Social Commentary

How would you react if you make your way down your apartment block, only to be greeted by a huge group of unfamiliar-looking foreign workers, mingling in the midst of your neighbourhood? What if you are going to have to live among them for the rest of your stay in your neighbourhood? This is a likely event as new dormitory sites for foreign workers may be located nearer local residential areas in Singapore, as space becomes sparser. Most Singaporeans would cringe just at the thought of this, being conservative Asians. However, in this commentary, I will seek to prove that living with foreign workers is more beneficial than rejecting them, and thus Singaporeans should accept the foreign workers living in their neighbourhoods.
One, foreign workers greatly aid Singapore’s economy. National Development Minister Mr Mah Bow Tan said that “foreign workers are here to contribute to our economic growth.” Two, the number of foreign workers coming to Singapore to work is ever-increasing. Yet we have limited space here. Naturally, the dormitories built for the foreign workers will have to intrude the space already used for local residents. Looking at these two points, Singaporeans should learn to accept foreign workers in their society, in order not to hinder the economic contributions that the foreign workers are making to Singapore. If every Singaporean were to complain about having foreign workers in their midst and demand that they move away, the foreign workers coming to Singapore to work would no longer have a place to stay. This means less foreign workers coming to Singapore to work and boosting our economy, where the economy is important for the progress and development of Singapore. This is one reason why I feel that Singaporeans should be tolerant and accept the foreign workers as part of our society.
The other reason is to do with racial harmony. Because Singapore is a multi-racial country, it is extremely important that values such as racial tolerance and understanding are ingrained in the minds of Singaporeans. This is to prevent major misunderstandings and conflicts between racial groups. Such racial tolerance should also be applied to foreign workers. This is because if Singaporeans are not able to live harmoniously with foreign workers, they cannot expect to do the same with locals of different races to them. In other words, not accepting foreign workers in our society is inconsistent with the values of racial harmony that Singaporeans all claim to have. Allowing them to live amongst us, however, would not only be congruous with such values, but will also promote the values in Singapore, ultimately leading to a harmonious, multi-racial society. This argument is in line with what Mr Mah urges all Singaporeans to do: to “be more understanding and accommodating” to the foreign workers.
Naysayers may argue that local residents have a right to choose whether or not they want to live with people of other nationalities. I, in fact, agree to this point, but what I have to say is that such rights are minute and insignificant, when compared to the positive effects of allowing foreign workers to stay in our midst. These positive effects include, as abovementioned, the boosting of Singapore’s economy and the promotion of the values of racial harmony. These effects are far-reaching and significant, as they serve to support the stability and progress of the country. It is definitely worth it to sacrifice the local residents’ rights for such benefits. Furthermore, the loss of these rights does not have a major impact on the local residents’ day-to-day living, or their lives on the whole.
To sum up, the benefits of foreign workers living in the local residents’ space outweighs the residents’ rights infringed in the process, thus Singaporeans should not reject the idea of foreign workers living with them. If Singaporeans understand this, the foreign workers are in for a comfortable and harmonious stay with the locals.