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Thinking of moving to Singapore

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PNGMK
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Post by PNGMK » Tue, 24 Jun 2014 10:27 pm

Local Talent wrote:
movingtospore wrote:There are others who can probably comment better than I regarding direct experiences of racism. But, from my perspective, it is institutionalized here in a really bizarrre way. And as a result the Singapore Chinese feel it's perfectly acceptable to discriminate against other nationalities and cultures and/or engage in really hateful vitriol, particularly online. There is no legal framework , at this point, to stop hate speech etc. Hopefully they will grow up a bit as a society someday and address that. Do some googling on race issues in Singapore...It is a very inmature society in many ways - and hasn't adapted well to tremendous change the last few years. A lot of this is bubbling up now and there is a lot of tension.


Anecdotally, I know several English Indians who have not been rented apartments because they are "Indian" - as an example. This practice is not illegal here and they think nothing of it. I have worked with really outstanding "Indian" Indians, in regional leadership positions, who regularly get addressed as if they were the coffee boy in meetings by Singapore Chinese clients. Indian Singaporean friends of mine who have been here for four generations are making plans to emigrate because they feel this is no longer a place they want to raise their family.

But maybe others have a more positive view.
There is racism in every country , and it's very ungrateful of you to make a sweeping statement about the Singaporean chinese. Especially when this Govt. chosen by the people have given you the opportunity to live and work here, that itself speaks alot about you as a foreign worker from India, so called "foriegn talent".
There are also lots of Singaporean Chinese migrating to other country ,what would you make out of this , maybe you like to think it's race related too.
The racism in Singapore is OPEN and TOLERATED and to some extent encourage by government policies. That's the problem. The racism in western countries is ILLEGAL, HIDDEN and not tolerated by MOST and certainly not mandated or discreetly assisted by GAHMEN policy.

LT my ass. More like local yokel.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Tue, 24 Jun 2014 10:53 pm

^^This! :cool:
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by littlegreenmartian » Wed, 25 Jun 2014 6:14 am

Mmmmmm give the locals a chance. Not all of them are bad.

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Post by Local Talent » Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:42 am

PNGMK wrote:
Local Talent wrote:
movingtospore wrote:There are others who can probably comment better than I regarding direct experiences of racism. But, from my perspective, it is institutionalized here in a really bizarrre way. And as a result the Singapore Chinese feel it's perfectly acceptable to discriminate against other nationalities and cultures and/or engage in really hateful vitriol, particularly online. There is no legal framework , at this point, to stop hate speech etc. Hopefully they will grow up a bit as a society someday and address that. Do some googling on race issues in Singapore...It is a very inmature society in many ways - and hasn't adapted well to tremendous change the last few years. A lot of this is bubbling up now and there is a lot of tension.


Anecdotally, I know several English Indians who have not been rented apartments because they are "Indian" - as an example. This practice is not illegal here and they think nothing of it. I have worked with really outstanding "Indian" Indians, in regional leadership positions, who regularly get addressed as if they were the coffee boy in meetings by Singapore Chinese clients. Indian Singaporean friends of mine who have been here for four generations are making plans to emigrate because they feel this is no longer a place they want to raise their family.

But maybe others have a more positive view.
There is racism in every country , and it's very ungrateful of you to make a sweeping statement about the Singaporean chinese. Especially when this Govt. chosen by the people have given you the opportunity to live and work here, that itself speaks alot about you as a foreign worker from India, so called "foriegn talent".
There are also lots of Singaporean Chinese migrating to other country ,what would you make out of this , maybe you like to think it's race related too.
The racism in Singapore is OPEN and TOLERATED and to some extent encourage by government policies. That's the problem. The racism in western countries is ILLEGAL, HIDDEN and not tolerated by MOST and certainly not mandated or discreetly assisted by GAHMEN policy.

LT my ass. More like local yokel.
Sorry I have no idea how to " LT " your ass. you dirty poof.
Why don't you go to Pink gathering on saturday ,sure you will find someone to LT your ass. maybe :cool: the asswipe can do you.

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Re: Thinking of moving to Singapore

Post by taxico » Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:50 am

widza32 wrote:...I'm thinking of making a move to SG to work, but before I do, I think it would be helpful to get a bit of info.

What is the work culture like? Does Singapore really have a culture of long work hours, with not much of a work/life balance? And there have been rumours of people taking work home and workking on weekends - not sure how true that is? Obviously this would be dependant on what sector / company you're working in, but as a general rule of thumb?
your singaporean boss is always right. always. if your boss is wrong, your boss is still right. always. if you point out that your boss is "still right," your boss will never forget what you did and your life will be hell. and your boss will still always be right.

good luck!
Aut viam ad caelum inveniam aut faciam

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Post by CaptainBullus » Sat, 28 Jun 2014 8:12 pm

Local Talent wrote:
Sorry I have no idea how to " LT " your ass. you dirty poof.
Why don't you go to Pink gathering on saturday ,sure you will find someone to LT your ass. maybe :cool: the asswipe can do you.
Please tell me there's not too many locals with this guy's "talent" of being a homophobic, closed-minded, irrational xenophobe. Or at least tell me where they hang out (apart from trolling on this forum) so I can avoid them!

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Sat, 28 Jun 2014 8:18 pm

CaptainBullus wrote:
Local Talent wrote:
Sorry I have no idea how to " LT " your ass. you dirty poof.
Why don't you go to Pink gathering on saturday ,sure you will find someone to LT your ass. maybe :cool: the asswipe can do you.
Please tell me there's not too many locals with this guy's "talent" of being a homophobic, closed-minded, irrational xenophobe. Or at least tell me where they hang out (apart from trolling on this forum) so I can avoid them!
Welcome to the new Singapore. There are a lot like him. Not just on this forum. They are like vermin, you can slow 'em down but you cannot eradicate them 100%. They will be the death of the little red dot.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by JR8 » Sat, 28 Jun 2014 9:34 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:
CaptainBullus wrote:
Local Talent wrote:
Sorry I have no idea how to " LT " your ass. you dirty poof.
Why don't you go to Pink gathering on saturday ,sure you will find someone to LT your ass. maybe :cool: the asswipe can do you.
Please tell me there's not too many locals with this guy's "talent" of being a homophobic, closed-minded, irrational xenophobe. Or at least tell me where they hang out (apart from trolling on this forum) so I can avoid them!
Welcome to the new Singapore. There are a lot like him. Not just on this forum. They are like vermin, you can slow 'em down but you cannot eradicate them 100%. They will be the death of the little red dot.
There are more like that here of late, or perhaps it's that they're being more vocal and hence being heard (like here).
In a way society is becoming more polarised. I know some local gay people here who are discreet but unembarrassed about it, but say 20 years ago it was a highly politicised and taboo issue. Now, it seems that people from opposite ends of the spectrum are 'coming out' (lol) which not so long ago would not have been noticed by the average man on the street.

It's curious, there is an awful lot of suppressed anger here amongst the citizenry. In a way it's interesting to observe what isn't immediately stamped down upon, almost tolerated, by the authorities... hmmm!

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Post by Arizona5 » Sat, 05 Jul 2014 7:13 pm

From an American perspective, Singapore starts as an intriguing wonderland full of opportunity, but after 3 years, it is a sweaty hot over-crowded city that is not building the infrastructure to handle the burgeoning population. Today, in fact, I wait 45+ minutes for a cab - even tried calling - to get my family home from Newton. When i was here in 2007, it was not too bad. I also have to pay $9000 Sing/month for the same place that was $4300/month a few years ago.... I am disillusioned and looking forward to getting OUT!

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Post by JR8 » Sat, 05 Jul 2014 7:55 pm

I think with many things there is a time to come, and also a time to go. You have the initial excitement to arrive, and the final relief to have been, and go. Both are very distinct 'life phases'.

When you arrive, you tend to go in with fresh eyes full of wonder. Sometimes that changes. As time makes one less forgiving, especially when you know you are coming to leave.

I wanted to post about the latter, as a realisation, a stage (that all of us will experience) but essentially got told I 'wasn't allowed to'.

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Post by movingtospore » Sun, 06 Jul 2014 10:44 am

Local Talent wrote:
movingtospore wrote:There are others who can probably comment better than I regarding direct experiences of racism. But, from my perspective, it is institutionalized here in a really bizarrre way. And as a result the Singapore Chinese feel it's perfectly acceptable to discriminate against other nationalities and cultures and/or engage in really hateful vitriol, particularly online. There is no legal framework , at this point, to stop hate speech etc. Hopefully they will grow up a bit as a society someday and address that. Do some googling on race issues in Singapore...It is a very inmature society in many ways - and hasn't adapted well to tremendous change the last few years. A lot of this is bubbling up now and there is a lot of tension.


Anecdotally, I know several English Indians who have not been rented apartments because they are "Indian" - as an example. This practice is not illegal here and they think nothing of it. I have worked with really outstanding "Indian" Indians, in regional leadership positions, who regularly get addressed as if they were the coffee boy in meetings by Singapore Chinese clients. Indian Singaporean friends of mine who have been here for four generations are making plans to emigrate because they feel this is no longer a place they want to raise their family.

But maybe others have a more positive view.
There is racism in every country , and it's very ungrateful of you to make a sweeping statement about the Singaporean chinese. Especially when this Govt. chosen by the people have given you the opportunity to live and work here, that itself speaks alot about you as a foreign worker from India, so called "foriegn talent".
There are also lots of Singaporean Chinese migrating to other country ,what would you make out of this , maybe you like to think it's race related too.
Your response is very insightful reading between the lines...you assume that I'm Indian...and therefor I should be grateful. I am neither. But it is very telling that you think the both should go together. Typical and insightful for the original poster as to what it can be like here.

But, fair point.....some Singapore Chinese are racist, some are not. I've made some great local friends here who are embarrassed by a lot of what is going on these days.

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Post by formula1fan » Thu, 10 Jul 2014 2:28 am

these are all some good reads from different perspectives and its quite interesting as a newbie in sg.

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Post by Blade » Tue, 09 Sep 2014 10:19 pm

You guys don't get it.

The Singapore of today bears no resemblance to the Singapore of the late 1990s and 2000s.

That was our golden period [not even talking about the 1980s] everything worked,no crazy congestion,food was authentic,MRT doesn't make that zany rattling sound.I could play tennis at SICC and never hear a word of Sindi.I could go on..

Throw a stone and you hit a Singaporean,Gov and pheasants had a pretty tight relationship,we had 'good quality' FTs [no defecating in public] and FW from neighbouring countries.

The FTs who remember those years will know what it mean.And how can you stand it?

So today when people tell they heard so much about the magical,miracle island called Singapore and they dying to visit or live in..hmmmm...

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Post by Wd40 » Tue, 09 Sep 2014 10:47 pm

Even then you were not producing kids, even now you are not producing kids. If you guys had more sex, instead of going after that latest iPhone, you would have hit more of you own people with your stones :P

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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Tue, 09 Sep 2014 11:17 pm

Blade wrote:You guys don't get it.

The Singapore of today bears no resemblance to the Singapore of the late 1990s and 2000s.

That was our golden period [not even talking about the 1980s] everything worked,no crazy congestion,food was authentic,MRT doesn't make that zany rattling sound.I could play tennis at SICC and never hear a word of Sindi.I could go on..

Throw a stone and you hit a Singaporean,Gov and pheasants had a pretty tight relationship,we had 'good quality' FTs [no defecating in public] and FW from neighbouring countries.

The FTs who remember those years will know what it mean.And how can you stand it?

So today when people tell they heard so much about the magical,miracle island called Singapore and they dying to visit or live in..hmmmm...
No, instead Bukit Timah & Dunhearn Road were under water half the time, the buses were non-airconditioned, and noisy and hellish when it started to rain. Taxi's you still couldn't find one on Bkt Timah Road that would stop if you were wearing coveralls as they knew that you will be going to Jurong and they wouldn't stop to pick you up as they would probably not get fare back. I know. I've been a working adult here for 31 years. Since 1982. It was NOT the golden years. It was a time a rapid growth in infrastructure. I remember living in Seletar Camp without having the CTE. Not a fun journey back then.

I'm damned glad Singapore doesn't resemble the Singapore of the 80's & 90's. Your memory is befuddled.

I am one of those FT's and I say you are full of Sh*t. You are spouting garbage as usual. You were probably still in short pants back then. What is wrong with hearing Sindi? Are you a racist prick? Sure sounds like it. No, you had local Aunties defecating in public back then (and they urged their grandchildren they were minding to do the same) if you wandered around the housing estates just like recently, only those aunties weren't deemed to be mental like the Singaporean defecator at the MRT recently.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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