More About Foreign Talent in the Tech Sector

The ongoing Wuhan Coronavirus scare dredged up some rather ugly behavior towards China Nationals in recent weeks. It seemed as though fear and panic had resulted in years of civility being flushed down the proverbial toilet, and human nature reasserting itself in ugly ways.

But that's wishful thinking. That underlying current of xenophobia was around long before we ever heard the name "Wuhan". The simmering resentment that foreigners take well-paying jobs away from Singaporeans. The feeling of superiority over other Southeast Asians. Among so many other things.

This is not, by the way, confined to the Chinese Singaporeans who make up the majority of Singapore's population. I've had an Eurasian Singaporean complain bitterly to me about being the target of racism one moment, and wax lyrical about how all Filipinos are two-faced scoundrels the next.

Common complaints about foreigners

They take well-paying jobs away from locals. Firstly, well-paying jobs in an air-conditioned office are not a God-given right. They're something we have to strive for, and they don't automatically belong to us. All the foreigners are guilty of, is offering employers an alternative. If you only have a job because no one was fighting you for it, that's not much of an accomplishment.

They steal our women. Two things. Firstly, local women don't automatically belong to local men. See my earlier point. Secondly, local women don't belong to anyone period, because they are not cattle. To accuse foreigners of "stealing our women" is both gross and backward. Local lads, be better than this.

Same goes for women who complain that foreign women "steal your men". We're not your men. Level the fuck up and you won't have that problem.

They don't fit in with our culture. What culture? A culture that's been a melting pot of different races, religions and languages for the past fifty-odd years? I see no change in that dynamic.

I see assimilating foreigners as a task akin to contributions into a code repository. The code comes from different developers, continuously, all from different backgrounds and programming styles, and is merged into a coherent whole that is far larger than the sum of all its parts. Programming is a team sport; and - surprise, surprise - so is the exercise of nation-building. Of course, as in programming, you are going to get rubbish code and bugs. But with time and patience, it all eventually gets straightened out and the code base is all the better for it.

They crowd this island. I'll grant you that. On weekends, some of the places I frequent, like the local swimming complexes, are packed with foreigners getting in my way. I put up with it as a natural consequence of attracting foreign talent.

A crowd in sunny Singapore.

There is a common thread to these complaints - that foreigners have the audacity to compete with "True Blue Born-and-bred" Singaporeans for jobs, partners and space. Where you were born and bred is an accident of birth, nothing more. Expecting special treatment simply for having been born on this island speaks of supreme entitlement and smacks of loser-stink. Naturalized citizens are citizens all the same, and I refuse to treat them any different.

I have two grandfathers, both of whom were born in the province of Guangdong, China, though they were from different cities - one Foshan and one Chaozhou. I'm pretty sure neither spoke English when they immigrated to Singapore, and might not have started even on their respective deathbeds. My story isn't unique by any means - there are at most four to five generations of people who can legitimately claim to be "True Blue Born-and-bred Singaporeans".

(Four to five generations, and people want to act like being a "True Blue Born-and-bred Singaporean" is some mark of a great civilization spanning centuries? Really?)

I'm not unfamiliar with these complaints - decades ago, I may have voiced some of them myself. I thought many of the foreigners employed here were shitty and backward. It was only after a period of serious introspection that I realized it wasn't foreigners (shitty or otherwise) that stood in my way. It was my own damn attitude. That was when I put my own ego aside, rolled up my sleeves and got to the serious business of salvaging my career. And the things I learned about both myself and foreigners in the process were not anything I had anticipated.

One caveat, though...

I don't mind that foreigners take up well-paying jobs. I don't mind that many of them earn more money than I do. If they wish to work here and share their expertise with Singaporeans, I welcome it and am grateful for the exchange.

Where my goodwill ends, however, is when foreigners attempt to meddle in my country's politics. I have an absolute zero-tolerance policy on this. The issue of Singapore's Governance is one for Singaporeans to resolve... among Singaporeans. Foreigners are not welcome to tell me, or even suggest, whom I should vote for.

Singaporean politics are
for Singaporeans only.

I do not attempt to tell Americans who they should elect as President. When my Malaysian tenants discussed politics in my house during the 2018 Malaysian General Elections, even though I was none-too-thrilled with the thought of Dr Mahathir resuming power, I never once tried to sway their vote. As a Singaporean, I inevitably had an opinion on that matter; it was however not my place to impose it.

Long story short; I don't interfere in the politics of other countries, and I expect foreigners to return the goddamn courtesy. And since I don't differentiate between "True Blue Born-and-bred Singaporeans" and naturalized citizens, I naturally include ex-Singaporeans in the category of "foreigners". It's only fair.

Foreigners I've worked with

So yes, I've heard plenty of anecdotes about how foreign talents are a bunch of trash. But, as they say, nothing beats personal experience. Here are some of my findings about foreigners I've been privileged (and in some cases, condemned) to work with. My findings, of course, are particular to the tech sector. Your mileage may vary.

Filipinos. Colloquially known as "Pinoys", they have a reputation for being conniving, two-faced and underhanded. I've worked with plenty of Pinoys. A couple of them were really lazy and unmotivated, and there might have been some of them who fit the "underhanded" stereotype to a T. But for the most part, I've found them jovial and boisterous, and fun-loving. And very cheeky. Not bad traits to have. And a fair number of them were actually (gasp!) competent.

Everything I know about SEO, I began with the basics from a Filipino ex-colleague. And she was always obliging when I called her to ask questions, long after our professional relationship had ended.

Foreigners at work.

Indians. Not our local variety, but the ones from the great continent of India herself. People like to further divide them into North and South Indians, but I really couldn't give less of a shit. In the workplace, they're notorious for being bullying, loud-mouthed braggarts who show off every chance they get, but dodge the hard work. I've worked alongside many Indians as well. We have a cordial relationship, and they can be a humorous bunch. Maybe one has conformed to the negative stereotypes, but I wouldn't tar them all with the same brush. And again, while competency ranged from inept to talented, for the most part, they were pretty good.

From Indian blogs, I learned finer points about coding. One Indian ex-colleague helped me level up tremendously in my CSS. I probably know a lot more CSS than he does now, but it was that dude who gave me that leg-up when I needed it.

Burmese. I'm not aware of any stereotypes concerning the Burmese though I've had many Burmese colleagues. Generally, they've always been friendly and willing to share their knowledge. Although, most of them do seem to have a problem getting their point across. Also, I really hate their food.

What did I learn from the Burmese? Mostly, a lot of C#. I also learned the importance of soft skills, because they were terrible at it. Not that they weren't pleasant, but many of them simply didn't inspire confidence in product owners. I like to think of it as a communication gap that needs to be bridged.

Chinese. Not the local variety (like myself) but those hailing from the mainland. People say they're egoistical and lack social graces. I've certainly come across more than a few fitting that description. But almost all of them were very good at what they did. Almost without exception, they were ambitious and driven - both competitive and (usually) competent. And some of them displayed a level of street savvy that left the stereotypical crafty Pinoy in the shade.

Most of the Chinese I worked with were Middle Managerial level. They were the ones I aspired to be like - both able to delegate and technically excellent.

Of all these foreigners I worked with, did some of them exhibit negative traits? Did some of them have the unfortunate tendency to talk out of their arse? Did some of them have habits that annoyed the living Beejeezus out of me? Were some of them so incompetent that I was amazed they remembered how to breathe? Undoubtedly. But those are not racial traits. Those are individual traits and should be taken as such. I've not always been the most competent and conscientious co-worker, and sometimes I appreciate a little bit of understanding and patience from my colleagues.

The thing about stereotypes is, if we're willing to assign them to foreigners, we have to be equally willing to accept stereotypes about ourselves. If I went by the experiences my organization had hiring Singaporeans, we would undoubtedly be pigeonholed as a bunch of incompetent, spoiled and entitled losers who want cushy, well-paying jobs without having the qualifications to do them. Are we? Undeniably, some of us are. But all of us, as a whole? Does that sound rational to you?

If the answer is "no", then we really need to rethink the stereotypes we so readily assign others. For example, stop automatically associating Pinoys with maids, Thais with hookers and Bangladeshis with construction workers. It does everybody a disservice.

Adapt or perish!

Globalization is here to stay. This is an increasingly connected world due to the Internet, and walling ourselves away in silos isn't going to help anyone.

I worked alongside foreigners for years. I took the opportunity to learn my craft from them. My tenants are foreigners, and they add to my already excessive income. I married a foreigner. In short, I accepted the fact that foreign talent is here to stay, and adapted so that the situation worked in my favor.

It's not the first time I wrote about foreigners in the tech sector. My stance hasn't changed; we do need them. Foreigners have flooded this island for the past decade, for good or ill. It is my honest opinion that everyone should adapt to this. After all, if adaptability isn't a particularly strong trait of yours, there is nowhere on God's green earth you would ever be comfortable in.

If you can't adapt, nowhere is home.

Singapore is no isolated backwater no matter what some of us wish. It is a First World Nation, and we, as a people, need to live up to that label.

Your "True Blue Born-and-bred" Singaporean,
T___T