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>>>Most Indian expats here 'ordinary folk' <<<
In other words, most are NOT TALENTS and just TRASH lah!
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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - This Indian FT has been PR for 19 years</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>12:44 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 6) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>21641.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Most Indian expats here 'ordinary folk'
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Mr Temurnikar said it is important to make the effort at integrating newcomers as failure to do so can pose political problems.
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MR ATUL Temurnikar, founder of an international school for expatriates here, debunks the notion that all Indian expatriates in the Republic are high-fliers who do not mix with the ordinary Singaporean community.
High-fliers - such as company chief executive officers - form less than 2 per cent of the Indian expatriate population, he says.
The larger chunk of the expatriate population 'is like any average Singaporean family - earning $5,000 to $7,000 a month, and having a similar lifestyle'.
The 45-year-old quit a cushy job as country manager for retail at IBM Singapore in 2001 to start the Global Indian International School (GIIS), which caters mostly to the children of expatriate Indians working here. It now has 4,000 students. About 80 are Koreans, the second biggest group after Indians.
Mr Temurnikar singles out the high stress of city life as the key factor why Indian expats - like those from other communities - do not really mingle.
He says: 'In Singapore, like in any cosmopolitan city, social interactions tend to be minimised. Neighbours don't talk to neighbours.
'Everybody is into chasing his professional objectives. People are overstressed, overworked. They get back home, try to spend whatever time they have with family members, have birthdays, social events.
'Social interaction isn't as much as it should be. We have to find ways to help people meet one another.'
Mr Temurnikar is now on the 13-member National Integration Working Group for Schools, one of four groups set up by the Government since April to discuss and implement integration programmes.
He blends his work for the committee with the running of his school by putting integration at the centre of his school's philosophy.
'We are guided by the principle that whatever we do has to be according to the local community and its values.
'Students who come out should be plugged into local society, do national service, marry into local society and see themselves as being here for the long term in terms of employment,' he says.
The GIIS started integration programmes for its students five years ago by arranging visits to local schools, orphanages, old folks' homes and other social institutions.
As the GIIS operates outside the Ministry of Education (MOE) school sports system, it created its own cricket cup and invited international as well as MOE schools to participate.
'We want to use sport as a platform to help children interact with one another. Sport fosters a good competitive spirit, with people challenging one another in a healthy way,' he says.
Moving beyond schools, he estimates that there are some 35 to 40 Indian associations here catering to Indians with different origins and interests.
He suggests that there could be more coordination among these groups, perhaps with what he calls a 'nodal agency' facilitating.
This agency could then focus on organising community activities such as festivals or large sports events to attract people from all backgrounds.
Mr Temurnikar is mindful that there could be resistance to overzealous efforts at integration.
For one thing, there could be reservations about whether integration is 'an exercise for converting non-Singaporeans to Singaporeans', he says.
To him, however, it is still important to make the effort because failure to integrate newcomers can pose political problems, the way it has done in some European countries.
In any case, he says, the main purpose of integration is not so much to make Singaporeans out of non-Singaporeans, but to get the latter to understand Singapore's racial harmony and to create better expatriate-local understanding.
He offers a personal perspective: You do not need to have a Singapore passport to make Singapore home.
The former Nagpur native remains a Singapore permanent resident, although he has been here for 19 years.
Many Indian expats, however, do end up becoming citizens. There were 1,859 last year alone, according to the Indian High Commission.
Mr Temurnikar says: 'No other country gives such privileges, like places of worship for so many groups. There is also plenty of entertainment - Indian channels on TV, plays and movies.
'When I first came to Singapore, the only Indian theatre around was in Bedok.'
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In other words, most are NOT TALENTS and just TRASH lah!
<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Temurnikar said it is important to make the effort at integrating newcomers as failure to do so can pose political problems.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MR ATUL Temurnikar, founder of an international school for expatriates here, debunks the notion that all Indian expatriates in the Republic are high-fliers who do not mix with the ordinary Singaporean community.
High-fliers - such as company chief executive officers - form less than 2 per cent of the Indian expatriate population, he says.
The larger chunk of the expatriate population 'is like any average Singaporean family - earning $5,000 to $7,000 a month, and having a similar lifestyle'.
The 45-year-old quit a cushy job as country manager for retail at IBM Singapore in 2001 to start the Global Indian International School (GIIS), which caters mostly to the children of expatriate Indians working here. It now has 4,000 students. About 80 are Koreans, the second biggest group after Indians.
Mr Temurnikar singles out the high stress of city life as the key factor why Indian expats - like those from other communities - do not really mingle.
He says: 'In Singapore, like in any cosmopolitan city, social interactions tend to be minimised. Neighbours don't talk to neighbours.
'Everybody is into chasing his professional objectives. People are overstressed, overworked. They get back home, try to spend whatever time they have with family members, have birthdays, social events.
'Social interaction isn't as much as it should be. We have to find ways to help people meet one another.'
Mr Temurnikar is now on the 13-member National Integration Working Group for Schools, one of four groups set up by the Government since April to discuss and implement integration programmes.
He blends his work for the committee with the running of his school by putting integration at the centre of his school's philosophy.
'We are guided by the principle that whatever we do has to be according to the local community and its values.
'Students who come out should be plugged into local society, do national service, marry into local society and see themselves as being here for the long term in terms of employment,' he says.
The GIIS started integration programmes for its students five years ago by arranging visits to local schools, orphanages, old folks' homes and other social institutions.
As the GIIS operates outside the Ministry of Education (MOE) school sports system, it created its own cricket cup and invited international as well as MOE schools to participate.
'We want to use sport as a platform to help children interact with one another. Sport fosters a good competitive spirit, with people challenging one another in a healthy way,' he says.
Moving beyond schools, he estimates that there are some 35 to 40 Indian associations here catering to Indians with different origins and interests.
He suggests that there could be more coordination among these groups, perhaps with what he calls a 'nodal agency' facilitating.
This agency could then focus on organising community activities such as festivals or large sports events to attract people from all backgrounds.
Mr Temurnikar is mindful that there could be resistance to overzealous efforts at integration.
For one thing, there could be reservations about whether integration is 'an exercise for converting non-Singaporeans to Singaporeans', he says.
To him, however, it is still important to make the effort because failure to integrate newcomers can pose political problems, the way it has done in some European countries.
In any case, he says, the main purpose of integration is not so much to make Singaporeans out of non-Singaporeans, but to get the latter to understand Singapore's racial harmony and to create better expatriate-local understanding.
He offers a personal perspective: You do not need to have a Singapore passport to make Singapore home.
The former Nagpur native remains a Singapore permanent resident, although he has been here for 19 years.
Many Indian expats, however, do end up becoming citizens. There were 1,859 last year alone, according to the Indian High Commission.
Mr Temurnikar says: 'No other country gives such privileges, like places of worship for so many groups. There is also plenty of entertainment - Indian channels on TV, plays and movies.
'When I first came to Singapore, the only Indian theatre around was in Bedok.'
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