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02-05-2014, 08:50 PM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
Singapore from its very birth in 1819 has always been cosmopolitan. From the very start Bugis sailors made their way here to trade with the British, the Dutch, the Arabs and even the Chinese from the mainland ports. Mixing of races and culture has been in Singapore's DNA from the very start. Every single Singaporean would be born into a world of colourful hew of faces. We know that Indian labour built our streets and our impressive looking government buildings until the start of the 2nd world war. The Istana stands testament to it.
When Singapore gained independence, very little changed in terms of racial mix. When we built Jurong Industrial Estate, we had little choice but to bring in Malaysians on a large scale. They even had to fill jobs in the civil service and in many professions. We had Malaysians as regulars in the Army, police Force and Fire Brigade. Foreigners had various missions to look after their nationals and we saw Norwegians sailors, Burmese doctors, British and American factory owners and engineers and even Japanese barbers in our daily dealings.
Then it was Filipino maids, again Indian labour for construction and it remains multi-ethnic and and cosmopolitan to this day.
So why are we now bigots, racists, and suffering from an unusual form of xenophobia.
The issue is overpopulation and the inability of infrastructure to cope with the sudden rise. People are venting their anger. The issue is limited jobs filled by cheaper labour.
Why is this so hard for the PAP to grasp. Why is our own government labelling us as bigots to the World at large?
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?180772-PAP-s-FT-Strawman-Argument&goto=newpost).
Singapore from its very birth in 1819 has always been cosmopolitan. From the very start Bugis sailors made their way here to trade with the British, the Dutch, the Arabs and even the Chinese from the mainland ports. Mixing of races and culture has been in Singapore's DNA from the very start. Every single Singaporean would be born into a world of colourful hew of faces. We know that Indian labour built our streets and our impressive looking government buildings until the start of the 2nd world war. The Istana stands testament to it.
When Singapore gained independence, very little changed in terms of racial mix. When we built Jurong Industrial Estate, we had little choice but to bring in Malaysians on a large scale. They even had to fill jobs in the civil service and in many professions. We had Malaysians as regulars in the Army, police Force and Fire Brigade. Foreigners had various missions to look after their nationals and we saw Norwegians sailors, Burmese doctors, British and American factory owners and engineers and even Japanese barbers in our daily dealings.
Then it was Filipino maids, again Indian labour for construction and it remains multi-ethnic and and cosmopolitan to this day.
So why are we now bigots, racists, and suffering from an unusual form of xenophobia.
The issue is overpopulation and the inability of infrastructure to cope with the sudden rise. People are venting their anger. The issue is limited jobs filled by cheaper labour.
Why is this so hard for the PAP to grasp. Why is our own government labelling us as bigots to the World at large?
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?180772-PAP-s-FT-Strawman-Argument&goto=newpost).