Then I don't think you and I are on the same page regarding the definition of "ethical". What do you even mean by the word?Wd40 wrote:Ronnie breaking the law is one thing and taking advantage of loopholes is another thing. While the former is illegal the latter is unethical.
The regulars on this forum come across as suckers for being ethical when it comes to taking up PR for its original intent that is to make Singapore their permanent home.
Indians are always looking at exploiting loopholes and hence they are hated on this forum and now you have come across someone similar and hence you are getting the same medicine.
I understand you are a businessman and in business there is no place for ethics and profitability takes the top priority. Indians think the same way on a personal level. So to that extent the regulars in this board are hypocritical, in that they are ok when the MNCs from the countries that they usually come from can do all the abuse like banks help the rich to evade tax, companies in the US are now paying out big dividends to avoid the tax rise due to the fiscal cliff etc so there are several levels of abuse that happen in their own backyard yet they are after those poor economic immigrants who are trying to get a better life for themselves. It's hypocrisy at its worst.
From what I understand, and this is entirely the basis of my moral compass, is that unethical actions are actions that infringe upon the Natural Law, and the reverse is true as well. By Natural Law, I mean the intrinsic and unalienable right of every man to Life, Liberty and property. These rights are generally recognized by the Constitutions of democratic nations. They (the Constitution) do not grant people these rights, they merely recognized what is already there. Now, governments create their own laws through legislation in order to govern. And as long as such laws do not infringe upon the Natural Law, they are ethical and so obeying them is ethical.
With regards to my case, as I have mentioned before, I have obeyed the law and have not broken any clause of the Natural Law or infringed upon the rights of anyone. If as you said, that my actions are unethical, can you name a victim that suffers due to my action (of seeking a PR for the second time)? The way I see it, Singapore has nothing to lose and everything to gain from the influx of capital and capitalists.
As for the original intent of the Singapore government, wasn't it their stated objective to make Singapore the financial hub of the world? And therefore they need to attract foreign capital and businessmen to base some of their operations and particularly their capital in the country? Or am I mistaken here? Wasn't that the reason behind giving out the SPR, EntrePass and a host of other permits (and the low tax system) to help ease the inflow of foreign capital and labor?
If you consider obeying the law to be unethical by your measurements, then your problem is not with me but with the lawmakers, right? In that case, you should write to your representative regarding this and seek redress to your grievances. It is they who wrote the law, not I.
P.S. We do get involved in CSR, so yes, while profit is the top priority (as by law, management is required to put the interest of their shareholders as paramount), we do not neglect our social responsibility.