Singapore is a country that is heavily reliant on cheap foreign labour. This issue was brought to the fore when the coronavirus outbreak led to, among other things, rubbish not being collected, common areas in housing estates not being cleaned and building projects being delayed.
More concerning, however, is the issue of how we, a so-called developed first-world country treat our blue-collar migrant workers. Who could forget the photographs of squalor that our migrant labourers had to live and quarantine in? These pictures were splashed across international media just as the Government was claiming credit for how well it was handling the global pandemic.
Parallel Universe
To make matters worse, Singapore’s then Covid-19 numbers shot through the roof among our migrant worker communities. It almost seemed as though Singapore had completely forgotten about the migrant workers who built the city. Instead of dealing with the problem of overcrowded dormitories, the Government decided to create a parallel universe whereby migrant workers had their movements restricted as if they were criminals serving a jail sentence.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a renewed focus on the plight of migrant workers in Singapore and a number of other issues were highlighted. For example, the way migrant workers are transported to and fro worksites came to the collective consciousness of Singaporeans in the wake of two horrific accidents. Indeed, this was an issue that was raised by the Workers’ Party’s He Ting Ru just this week.
Miscarriage of justice
Then, there was the terrible miscarriage of justice in the Parti Liyani case, which is still trundling through the courts as the second part of her complaint against the two prosecutors was heard by the tribunal this week.
There was also the tragic case of Piang Ngaih Don who was starved and beaten to death by the wife of a policeman. Disturbingly, Ms Piang was examined by local doctors in previous checkups who did not raise the alarm.
All of these incidents outraged Singaporeans, who were horrified and called for reforms. However, have things changed?
This week, a domestic helper was spotted risking life and limb while perched on the exterior ledge of a high-rise apartment building to clean the windows. She was several storeys above the ground and a fall would most likely be fatal. Why is it that despite all that has happened, we are still not being mindful of the safety of our migrant workers?
This is not to say that all Singaporeans are an ungrateful bunch. This week, a young Singaporean, Elaine Liu, publicly showed her gratitude towards migrant worker, Mukul, who helped her retrieve her AirPods from a drain.
Perhaps, what we need is stronger, clearer, and stricter regulations and laws to protect migrant workers. But in light of our over-reliance on cheap foreign labour, is the Government prioritising price over safety? What do politicians worth their salt think?
Price tag for everything
It would appear that there is a price tag on everything. According to news reports, the Ministry of Health has mentioned that it will be studying a tax on processed foods that are high in sodium in a bid to reduce salt intake among Singaporeans.
The issue of high salt consumption was raised by the Peoples’ Action Party’s (PAP), Rahayu Mahzam. While there is no denying that health is very important, I do wonder if our PAP politicians have run out of ideas. Every time something goes wrong – let’s raise taxes!
Remember how we raised the taxes on cars to bring down traffic? Has that eased traffic?
Perhaps, the Government should be looking at ways to incentivise healthy eating instead. Maybe bring down the costs of healthy food and overall costs of living instead of finding one more thing to tax people over?
Let us look at the WP’s Pritam Singh for inspiration. In view of rising fuel costs, the Leader of the Opposition has asked Minister for Manpower, Tan See Leng if a support package can be put together for private-hire and taxi drivers to alleviate cost pressures caused by rising petrol and diesel prices.
The Government’s role should be to serve the people. While it is important for the Government to have healthy coffers, this does need to be balanced with not overly burdening the people. Surely, our “go-to” solution for everything should not be to tax the people. We also need to look at how people are already squeezed into their day-to-day lives!
Are the PAP becoming too tunnel vision to think outside the box? Can you teach an old dog new tricks? /TISG