‘Singapore isn’t anti-foreigner’: British businessman says locals welcome those who integrate

SINGAPORE: A British businessman took to Instagram recently to answer the question of whether Singapore is becoming more “anti-foreigner.”

Alexander Linton, the founder of RUMAVI, an advisory firm for people who wish to relocate or invest in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, has lived in the city-state for some time now.

In a video from last month, he said that he gets asked, presumably by prospective clients, every week if the climate in Singapore has grown colder toward foreigners, and admitted that the answer is “tricky.”

The question has arisen as a number of Europeans and Americans have left the city-state, he added.

However, he said, “I genuinely don’t feel Singapore has become anti-foreigner per se. It’s anti-foreigners who refused to integrate into Singapore society.”

Mr Linton said that his being British in Singapore had rarely been an issue with locals, but Singaporeans take exception to “foreign nationals treating Singapore as a hotel and don’t respect local customs.”

He has also noticed that Singapore has adopted a more Singaporean-first mentality since the Covid-19 pandemic, a protective attitude he says he finds reasonable for a small country and pointed to its multicultural and pluralistic society for over a century, and the presence of a range of nationalities from “obviously” the Chinese, Indians, and Malays, to the British and Japanese, to Arab merchants such as the Alsagoffs and the Aljunieds, and key historical figures David Marshall and Harry Elias, who were both Jewish.

Mr Linton also quoted Philip Yeo, the former chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), whom he called one of Singapore‘s great nation builders, who said that for Singapore to stay relevant over the next couple of decades, it needs to “steal“ the world’s best talent. 

As for whether or not he would recommend Singapore as a long-term home for foreigners at present, he said it would be doable for expats with families to live in the city-state on a S$20,000 salary. 

However, more importantly, he advised foreigners to “only move here if you’re prepared to contribute to the country to make it richer both economically and culturally. It’s probably the best city in the world to live right now.” /TISG

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