在英文论坛看到这样的 comment 。。。 my uncle told my cousin (his son) who also stayed in bishan: "...i have never asked anything from you in my life....but now, i asked you for your vote...that you vote for mr chiam..."
Singapore is a nation of immigrants but its opposition parties are tapping into growing anti-foreigner sentiment among voters to win more parliamentary seats in general elections on May 7.
Foreigners are accused of stealing jobs, depressing wages and straining housing, transport, schools, hospitals and other public services, putting the ruling party on the defensive for easing immigration rules in recent years.
The People's Action Party (PAP), in power since 1959, is widely expected to secure a comfortable majority but its opponents are hoping to win far more than the two seats they held in the recently dissolved 84-member parliament.
"Now every time I take the train, it feels like I'm in a different country," 24-year-old opposition candidate Nicole Seah of the National Solidarity Party told a public rally on Thursday to boisterous cheers.
"It is like taking a holiday. I don't even need to bring my passport!" added Seah, an advertising professional who is the youngest candidate in the polls.
Singapore's population numbered 4.03 million in 2000, with 760,000 foreigners and the rest citizens and permanent residents, according to government statistics. Last year, the population soared to 5.08 million with foreigners hitting an all-time high of 1.3 million.
Singapore has long had a steady intake of foreigners but the government markedly liberalised the admission of immigrants during the economic boom from 2004-2007.
With a birth rate far below what is needed to maintain population levels, Singaporeans were told they needed "foreign talent" and young immigrant families to keep the island economically competitive in the long term.
Sentiment began to worsen when the global economy collapsed in 2008-2009, and not even the record 14.5 percent economic growth in 2010 was enough to assuage Singaporeans' fears of being swamped by foreigners. "They never asked us whether we wanted a huge increase in our population," another opposition candidate, Vincent Wijeysingha of the Singapore Democratic Party, said at a rally on Thursday. "They never asked us if we expected such large numbers of people working for such low salaries so that your salaries will also be pulled down," he added.
It's an ironic turn of events for a city-state founded on cheap immigrant labour during British colonial rule, with most families tracing their roots to China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Reform Party secretary general Kenneth Jeyaretnam said the poorest Singaporeans were the most affected by the presence of cheaper foreign labour.
"The incomes of the poorest 20 percent of the population have probably fallen by between 10 and 20 percent and this is all due to the fact that we have an open-door immigration policy with no minimum wage," said Jeyaretnam, who was a London-based financial executive before plunging into politics.
Eugene Tan, an assistant professor of law at the Singapore Management University, said it was not surprising that opposition parties were milking the immigration issue."It works up people very, very easily and it is something that you encounter on a daily basis," he told AFP.
Kelvin Low, an assistant professor in the department of sociology at the National University of Singapore, said the anti-immigration card was not unique to Singapore in the age of globalisation. "These are populist strategies undertaken to attract the attention of voters," he said.
In reaction to the backlash, the government slowed the intake of foreigners and reduced their social benefits, such as hospital and school fee subsidies, while insisting that Singapore can never survive without them.
"By allowing in a controlled number of foreign workers, far from disadvantaging our own people, we have created more good jobs for Singaporeans and more opportunities in our economy," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said before the campaign began.
觉得这次真的会有 major swing against PAP 。。。
如果没有出意外，WP 应该赢 Aljunied GRC 。。。
Low Thia Khaing 去到 Kovan food centre, Bedok Reservoir food centre，选民都很开心，满脸笑容，围住他跟他讲话。。。
PAP 去的时候，却没有相同的反应
Nicole Seah apologises for MM’s Malay integration commentsBy Fann Sim | SingaporeScene – Tue, May 3, 2011 3:08 AM SGT
NSP's Nicole Seah apologises for MM Lee's comment. (Yahoo! photo/Fann Sim)
National Solidarity Party (NSP) candidate Nicole Seah delivered a surprise apology to the Singapore Muslim community when she apologised for the comments made by Minister Mentor (MM) Lee Kuan Yew in his book, Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going. In her rally speech to an estimated crowd of 15,000 at Mountbatten on Monday evening, the 24-year-old said, "On behalf of the Chinese Singaporeans, I would like to apologise to the Muslim community for the comments that MM Lee made."
In his recently published book, MM Lee suggested that Singaporean Muslims should be less strict in their Islamic observances in order to integrate better into the society. However, he later issued a statement and said that he stands corrected on how well-integrated Malay-Muslims are in Singapore. Seah, who is part of the NSP team contesting in Marine Parade GRC, also addressed the crowd in Bahasa Melayu, touching on the concerns of the Malays. "I would like you to know that my hopes are for us to progress as one Singaporean regardless of race or religion. I would like to build a community where no one gets left behind." Seah's words had one of her Facebook followers, Alfian Sa'at, posting a thank you note on her page. He wrote: "As Malay voter, I wanted to thank you for apologising for MM's remarks although it's not something you have to do. I keep telling my Malay friends that throughout Parliamentary history, the ones who really spoke up for the Malay minority were opposition MPs such as Chiam See Tong."
Seah also touched on the general anger at foreigners in Singapore, saying it may have been "misdirected". She said that the influx of foreigners should not be blamed for Singaporeans' stagnant wages, packed MRT trains and ballooning housing prices.
"No my friends, the real target of our anger is the PAP government," she said, to a thunderous round of applause. Seah criticised the government's policies for allowing foreigners into Singapore which led to a variety of problems.
The advertising executive also shared the policies she champion when elected. She intends to review industries on a case-by-case basis and will continue to allow work permits for foreigners in industries that are unpopular among Singaporeans. She also plans to review the foreign worker levy to encourage businesses to hire Singaporeans.
On a lighter note in her speech, Seah joked that supporters in orange were forbidden from using the toilets at the nearby Mountbatten Community Club. Taking a jibe at the People's Action Party, she said, "I wonder if it was a PAP rally, would they have let us in."
However, there was some drama near the rally when a car with an NSP flag was found vandalised with white paint. Photos of the car has gone viral, with netizens speculating that the culprit could have been supporters from the "other" party.
楼主
发表于 2-5-2011 10:26 AM
我还得劝他别浪费选票，就算对PAP不满，也应该让自己的意见化成选票，投反对党。
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