Cronyism is not only an Asian thing.....

[Equalizer]

From expatboard; fyi

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Read the post below by Nicole from another site. I am alarmed at the blatant cronyism practised by some MNC as described below :-
Nicole wrote :

<< I am a Singaporean currently doing my Masters in Australia, and I must say, the racism is pretty deep. I'm not only talking about Australia, but also from other countries. I am currently in a very cosmopolitan flat- my flatmates hail from Canada, USA, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hongkong and Australia, of course.

We were talking about expatriates the other day and I think I figured out the reason why locals in any country feel a sort of resentment towards the expatriates. We do not hate you as an individual- we hate the system that pervades the Asian country where expatriates are a common sight and predominantly white.

My friend who lives his whole life in Hongkong talks about the tiny expatriate community that existed there which is so closed up and unopened to the locals. He belongs to an expatriate family and even though he's been there for ten years, he doesn't know any Cantonese nor have any locals as friends, unless of course they were rich enough to squeeze into the expatriate neat little elitist society. Business deals, he observes, were often given to any companies who puts up some kind of British flag or icon in their company's logo or name.

Cronyism, it seems, is not just an Asian thing.
I also felt a similar kind of injustice when I am in Singapore. I see my friends who are extremely capable, creative and innovative having their jobs or promotion stolen from them just because the company felt that the stereotype of "a White is always better" to be true.

The anger we have is not directed against the individual, but against this nonsensical and illogical put down of local talents who already have much compeition to face anyway. Not only that, in my previous workplace, I have witnessed blatant cronyism. I was in the human resource department so I knew about an incident whereby a manager, who's an expat, gives preferential treatment to people from his own country among the job candidates. I have also met many expatriates who look upon the locals like we are children, needing to be told what to do etc. etc, being high and mighty about their own culture. The only claim they can lay on being "multi-cultural" is that they like chicken rice.

All I want to say is that I wish the mentality will change soon- that this inferiority complex which is so needless disappear in the new generation of Singaporeans. I think that it's time that Singaporeans figure out for themselves that they are just as good as an IT expert from Delhi or some manager from USA.

Yet, if the expatirates are here, welcome them and respect them. Help them appreciate our culture as much as we can. One note to fellow Singaporeans though, especially shop owners- do not look down on your fellowmen. I have seen in many occasions, and this disgust me, that shopkeepers are rude to locals but extremely friendly to anyone who appears White.

On the other hand, I also wish that expats who come to Singapore have an open mind about the country- you are our guests but do not stretch our patience. I have good friends who are caucasians and they may one day be expats in Singapore. I always give them this advice- Be open minded and do not ever place your culture above ours because we are all on equal standing.

Another tiny voice in the dark....

I believe there's another side to the story but i can't honestly say that my experiences with expatriates are good. If I have one, I will definitely in future voice it out here. I'm a Singaporean and in my own country, I do want the top leadership positions in any field-science, business, politics (a defacto category, duh!), etc. to be headed by Singaporeans, not foreigners. This may be uncosmopolitan of me but I believe a country should look after its own people first and foremost and we are not a stupid nation.

Australia does it- it protects its own citizens first when it comes to jobs. But it can hardly be accused of being racist. Singapore should do the same- welcome foreigners, yes. But take care of your own people, or at the very least, place them all on equal standing with the expats. [/b]



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[ClaraD]

Interesting, thank you for the post. We are on the subject of expats? In most 'western' countries- (what is western anyway?) USA, Europe, Aust (maybe NZ) i am told that when hiring, one is not allowed to ask about race, age, gender and certainly not be biased WHEN hiring them.

However, here.. the expats make full use of their perogative to overlook all of that. Instead of using their common sense to hire people based on merit and talent, they hire based on age and looks, lastly talent. They also choose to deliberately overlook hiring people in their 40s AND they too have started hiring "Mandarin speakers" saying "because we have an office in China, because we are doing business in china".
Seriously- business documents are written in English, not chinese. The Chinese in China are eager to speak, read and write in English! But, there you go.

So a word in your ears, please, have a heart, have integrity, do the right thing!

[racist malaysia country]

I have lived and worked in six foreign countries, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Pakistan, and Singapore, and have visited even more countries. I must say that in all my travels, I have not had the unfortunate experience of racial discrimination. Sure there were inefficiencies, cultural barriers and language difficulties. But never was there a particular country where I was systemically discriminated against.

In Australia, even foreigners, are protected by the equal opportunity commission. Japan, where the locals are known to be xenophobic, have proven to be one of the most hospitable people in the world.

Even in India and Pakistan, there is no single group that is constitutionally and systemically discriminated against. Sure, there are religious fault lines between these two countries due to history. In both countries, I was treated with the same respect for locals, if not more.

The main point that missed is that in spite of all the hype surrounding the 'successes' Malaysia has arguably achieved, it has not integrated its ethnically different races any closer.

In Malaysia, racial discrimination is institutionalised, in Singapore perhaps it is done tacitly. In the public sector in Malaysia, it is no coincidence to note that the majority who hold the top posts are the bumis.

Well, without doing much research, I can tell that Singapore's president no less, and its foreign minister are Indians. Even from a cynical point of view, their positions in comparison with our Malaysian situation, are something our minorities here can only dream of. Of course, we cannot compare our Yang Di Pertuan Agong and other Sultans with the position of president, but a Chinese or Indian Malaysian foreign minister to represent Malaysia?

There is no point in arguing about favouritism and nepotism as they exist everywhere in the world and it is up to the electorate in each country, to decide to what extent they can tolerate them. The crux of the problem here is institutionalised racial discrimination where race takes precedence over merit as official policy.

Financially, instead of lowest tender, our contracts go to the most well-connected politically, with multi-level rent-seekers. The effects are beginning to show in terms of productivity and efficient use of resources. So far, we are lucky to have Petronas to hide our excesses. What happens when the oil runs out?

Singapore, as a small island with very limited natural resources, has been acknowledged worldwide as a developed nation. Whatever criticisms we may have of it, Singapore's development speaks for itself. Unlike the self-proclaimed developed status by Selangor, which is currently the butt of jokes.

The likes must understand that while many non-malays have left the country due to the discriminatory policies institutionalised by the National Economic Policy (NEP), many of us also understand the importance it played in ensuring equal distribution of wealth in this country. It would be naive to say otherwise.

However, the time has come now for a review on how the policy is applied. I am for one, a strong backer of the ideals that the NEP should be shifted from the current race-centric approach to an approach that uses a means test to justify affirmative action.

Poverty eradication regardless of race is stipulated under the NEP, but has this been implemented? All that is being asked is the promotion of equality to wipe out poverty regardless of race as promised by the NEP.

'Modern development economics' as mentioned empowerment to enable the poor and the underprivileged of all races to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and to move forward. But is this being done equitably today in Malaysia?

With due respect, has to come to Malaysia to see for the reality on the ground and to help us all create a more just and equitable society - a Bangsa Malaysia - that will truly promote greater national unity in our country. We who are here are trying to do our best to achieve this.

A nation can never be built on principles of racism, discrimination and favouritism. With the pervasive racial policies and political intervention of the BN monster in the tertiary institutions, dubious quality will still be a feature of our local institutions.

[where your eye]

Every time the average Malaysians see Dr Mahathir, they see - Twin Towers, Putrajaya, KLIA, GDP growth of 7% during the early 90s, etc.

What they don't see - the cesspool of corruption, the lavish lifestyle of our politicians that rivals that of hollywood superstars, the plight of the rural folks, the slums around Selangor and KL, the Straight A non-bumi students who couldn't get into university, the Umno leaders that threaten to burn down the Selangor Chiense Assembly Hall, etc.

When I think of Dr M Mahathir, I see what the average Malaysians don't see.

I want Dr Mahathir to pay for his crimes.
I want all his corrupt cronies burn at the stake.
I want Dr Mahathir to face the people who is lives has been affected by his actions.

[sved]

People which coming for another continent always bring something new to a company, and prove by their presence that they are able to move, may travel easier for the company, bring a different point of view...

If asians go to Europe to work they have much more luck to be hired than locals... who will think that they are just hired because they are yellow...

[Vaucluse]

I think it is also important to understand that we, as expats, are here for a certain duration (generally) and are not hired off the street.
I cannot think of one case where an expat has been hired locally, that is came here without a job and went to interviews etc . . .

The situation described above is different. I fail, also, to understand the point that 'expats' hire people in their 40's and include 'Mandarin Speaking' in their job ads . . .

When I hire people for our China Office or to deal with China-based customers I will hire someone who is fluent in Mandarin. It is simply nonsensical to say that China-Chinese can speak and want to speak English - that is not the point. It is ludicrous to send or have non-chinese speaking staff to conduct meetings and discussions there. I have been in enough of these to know that the vast majority of them cannot speak English - and why should they? The business language in China is Chinese.

Cronyism not an Asian thing? Of course not, who ever said it was? It may be more widespread, as our neighbours across the straits or any direction really, can attest to, but it is not an Asian perogative.

[destroy Singapore economy]

Actually, Singapore was the 2nd most competitive economy (UN World Economic Forum Report) for the last seven or so years until 2003 when they a recession due to SARS and Iraq War.

This year their economy powers ahead with estimate of 8-8.5%. Their ranking should improve next year.

If you stay in Singapore long enough, you'll discover the present of talented Malaysians in almost every field. Likewise, factory workers are mostly Malaysians even public sectors.

Each morning, the sight of busloads upon busloads of workers from Johor to Singapore is break taking.

Currently about 200000 Malaysians are working there out of about 800,000 foreign workers in Singapore.

Here is how to destroy Singapore economy: Shut down the causeway and 2nd link. The dependency is critical.

The thing about Singapore is though unemployment is 4%, estimate 3% next year, they have never asked some of the 800000 foreigners to leave so much more Singapore can take over.

[Vaucluse]

The thing about Singapore is though unemployment is 4%, estimate 3% next year, they have never asked some of the 800000 foreigners to leave so much more Singapore can take over.

And your point is?

And your point in relation to this topic is?