Expatriates are still likely to regard Singapore as a haven despite the recent spate of breakdowns faced by the public transport system, according to Sebastien Deschamps, founder and CEO of ExpatFinder.com, a resource website for expatriates.
Speaking to an online daily, Deschamps further said that even if train failures have been problematic for locals, this has not changed foreigners’ perspective that Singapore is very attractive. The CEO asserted that in comparison to standards across the globe, Singapore’s public transport system ranks very high in terms of efficiency:
“To a certain extent, it might be annoying to the people on the ground, but it doesn’t change the view of Singapore being very attractive to foreign talent. Really, compared to global standards, it’s still very, very efficient.”
Deschamps’ assertion comes in the wake of the MRT collision at Joo Koon station this Wednesday, in which at least 36 commuters were injured.
Despite this incident and other recent breakdowns and delays which have frustrated locals, Deschamps reiterated that this would barely affect foreigners’ positive views about Singapore, because of bike-staring platforms and other initiatives from the government that supposedly make life better and more efficient.
Expatriates have consistently rated Singapore higher than other countries in terms of services, employment opportunities and quality of life in general. This year, in the Expat Explorer survey conducted by HSBC Holdings, Singapore ranked number one for the third consecutive year, while in the Expat I skier report conducted by InterNations, Singapore was number one in terms of transport and travel and ranked fourth in terms of quality of living.
Local netizens did not take kindly to the expat website founder’s comments. Many commented that expats would be unaffected by the breakdowns since they hardly take the MRT, whereas it’s an entirely different experience for locals.
Some also expressed feeling disenfranchised in their own country:
