Gov’t response to workers issues results in PM Lee winning migrants hearts

Singapore—While there has been widespread criticism among Singaporeans especially over the overcrowded and unhygienic conditions of the country’s foreign workers, the Government’s response to the issue has made the workers fans of the government, according to an article from the kopi.co, a longform journalism site.

In the article ‘Surprisingly, PM Lee Has Gained a Fan Following Amongst Workers on Facebook,’ which was published on Tuesday (Apr 20), it shows how Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has been gaining a loyal following among migrant workers, based on responses collected from the social media pages of the workers, such as  Singapore to Dhaka and Singa Tamilan.

The article listed three themes that surfaced repeatedly among the posts on these pages: thankfulness for the good changes to their food and accommodations (although the writer acknowledges that many donations came from the private sector), how many workers have become fans of PM Lee and have openly expressed this, and that many are still expressing fears amid uncertainty over the situation.

The author writes that “there seems to be genuine widespread appreciation for the response” from the Government, although it is to be expected that not everyone may feel this way.

“If that weren’t the case, the large migrant Facebook groups would not be praising the government or changing their profile pictures to ones of the Prime Minister without encountering resistance in the comments,” according to the article, which added that migrant workers have received better treatment in Singapore than they have in other countries.

According to the article, PM Lee is the recipient of much of the workers’ appreciation. “Many migrant workers are changing either their display pictures or their cover pictures to ones of the Prime Minister. There are also several viral forward messages praising the PM, and most of them seem to revolve around the Bangladeshi national who recently recovered after spending two months in the ICU. They are grateful that much money has been spent on the worker, and argue that he would not be able to get this type of attention back home in Bangladesh.”

The article quotes one widely-shared post, which says that despite the coronavirus crisis that has beset the world, including Singapore, the Government has continued to provide three things: salary—“everyone will get salary even without working,” food and good treatment.

And where the popular idea of life in Singapore is that it “means only work and work” and that “there is no humanity in this city of brick stone,” the poster writes that the Government’s response has been the opposite of this, calling it the “most humane country in the world.”

The poster continued, “The current Prime Minister of Singapore is Mr. Lee Hsien Loong… The more I see, the more I am fascinated by his great activities. We all live in Singapore and should support this country and support the government. Every rule declared should be followed with our respect…

Mr. Lee Hsien Loong is like the name of a great state hero. It is the one of a man who uploaded a video for our Bangladeshi people on his Facebook, separately spoke to Bangladeshi people, and often became emotional for Bangladeshi people in the video… “

Furthermore, the poster praised Singapore for having spent S$1 million (although this amount has not been determined) on the Bangladeshi worker. He added, “ Thousands of Bangladeshi people are still treated in Singapore. If you write about Singapore’s humanity, no one will find its end.” —/TISG

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