By Roger Kok
After Singapore signed the infamous CECA back in 2005, many Singaporean PMETs have been filing complaints of discrimination to the Manpower Ministry through the Fair Consideration Framework. Much damage has been done since, as thousands of FTs have been converted become into Permanent Residents and Citizens.
As a snap General Election is in the cards for PAP in coming months, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo is not taking any chances by reaching out to Employers to help to push back against “negative forces” that lead to anxieties among locals about losing out to foreigners.
Josephine Teo tries to play down the job loss to Singaporean PMETs by saying it is causing anxiety, rather than admitting hardship facing us Singaporeans, who are now becoming Grab drivers to support their families.
After nearly 14 years into CECA, it is an undisputed fact that many Singaporean PMETs have their jobs to Foreign Talents. Under the CECA, visa regulations for Indian professionals in medicine, engineering, finance and information technology were relaxed, making it easier for them to work and migrate to Singapore. CECA also enable movement of persons between both countries, in particular, professionals employed in 127 specific occupations. Many Indian IT companies set-up in Singapore and exploited the “intra-corporate transferee” loophole so as to get more Indian IT workers to work here. They would hire them in India and then “transfer” them to their Singapore subsidiaries to work, without the need to hire any Singaporeans.
Singaporeans have just started to wake up, as their lunches are being taken away. Thousands of Civil Servants, who have supported PAP all these years, are watching their children and grandchildren struggling to secure a decent paying job or are reporting to Managers who are all Foreigners; a grim reminder of how our forefathers were working under their colonial masters to bring food to the table.
In the pretext of CECA, PAP government has converted thousands of FTs into Singapore citizens to win votes in the coming election, as more native Singaporeans are now openly seen supporting Opposition parties.
The writing is already on the wall that PAP is expected to lose much votes as PM Lee himself mentioned that “the upcoming General Election is a high-stakes one and the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) must be prepared for a tough fight ahead “.
In the upcoming GE, Singaporeans will be now looking up to Dr Chee, Dr Tan Cheng Bok, Pritam Singh and other Singapore sons to save our children from the damage caused by CECA and PAP’s liberal FT policy.
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