ST Forum letter is quite bullshitty

I saw this letter in The Straits Times today and I can’t help but feel that this letter sounds totally wrong. Before I continue, please do read the letter:

Give PRs a fair chance during P1 registration
I READ with interest last Wednesday’s letter by Mr Chong Kim Hwa, ‘Primary 1 registration: Separate citizens, PRs’.

I agree with the idea of granting a place to children who already have siblings in the school. But I wish to counter other points made by Mr Chong.

First, his claim that prioritisation of citizens over non-citizens is fair and impartial. The reason he gave is that the number of new permanent residents is higher than the number of births.

The number of PRs granted was 50,000, whereas the number of births was around 40,000. The fact that the Government is willing to grant foreign talent PR implies that there are sufficient places in Singapore schools for children of PRs and citizens.

Second, Mr Chong suggested balloting if there are insufficient places after citizens are allocated theirs. He assumed that there will always be sufficient places for citizens and no balloting is required. Is this assumption backed by data? What happens in the event that balloting is required for citizens?

Third, the Government is encouraging foreign talent to settle in Singapore and contribute to the economy. A major consideration for foreign talent who are considering Singapore is the guarantee of places for their children in our world-class schools.

Thus, the process Mr Chong proposed runs contrary to the strategy and effort of the Government to attract foreign talent. In the long run, this will cause them to seek other countries that will welcome them as much as our Government does.

I would like to end by posing a question to Mr Chong.

How would you feel if you migrated to another country, contributed to the economy of your adopted country but your children were given lowest priority in school enrolment?

At first, I thought it all sounded very convincing, but after thinking it through, I was thinking that this is totally bullshit. The value of a citizenship vs a permanent residence status has always been hotly debated. It is a common consensus that Singaporeans feel that Foreigners and PRs seem to be of a higher class than Singapore citizens, or at least, the government sees it that way.

What I think is, this whole foreign talent term is a huge load of bull. It’s been abused so much that people seem to equate foreigners == foreign talent. Which is plain stupid because not all foreigners are talents. You’re telling me that you contribute to the economy = foreign talent and for that you’re supposed to be the same as citizens or even higher? Bullshit.

What this letter writer seems to imply is even more stupid. The thing is that the writer is comparing between PRs and Citizens, and she wants both to be on equal footing. She seems to claim that foreign talents are vital to powering the economy, and my question is this: “Is it that Singaporeans are not capable of powering the economy?”

The thing is simple, no country would ever give everyone equal benefits. If PRs can get the same benefits as Singaporeans, then why be a Singaporean? We might as well be a citizen at another country, and a PR in Singapore, and it’ll be like dual citizenship isn’t it?

I say, if you want a fair chance, then why not become a Singaporean?

How would you feel if you migrated to another country, contributed to the economy of your adopted country but your children were given lowest priority in school enrolment?

Comparing citizens with PRs! PRs are already one rung higher than complete foreigners isn’t it? I don’t think the government is preventing anyone from being a Singaporean, in fact I think they are encouraging people to take up the Singapore citizenship. Hence I feel that there is nothing to stop the writer from taking up the Singapore citizenship. I doubt other countries are different from Singapore. I believe that if I ever migrate, I won’t be treated on equal grounds to true citizens, and I won’t expect them to anyway.