<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Feb 8, 2009
YOUR LETTERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Govt must take care of citizens first
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I refer to last Sunday's article, 'Jobs being cut during crisis', and the issue of whether foreigners should be let go first in tough times.
My opinion is yes, for a very simple reason: It is every government's job to take care of its citizens first, just as it is a mother's first priority to feed her own child first - rather than someone else's child - when food is scarce.
Many foreign workers or talent come from countries with rich natural resources and more land than Singapore. Even if they were to lose their jobs here, many could still return to their simpler lives in their home countries - where they could afford to get a small plot of land or grow their own food.
This is not an option for Singaporeans in our land-scarce nation.
I believe even permanent residents who have no intention of becoming Singapore citizens must be let go first in a retrenchment. Why save the jobs of those who will pack up and leave anyway after they have earned enough money here? Lor Pek Shyen (Ms)
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YOUR LETTERS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Govt must take care of citizens first
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I refer to last Sunday's article, 'Jobs being cut during crisis', and the issue of whether foreigners should be let go first in tough times.
My opinion is yes, for a very simple reason: It is every government's job to take care of its citizens first, just as it is a mother's first priority to feed her own child first - rather than someone else's child - when food is scarce.
Many foreign workers or talent come from countries with rich natural resources and more land than Singapore. Even if they were to lose their jobs here, many could still return to their simpler lives in their home countries - where they could afford to get a small plot of land or grow their own food.
This is not an option for Singaporeans in our land-scarce nation.
I believe even permanent residents who have no intention of becoming Singapore citizens must be let go first in a retrenchment. Why save the jobs of those who will pack up and leave anyway after they have earned enough money here? Lor Pek Shyen (Ms)
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