5 facts about life outside of singapore that every singaporean should understand

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

78579.46 in reply to 78579.435 FACTS ABOUT LIFE OUTSIDE OF SINGAPORE THAT EVERY SINGAPOREAN SHOULD UNDERSTAND

Post date:
26 Jul 2014 - 3:24pm








An open respond to the Influencer Media article dated July 20 titled 5 Major Facts about Singapore That Every Singaporean Should Understand. Thank you Jackie Oh for shedding some light into this!
“CPF members shortchanged by government…”
“COE prices up again in all categories…”
Okay, not exactly those titles, but you get what I mean. If you’re like me and you have friends on Facebook, you’ve probably seen some of this type of articles floating around. Unless of course, you don’t have Facebook. Hey! I’m not judging.
Singapore, oh Singapore. We have turned to one very emotional people isn’t it? If you can’t beat them, join them.
And I think it’s about time I voice my own opinion about this, this time, in respond to a rather pro-Singapore article published a few days ago on The Influencer Media by a writer, young and talented I must say, named Jackie Oh.
Like every Singapore article, the mood is tensed. Eh chill ah beb. Jokes. I mean seriously, do we even take things lightly anymore? Like smile. Or laugh. Focus on the happy moments we spend with people that matters more instead of things like this. There are way too many political unrest in this world already.
Can’t we just find the rainbow beneath the shit loads of stuffs that’s already happening in our country today? C’mon, please say yes.
Before we go on, let me introduce myself. My name is Aqilah and I’m a Singaporean who loves a good laugh and don’t take too many things seriously, and quite possibly, I’m just like you.
The difference with me is that I was fortunate enough to experience life overseas because my parents made the right choice to migrate to Sydney when I was 16. Although I’m back now in Singapore running my own start-up, I’ve lived, breathed, attended the public school and university and worked in Sydney over the last 8 years.
I would leave the final judgment to you of whether or not life is indeed better overseas but with all seriousness (for real!), here are 5 facts you should know about life outside of Singapore as Singaporeans.
Number 1. Foreigners are everywhere.
See those Filipino ladies dancing in front of Taka? Or those Bangladeshi guys helping clean up our streets? Wanna know what they have in common?
They’re humans. Surprise!
And so am I, and you reading this, and that person across your office who is about to read this and everyone else in this world for that matter!
And being human is one of the most beautiful thing in this world ever. International love anyone?
Yes, foreigners are everywhere in Singapore but the situation is just the same all across the world. But, in response to Jackie, saying Singaporeans are hypocrite when we complain about foreigners, is a little too naïve of a statement to make.
How does a Singaporean who is unhappy with the situation they’re currently in now become a hypocrite when they leave the country to become a foreigner in another? Hmm.
Won’t you think that a Singaporean is a hypocrite if they complain about being unhappy and yet still choose to remain unhappy?
Back to the hypocrisy part, so are you saying my parents, and thousands of other Singaporeans are hypocrites for choosing to become foreigners in another land when they’re unhappy with the foreigners in their own land? Another hmm.
Next point. Leaving Singapore is not in any way easy. My parents left Singapore in 2003; way before all of us were brave enough to voice out our unhappiness and it wasn’t all butterflies and unicorns for them.
Despite migrating under a skilled worker visa, they had to spend money, time and effort, on top of sitting for English tests (even though Singapore is considered well and truly an English speaking country), going for medical checks and filling up endless forms just to get there. In fact, that’s what every one thinking of migrating has to do.
So Jackie, if you think that was easy, then maybe you should really go sit on the bench.
You may have strong feelings about Singapore being a home, but don’t start looking down on people who actually do choose to leave Singapore because they see potential in another country. Much like my parents. And those foreigners who probably made your Double Cheeseburger.

Number Two. CPF may not be a scam, but perhaps more research on other countries tax system is needed here.
Here’s something all of us need to know:
If there’s one thing about the CPF in Singapore which is a little short handed is the fact that there are no transparencies. In fact, a lot of governmental thing in Singapore is not transparent to the public eye. Hasn’t it always been that way?
Blaming bloggers like Roy Ngerng is probably the second most naïve thing you did in your article because if it wasn’t for him, most of us won’t even question what happens to our CPF money. I’m not taking sides here but as a person speaking for a younger generation, I would actually like to know how my monies are invested.
Now that aside, is it necessary to start criticizing the tax systems overseas? Just wondering, on what basis did you even develop that part? Don’t worry about it; I’ll answer that for you. Let me give you a real life example of how people get paid in Australia.
First things first: I have to agree with the part where you said that taxes overseas is way more than Singapore, and for those of you really planning to move overseas you should know this.
But here’s some other things you need to know too.
There is minimum wage in Australia, something Singapore lack. In other words, employers values their workers like diamond. A friend of mine works in McDonalds and gets paid $30 per hour for working past midnight on a Saturday. As far as I know, that’s way more than most of us working full-time jobs in Singapore.
BUT. My full time working parents gets taxed between 22-35% of their yearly income. If you earn $100,000 a year, your tax is around $35,000. Could be more if you earn more but for most of us, that’s the general tax bracket. Now, that’s A LOT compared to how much tax we pay here in April.

Another one:
There’s no CPF. Ok lies. There are. Of course there are. But it’s not compulsory for us to contribute to the account because our employers do the dirty job, and they pay between 9.5-13% depending on your industry.
The good thing? We get to choose where we want our retirement funds to go, including full transparencies and flexibility over where we want it invested.
Another good thing? We have the freedom to choose how we want the funds disbursed when we retire.
I don’t know about you, but this freedom I’m thankful for because if there’s one thing I really dislike seeing when I’m back in Singapore are old folks working just to cover themselves up because their retirement fund which they contributed 20% to each month in their early years is not enough to sustain their daily expenses.
Oh and one more thing. Yes we get taxed a lot. But we get taxed for a reason and the reasons are transparent enough so we know what they are. You may prefer to have 20% of your monthly salary put aside for something that is ‘technically yours’ but I would prefer freedom, flexibility and transparency above all.
And my parents having to relax comfortably in their golden years. Not work even more after working for 50 or more years.
It’s a matter of choice.

Number Three. Yes Singapore is small and populated, but again, don’t have to criticize our opinions.
We’re humans, remember? We’re creatures of comfort. When we see something else in this world being compared to what we have ourselves, we comment.
You know, like, ‘Ergh can’t even afford a car here.’ Or ‘Wah so expensive ah? I can get a farm in Ireland with that money!’ Just saying.
And Singaporeans, here’s a little fun fact if you don’t know already. The only way you can afford a house and a car of your dreams, assuming your dream house is a villa and your dream car, is simply a car, then you have to move out of Singapore or work ridiculously hard or smart to earn enough to get to your dreams. Like it or not, there won’t be any change to this.

Number Four. It’s hard to find employment ANYWHERE in this world.
It doesn’t matter where you go and what you do, finding employment is not easy. It takes effort. Real ones I mean, not the ones you landed a job because your dad is the boss.
But, hey, you know what I life about finding jobs in Sydney? Everyone has an equal opportunity to that job listing you said you just posted. And I’m speaking with experience.
The minimum wage is one thing. The protection laws towards employees is another. Nine hour shifts? Seriously?!
Speaking of hiring, I’m an entrepreneur. I run a start-up in Singapore, and truthfully, my first priority is to hire a Singaporean because one of my intentions of starting a business is so I can open up jobs to the otherwise ignored talents of our younger generations.
But then again, awesome people skills and respect with BASIC manners like saying please, thanks and sorry, no matter what their qualifications are, is also a priority.
Let’s not just say foreigners lack this, there are many times when I stumble upon our very own locals who lack this simple, and logical personality. Does it hurt to smile and say thanks? Maybe it is to some. But it’s a human problem, not a foreigner thing.
And want to know why foreigners are more than happy to take up that $2200 job you listed with 9 hours of work per day, six days a week? Because for that same amount of effort in their country, they get paid peanuts.
Likewise, I will be willing to work that much in Sydney because I get paid twice more for that.
Instead of focusing on the numbers, here’s my advice to all Singaporeans. Learn some people skills. Enhance yourself. And learn basic manners. It helps because I’m doing it myself. Wanna join me?

Number Five. People everywhere complain.
Know what’s another human problem? We complain. Period.
Yes we complain all the time, and even if we have something good, there’s always something we’ll be unhappy about.
So Jackie, don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any intention to judge and I really appreciate your opinions but perhaps before looking down at us Singaporeans (and ultimately yourself, because you are a Singaporean right? Oh no, I didn’t ask earlier…), you might want to view it at every different angle as much as you can.
Just so you know, I hang around local Singaporeans in Sydney as much as I do with the Aussies. And guess what? I haven’t heard a single regret from any one of us migrants about these racist, tax and all the other negative things you say in your article.
And to the many Singaporeans like me? Take it on your stride. Focus on yourself, your family and the people that matter to you. If you think moving is the better option for yourself and your family, then do that for you. Don’t worry about your neighbour, aunty or some random person saying ‘Eh but people there very racist you know.’
If you can’t change the world, change yourself. Complaining does not get you anywhere.
Will I ever go back to Singapore being an employee? Probably not, life is better as an employee overseas as far as I’ve experienced.
But will I ever go back to Singapore as an employer? I’m already doing it now. And when the time comes that I need to hire, basic respect, awesome manners and an incredible innovative brain is what I’m after. Not your gender or skin colour or the language you speak. ‘Can speak Mandarin’ is not mandatory.
Chill, Singapore. Laugh a bit. There’s a good thing behind everything. Now who’s planning to catch the fireworks on 9th August?

Thoughts? Comments? Feel free to leave some below. I actually read them. Omg a real person.
Aqilah Norazman is the founder of 15 Pretty Awesome Weeks, Singapore’s First Online Health and Body Transformation Program, made with love for Singaporeans. She is passionate about laughter, her family and friends and spreading love and inspiration. Grab some sneak peeks here. Oh, and don’t be so tensed up ok?




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