk indoors and have the constitutional right to free speech. (Okay, taxi drivers do this all the time.)
The only worthy mention is the red passport, which allows entry to 150 countries without a visa.
This brings me to the question of why Singapore does not allow dual citizenship. Could it be that few PRs are willing to change to 'pink' because they would have to give up their existing citizenships?
I applied for the red passport for my two children only recently because Vietnam does not allow visa-free entry to French citizens but gives Singaporeans free entry. As the visas cost more than the Singapore passports, we decided to exercise our children's citizenship rights.
I wonder what will happen when my children turn 21. Will they decide to keep the red passport, or will they have to give it up? Many developed countries in the world, including the United States and many European countries, allow dual or multiple citizenships. As Singapore has long complained about a 'brain drain' and difficulty attracting talent, more serious thought should be given to the possibility of dual citizenship.
Do we want more citizens or more PRs? One way to get more 'pink' is to allow dual citizenship. I hope this choice is available to my children later. After all, they were born and bred here - why shouldn't Singapore claim them as its own?
Lynne Tan (Ms)
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LAST Saturday's commentary, 'Minding the gap between pink and blue', is timely. When I saw the cartoon table, 'Only citizens can...', it was plain there is not much of a gap between pink and blue, and why many permanent residents (PRs) are very happy to remain 'blue'.
- Only citizens can vote for their MPs. My constituency had walkovers during the past two elections, so I have not been able to exercise this right.
- Only citizens can speak at Speakers' Corner and organise a protest there. Really? If anyone has a burning issue, he just writes to The Straits Times Forum page. No need to go all the way to Speakers' Corner to reach a wider audience.
- Only citizens can hold a political talk indoors and have the constitutional right to free speech. (Okay, taxi drivers do this all the time.)
The only worthy mention is the red passport, which allows entry to 150 countries without a visa.
This brings me to the question of why Singapore does not allow dual citizenship. Could it be that few PRs are willing to change to 'pink' because they would have to give up their existing citizenships?
I applied for the red passport for my two children only recently because Vietnam does not allow visa-free entry to French citizens but gives Singaporeans free entry. As the visas cost more than the Singapore passports, we decided to exercise our children's citizenship rights.
I wonder what will happen when my children turn 21. Will they decide to keep the red passport, or will they have to give it up? Many developed countries in the world, including the United States and many European countries, allow dual or multiple citizenships. As Singapore has long complained about a 'brain drain' and difficulty attracting talent, more serious thought should be given to the possibility of dual citizenship.
Do we want more citizens or more PRs? One way to get more 'pink' is to allow dual citizenship. I hope this choice is available to my children later. After all, they were born and bred here - why shouldn't Singapore claim them as its own?
Lynne Tan (Ms)
