Foreign Residents Should Just Shut Up

(see below for context)

I refer to the letter, "Be prouder of this great little red dot (ST, Nov 7)" by Mr Sam Ahmed, and find it amusing that the author criticises Singaporeans for complaining about their own country or wanting to "save up and leave."

Indeed, it is ironic for a person who has left his own country, lived his life in several cities around the world, and finally decided that a country not his own should be where he wants to settle down - should then have the gall to deprive others the right to choose where they want to live, or to decide that their country of birth has room for improvement.

Mr Ahmed, of course, has never been a Singaporean taxi driver, nor has he ever been a Singaporean undergraduate. Incredibly, however, he claims to have the insight and wisdom to understand how 'foolish' Singaporean taxi drivers and undergraduates are when they criticise their own country. Perhaps Mr Ahmed should take a few years off his own busy schedule to attempt to live life as a taxi driver in Singapore and to study as a Singaporean undergraduate before blowing his trumpet in the national newspaper.

Mr Ahmed has also clearly never paused to consider the fact that amongst the many other foreigners who have passed through Singapore's shores, he is but amongst a minority who have decided to settle here. This leaves me wondering, does Mr Ahmed have superior judgment to all those other foreign fools?

The hypocrisy of foreign residents like Mr Sam Ahmed is astounding. While attempting to belittle the opinions of Singaporeans, they conveniently ignore the fact that they themselves have abandoned their own homelands for another one which they perceive to be a superior place to live. Where, Mr Ahmed, is your own pride in your own home country?

Mr Ahmed is patently unqualified to make any of the comments he made in his forum letter. Indeed, It is time for foreigners like him to keep their mouth shut and mind their own business.

Singaporeans are fully capable of making their own informed decisions and forming their own opinions about their country. The last thing we need is a foreigner with little understanding of how things work, pontificating about how Singaporeans should think about their homeland.

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ST Nov 7, 2009

Be prouder of this great little red dot

I REFER to Thursday's report, 'Singapore a top choice for migrants'. I am a new permanent resident, and this report not only makes me proud, but also affirms my fundamental belief that Singapore is destined to be a global centre from a financial standpoint and a cultural and social perspective.

After living most of my life in Sydney, Paris and Tokyo, I have embraced Singapore as my home - I never felt so intimate with the other cities.

My only beef with Singapore is that its citizens do not necessarily share my passion for this country. From personal observations, I have noticed that Singaporeans are both competitive and in a constant pursuit to improve their daily lives, whether economically or in some other sphere.

In this challenging environment, it is natural that one loses perspective of the overall big picture, which is that Singapore, a country of about 700 sq km, has come a long way from a backwater trading post to establishing itself as arguably the financial and technological hub of Asia.

Perhaps Singaporeans should be prouder of their country. Cab drivers complain about everything and university graduates I come across talk of saving up and moving to Spain or Italy.

Perhaps it is time citizens took a step back from the frantic demands of everyday life to reflect a little on what their country has to offer - a safe, ecologically aware and technologically advanced metropolis with excellent public transport and infrastructure, a thriving arts scene and a welcoming multicultural local population.

If foreigners from all over the world can see this and are coming to Singapore, why can't Singaporeans?

Sam Ahmed