“True” Singaporeans

There is no one “true” Singaporean, just as there is no one “true” American, but the changing face of the Chinese-majority city-state came under intense scrutiny in the General Elections held on September 11. The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), espousing mostly conservative social and economic policies, sought to defend the supermajority of seats they held in the country’s unicameral parliament against a rising tide of opposition vitriol. Luckily for the PAP, aided by high emotions from the country’s 50th anniversary and empathy for the passing of the founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, their candidates won all but six seats in parliament.

Despite the overwhelming support for the ruling party, opposition parties did not let go of the issue of unchecked immigration. In a rally held on September 3, Dr. Chee Soon Juan, the Secretary-General of the center-left Singapore Democratic Party, lambasted the PAP for Singapore’s high cost of living. In particular, he blamed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s son, for attracting the super-rich to Singapore by rewriting the Banking Act in his capacity as Finance Minister in 2001. “The massive inflow of foreign capital pushed prices up,” he said. “At the same time, the PAP opened the floodgates, and imported en masse cheap foreign labor… [pushing] wages down.”

Unfortunately, Dr. Chee’s impassioned speech does not tell the full story. Singapore’s status as an industrial and financial hub is heavily reliant on the influx of capital and talent from all over the world. Many multinational companies are based there, attracted by Singapore’s low income taxes and generous corporate tax rebates. Thus, many foreign professionals take up residence, or even citizenship, in Singapore. In fact, Singapore was the domicile of choice for Eduardo Saverin, a Facebook co-founder seeking to reduce his tax burden.

Moreover, the government has always maintained its stance on foreign labor: if there had been more Singaporeans willing to go into the construction, cleaning, and service industries, the government would not have needed to engage foreign workers from such countries as Malaysia and the Philippines to do such jobs. Few Singaporeans are willing to work under the midday sun in 93ºF weather; taking their place are poorly paid Chinese and Bangladeshi workers. These transient workers are often deprived of adequate nutrition and living space. In particular, their contractors often confiscate their passports at the start of their stint in Singapore, making it difficult for them to leave the country or seek help when they are mistreated.

Another result of the influx of foreign talent and laborers is that the added commuters have exacerbated the strain on the city-state’s aging public transport infrastructure. In December 2011, train services were repeatedly disrupted on the North South Line (NSL), an old trunk metro line linking the financial district to the northern part of Singapore. Frustrated by packed metro trains filled with foreigners and increasingly frequent train breakdowns, commuters lashed out at the Ministry of Transport and SMRT Corporation, the NSL operator.

The PAP government, beset with transportation woes and shellacked in the May 2011 election (losing a significant bloc of parliamentary seats), was quick to respond by shifting to the left. Rather than curtail the influx of immigrants and foreign workers, in 2014, the government launched a Pioneer Generation Package, heavily subsidizing healthcare costs for 450,000 Singaporeans aged 65 and above. Moreover, the government revamped the national insurance scheme, now called Medishield Life, to provide “better protection and higher payouts” to reduce out-of-pocket costs for large hospital bills. In addition, single mothers would soon benefit from more equal access to maternity leave and tax rebates.

Perhaps the PAP has done the right things for now to alleviate the discontent of many Singaporeans towards foreign labor. Many analysts, though, are still cautious about their optimism for the ruling party. Yoong Ren Yan, a second-year Masters student at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, wrote for The Middle Ground: “To me, a swing this large can only mean this: the Singaporean swing voter is persuaded by reform… But the PAP would do well to note what the mandate is for: a more responsive, caring [government]. They have no ‘blank cheque,’ even if they’ve done better than most were expecting.” Even as Eduardo Saverin celebrates the electoral victory from the balcony of his penthouse, he has every reason to be concerned about his country’s future.