The Point Behind The Question

The first month of 2020 kicked off with a Parliamentary tussle when Minister Chan Chun Sing provided statistics on how employment in Singapore had increased by nearly 60,000 between 2015 and 2018. MP Pritam Singh challenged him to provide a breakdown across all industry sectors in the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs); and furthermore, to provide breakdowns for the data between Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) because up to that point, Singaporeans and PRs had been categorized under a single group. Minister Chan responded with the following (rather defensive) rebuttal, which, incidentally, led to an amusing slew of memes around his retort "what is the point behind the question?"

"We can get you the numbers. But let me say this. What is the point behind the question? First, has local unemployment increased with all these efforts? The answer is a resounding 'no'. Our people are getting good jobs. Are our wages going up? Yes, and it's faster than many other countries. Those are proof points to show that we are doing right by Singaporeans.

But I'm always very cautious about this constant divide, Singaporean versus PR. The insinuation seems to be that somehow Singaporeans are not benefiting."

While I probably wouldn't have put it that way, I'm inclined to agree that while a breakdown would certainly provide more information, it's pedantic at best for the purposes for which this data was intended - to track how well the ITMs are doing. I assume that MP Pritam Singh was making the request out of purely academic interest, and admittedly viewing that data for the Infocomm and Media sector would be very interesting for me personally.

There is also the small matter of the other point that Minister Chan raised. Singaporean unemployment had gone down. But seeking the data in order to establish whether or not PRs were benefiting more than Singaporeans comes across as - dare I say it? - petty and small-minded.

Foreigners in the tech sector 

In certain segments of Singaporean society, there's been a fair amount of resentment towards foreigners due to the perception that they steal jobs that rightfully belong to "true-blue born and bred" Singaporeans. Hence the inclination to check if more higher-paying jobs are being occupied by foreigners than locals.

And you know what? They probably are. So what? Do people honestly imagine that these higher-paying jobs could be just as easily done exclusively by local talent? Without a certain amount of foreigners coming in to fill those positions, the global tech companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, IBM and Microsoft would have significantly less incentive to set up shop here. And that means the opportunities I've had for the past few years would be non-existent. I would probably still be sweating it out for cheap local bosses - you know, the kind who pay you just 3,000 SGD a month and expect your immortal soul in return.

Modern-day slavery.

Sure, I may not be earning as much as many foreigners. But I'm earning way more than I used to. Sometimes, comparing what you have now with what you used to have, makes a heck of a lot more sense than comparing it with what others have. With the former, you at least see progress. With the latter, you'll never be happy because your aspirations (what others have) will exceed your abilities (what you can get).

Simply put, I don't care who's doing better than me. I only care that I'm doing a lot better than I used to.

In my workplace 

When I tell people that I'm the only Singaporean developer in a team full of foreign developers, they're quick to jump and point to unfair hiring practices and foreigners being favored over locals, and that someone like me is being hired only to satisfy the quotas for local workers and increase the allotted quota for foreigners.

Firstly, that's rubbish. The foreigners I work with are on Employment Passes, which are not subject to foreign headcount quotas at all.

Secondly, Singaporeans have been interviewed for the job before. Exceedingly few of them made it. And if I'm an example of a Singaporean who survived that interview process, I shudder to think how shit unqualified the others must be if they didn't.

Thirdly, administration-wise, it is actually easier to hire a Singaporean than a foreigner. Employment Passes take time to get approved. And if candidates need to go through Government security screening, foreigners take roughly twice the time it takes for a local.

Lastly, of all the Singaporeans who actually got the job, very few stayed past one year. Apparently it was too much work for too little pay. I happened to have come from worse conditions; ergo I was happy to stay. Also, many Singaporeans have been conditioned to look down on contract positions and any position that has no potential for them to rise through the ranks. It helps that I've never wanted a higher-ranking post, because accepting that increase in responsibility for just a little bit more pay just never made any practical sense to me. I suspect quite a few people want those jobs not because they actually want them, but because they've been conditioned to think that they should want them. Because of "Career Progression" or some such bullshit.

So, no. In my organization's case, it's not that companies don't want to hire locals. It's more that locals are either disinterested or unqualified for my position.

Now, the Fair Consideration Framework isn't perfect, not by a long shot. But it's a heck of a lot better than nothing, which is pretty much what we had before 2013. The Government actually exceeded my expectations here. Instead of simply incentivizing companies that did adhere to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, they actively went after companies that tried to circumvent those rules.

Sure, there are always going to be people who deride this news, and label it Wayang. And they do have a point - it seems to be the smaller companies that bear the brunt of the investigations.

But you see, it is precisely these smaller companies that flout these regulations because they have a more intense need to. The bigger ones - the really huge ones - have too much to lose by not following the laws of the land. And they're less concerned about squeezing every drop of blood and sweat from their employees. Facebook is more interested in invading our privacy for profit. Google is more interested in tracking our every move and appearing not to be evil. As for Apple, they've got child labor in China sweatshops - quite legally too, as it happens - why would they waste time screwing over a relatively paltry number of Singaporeans on this tiny island?

So, if one of these mega-corporations doesn't want to offer you that cushy five-figure salary, it's probably not because they have any preference towards foreigners. It's more likely that you're just not good enough. These huge tech companies have very stringent acceptance criteria, and it's rarely a case of where you're from, but how qualified you are. More often than not, that describes a foreigner. And they're hardly going to break a sweat over losing prospective hires to employment regulations in Singapore, because there's an exceedingly long line of talented people who want to join their ranks.

Talent in various shapes and forms.

The other reason I want these mega-corporations around, is because I have relatively recent, very unpleasant memories of working for local employers with an exceedingly strong affliction of The Chinese Towkay Syndrome. Back then, in the tech sector, it was an employer's market and these bosses were as exploitative as they come. The presence of large multi-national tech corporations with a plethora of employee benefits and higher wages, keeps these guys honest because they're no longer the biggest or only game in town. And if this means that a big chunk of higher-paying jobs are going to foreigners, so be it.

Why employers seem to prefer foreigners 

The common misconception seems to be that foreigners are better workers - more diligent, more knowledgeable, more accommodating, more everything. And, of course, cheaper. Undoubtedly, some of them are. But that's not where their true value lies.

Foreigners are generally only able to work in Singapore if issued a pass of some sort - a Work Permit, S Pass or Employment Pass. When employment ends with an organization or the pass has expired, they have a limited time to stay in Singapore to find another employer willing to take them on. Things get complicated fast if they have family here, perhaps children studying in local schools.

Therefore, since their continued employment exists at the pleasure of their employers, foreigners are generally more obliging. Also, if they're here alone with not many family and friends, there's not much for them to do in their spare time and they're usually more than happy to take on extra work.

Eat shit, and like it.

Simply put, a foreigner will put up with demands that a local won't. They'll eat shit, and smile while they do it. Locals are far more likely to walk away if it gets too hot in the kitchen, because we can. Foreigners simply don't have that luxury.

So for those who like to complain about the lack of Home Ground Advantage, this is your Home Ground Advantage. And it's no small one. In fact, its so big that many companies would rather not deal with it. If you need proof of this, take your average docile foreigner and issue him or her PR status, and see how swiftly their attitude changes when their stay is no longer directly dependent on the goodwill of their employer.

Should the data be released to the public? 

Absolutely! Do it!

Assuming that disgruntled Singaporeans actually find evidence that more PRs are occupying higher paying jobs than Singaporeans, just what are they going to do about it? Move out of Singapore to greener pastures? If they actually had the ability to thrive elsewhere, I suspect they would have done it already, as opposed to squawking on Social Media.

Just go.

No, this is Singapore and we are a nation of Champion Grumblers. The late great Lee Kuan Yew said so himself. The Government should have faith that we'll accept the reality of the situation and get back to work. We complain excessively, of course, but when push comes to shove, we ultimately choose the most sensible and pragmatic option. Let's not ever change that.

Those that don't want to accept the reality of Globalization have the option of leaving. And they should. At the very least, it will give them a taste of what it's like to be a foreigner somewhere else and be the ones eating shit while those countries' locals complain about them for a change.

In closing 

Singaporeans are a competitive lot. We hate losing. And we especially hate losing out. That's a good thing.

However, being competitive is meaningless if we are not also competent. Aim high by all means; though if something is out of reach, better yourself in order to reach it. Demanding that the Government make things easier ("fairer") for us is one thing, but let's not abandon our responsibility for our own career development.

Does that mean I think that the noise-makers on Social Media clamoring for more transparency from the Government ought to tone it down a notch, then?

Oh heavens, no. Not a chance.

Sure, the Government's job would be a lot easier if we all simply went along like mindless sheep, but here's the thing: governance isn't meant to be easy. Anyone going into governance thinking that it's easy is under a severe delusion and needs to be disabused of it ASAP. Governance requires character of sterling quality. Running things for a few million loud complainers isn't easy... but neither is maintaining good standing and friendly relations with countless other nations with far larger populations and longer histories, some of whom have nuclear warfare capabilities. If a would-be Governor can't cope with the former, he or she has no business at all attempting the latter.

So keep holding their feet to the fire, you lovably noisy malcontents. Just don't forget to help the Government do their jobs by keeping yourselves employable. Because if all we're good for is raising a fuss on Social Media, Minister Chan Chun Sing's stated dream of locals one day taking those high-paying jobs may never come to fruition.

Pointedly,
T___T