Uproars Entertainment - How do you feel about having foreign worker townships in your estate?

How do you feel about having foreign worker townships in your estate?

There was an uproar over the weekend when plans to turn the former Serangoon Gardens Technical School in Burghley Drive into a hostel for 1,000 foreign workers met with protests from the residents. Would you be able to accept foreign worker townships in your heartlands? Which parts of Singapore do you think will be suitable to build such townships?

Public Comments

yes, i will allow foreign worker in my estate.
I wait for the MPs to lead the way and then i will willingly accept them...
no way any housing areas or housing estates will be allowed for this troubles makers or foreign workers to be contained. these people should be housed in area like kranji or neo tiew areas. where there's workers are staying there too. they can contribute their work on constuction and create alot troubles for us as well. as i say before these are contract workers who comes to singapore to earn a living and they are paid to do so. if the goverment insists of housing them in burghely drive, it will means endless troubles for the citizens there.
Everyone need a home. No matter where we have to provide them with good housing and teach them the proper living not to do things they are not supposed to do . Not only this India or Bangladesh people doing nuisance things around us but we have the Myanmar or Indonesia and even the China people come to Singapore with different style of living until they became known of our living habit they will follow eventually . I have no home of my own ,living in a rental room with my 2 kids and i have to get used of living like that until i have my own home so please don't treat people unknowingly of their plight why they are here ?
Housing them within 2km of their workplace would be practical. And lets remember the pledge ...without ...
I am truly saddened by the elitist attitude that has emerged from this whole "foreign worker" housing situation. What has sparked this "not in my backyard"mentality? Since when did one heartland are become more exclusive than another? Most of these people come here to work in areas we Singaporeans refuse to even consider, make miserable wages and yet we don't believe that they deserve decent housing and decent recreation? I am truly saddened by this.
pls bear in mind, most of these foreigners are here for short while with no committment to SG. there are culture and social differences ih which the govt must understand and needs to be balance. it will cause inconveniences to the residents, currently there are no regulations, enforcements and committments to control possible crimes and issues. we hv to understand no one wants to take uneccessary risks. And the main beneficial are the govt and corporations, not the residents staying there.
No Way! These workers are supposed to be housed away from housing estates. Their behaviour sometimes is very annoying. They sometimes dressed indecently when they are at home (near windows / corridors) or going for bath. And when they start hang around outside, they always stares at girls. Their lifestyle is different from that of Singaporeans. Therefore they should be housed away from our Singapore residents to protect our privacy!
Btw , the school they want to convert to quarters... That's my school. Serangoon Garden Technical. I am ok for it being put for good use. but I don't think a quint town like Ser Grds should be the place for such quarters. It is not that all of them are bad people, but just a few bad apples will create a lot of inconvenience to the residence. If the Government thinks it is ok to build quarters there.. I suggest build one at Davly Estate and Rochalie too. that would be fair.
Acceptable as long they behave themselves, as they also contribute in buildings and contructions, but I do prefer they live in those industrial areas rather than in residential areas. Some people prejudiced against foreign workers because they find them 'not safe' to live nearby with them.
why not treat them as a human to if is not at serangoon garden find a better place for them pleas don't discriminate our fellow foreign worker....
The only people that would welcome these township is those that can make money from these workers eg Seven Eleven and food stalls that sells their type of food. It is strange that these workers are not allow to drink inside their dom , but is release to the nearby blocks of flats to do their drinking and partying. Dont even considered township , having a table and chairs under one block is already bad enough , Can you see the amount of rubbish left behind esp after a week end. And worse urine inside lifts or at some corner ,as there are no toilets avaliable. I used to live in a block that have a old age corner , after the old people leave the center , the young ones comes and make a mess of the place. Concept is good but need proper monitoring. I am still washing the lifts in my block every weekend and holidays when ever I see/smell urine.Dont give me extra work to clean up after these people. One more point , the increase of bicycles chain up at land landing is an indication of the amount of foreign workers in my block.At present I can see 9 bicycles?. Our lifel anding is not built to accomodate these amount.
I notice that some foreign workers like to gather in big groups and sit around void decks or staircases leading to flats. After they left, they will normally leave behind a lot of rubbish and empty beer cans which I think is creating a bad environment to young children who live around the area. Foreign workers also brought with them their cultures which not many can be easily accepted by locals. It will be a big challenge for locals to live peacefully with them. I will accept them only if they can behave themselves. As for which part of Singapore is suitable for such townships, I think it should be some offshore islands.
No is my direct answer. they can be a nuisance when they are in a group regardless from where they come. our luv ones will be affected by their activities
I will disagree with that. They can't even behave themselves. Is hard for us to accept them around that area.
Its not a matter of accepting them into our heartlands, its a matter of whether we can accept their behaviour. Unless you are in denial, most Singaporeans would have already witnessed some of their less desirable qualities. Admittedly, not all of them behave the same way but the truth is that most of them do. Alot of them are already housed within our heartlands. The consequence has been that our once safe heartlands are no longer as safe anymore. After its turns dark (esp on the weekends), they sit under the block and drink. And if that is not bad enough, they leave their glasses behind. I once asked a policeman if they could do anything about it and his reply to me was that we invited them to work in our country so we cant really chase them away as long as they dont turn rowdy. That is RIDICULOUS! Yes, they are here to work and yes they can drink but they cant do it at the void deck! What ever happened to our laws? Since when has sitting at the viod deck and drinking as a group considered legal or even acceptable? The neighbourhood policeman would be able to give you statistics on how many of the cases he sees a day are related to a foreign worker...and yet we are considering putting them in the heartlands?!!? I understand that its not the culture of the workers that makes them behave this way, its their situation. They are in a foreign country, away from their family and with friends. So, they tend to party on the weekends. But they have no concern of the effects of their actions in our community bcos they dont consider us to be home. Even if they are housed in SGTS and there are rules to prevent them from drinking there, they will move to the nearby areas to drink. And then, there would be no conducive environment to raise a good family. The safety of the citizens surrounding them would be affected. The best place to place them would be in the non-functioning factories in the Tuas and Ubi area. This would be best for them and for the community at large. There is no point in forcing them into the heartlands and making the community accept them when there already has been such an obvious uproar against it.
I think its crap from the govt. Will they allow the building to be build near the istana, parliament house or PM Lee's house? If it is so, then true Singaporeans will accept it. Otherwise do not talk about it.
I would not mind, as long as they do not cause any trouble or grief. Because honestly, after a hard day's work,they need a nice and proper place to rest like any other people. If the people are still worried, maybe they could filter out the better workers to stay at certain areas?
No, not me. Not all these foreign workers are bad, I have worked with some of them. Some are hardworking, friendly and smart. But it only take one bad apple to cost a massive disturbance in the estate. I stay somewhat near a place where foreign workers gather, they drink, make noise, spit and leave their rubbish everywhere. And they pee at corner of staircase. So who is gonna tackle these problems. The same people that want to have a open heart ? What if something worst happened ? To house so many foreign workers together will cost problem among themselves. As they are from different countries, working together sometime create friction, not to mention staying together. Who want a big gang fight to be happening in their neighbour ?
Our main concern will be security and unwanted behaviours i believe setting up a course for these people to teach them the Singapore lifestyle before bringing them into the community. Eg Don't hang water dripping clothes out to dry. Don't litter.Loitering in big groups is not welcomed, policemen will check on you and you don't want that to happen to you.Flush the toilet after use(Don't be surprised, i knew many of the China Chinese(men and women alike)don't do that) Let them know the Dos and Don'ts. Singapore is a FINE country i believe the Government can work things out.
Yes. They deserve proper housing. If resident like Serangoon Garden residents are up in arms and think that they are too good to be living in the midst of foreign workers, I think we should charge such residents a very high fee in order to have the privilege of using facilities that these people help us create like roads, hawker's centers, etc etc. Maybe all the towkays who signed the petition should be barred from hiring foreign workers for their own companies.
Are we really such a shallow society that we can't even share an estate with these foreigners? Alot of it depends on perceptions and stigmas and i think its high time we take our heads out of the ground and realize that we need these people to help us in construction and so on. To those who violently oppose, maybe they have a source of workers which the government should tap on. And furthermore, we fail to realize that these 'people' are human beings just like us. They too have dreams and aspirations and they too have families to care for. Yet the comments by some make it seem like we are talking about parasites as opposed to actual people. Why Singapore? Has our society forgotten the meaning of graciousness and the need for some humanity...
No, foreign worker townships should not be built in the heartlands. There has been numerous complaints by other Singaporeans against foreign workers but it seems like all these complaints have not been heeded by the authorities. These foreign workers come from a different culture from ours. Drinking, fighting and other types of what we deem anti-social behaviour is quite common in their country. We cannot blame or change them instantly, but we should not put them where they can influence our way of living. The heartlands is where our children are brought up. Do we want them to be influenced by such behaviour? Do we want to expose them to the dangers of fighting or worse? I think the answer is a definate "NO" for all parents. I agree that foreign workers should also be given a decent living standard and am all for building townships for them. However, these should be located far from the heartlands. Perhaps in the industrial areas like Tuas or Kranji.
1st of all, I'm a very family man. I'm in the SAF and i need to go overseas training often, leaving my young son and my wife in singapore which to the world is the more safe place on earth. Now come to think of it, when there are alot of ill- manner and ill- discipline foreign workers wondering under my void deck dead drunk and will peep anywhere any time! Would i still feel safe leaving my family behind and be fully committed to my work? Lets all think about how many time have you seen police patrol car in your neighbourhood or multi storey car park or police man patrolling on foot/ bicycle? I believe people in serangoon gardens had already thought about this security issue. Beside this issue, looking from the money sense, the housing price around that area will be affected too (I remember reading in the local papers about someone wanted a loan from the bank for his condo near geylang but was rejected by the bank because of the condo location.) I will not accept foreign worker townships in my heartlands because of my family's security reason. Because of what i had seen and heard of foreign workers disturbing the youngs and women under void decks. In tuas industries, i have seen workers hostals near industry park, i believe this might works.
I don't mean to discriminate foreign workers. My own estate is located near their quarters and its getting kind of annoying when they hang out at our estate's void deck or sitting at the park grass patch drinking and chatting loud (its quiet at night.. surely their voice sounds loud). We all need a good rest after a long day and definitely want to feel secure enough to reach home safely. They just stared as we walked past them (I mean how else am I going to walk towards my block) Not to mention the way they crowd in groups around the staircase of the MRT and blocking our ways. Talking so so loud on their handphone. Its just something about our culture and behaviour that clashes with them. Once again I emphasize that I have nothing against them just that am not pleased with their habits at times. Wish they are located further away from housing estates or refrained from loitering without intent around housing estates that they aren't residing.
Converting a school into dormitory is a good move to put vacant building into use, but if its in heartland then there is a bit of concern.If they loiter around nearby place late at night and even drinks then... If only a small percent do so it can still be alarming if total is 1000. I recall in Jurong there is a dormitory which is very organised.The place is fenced up with Security guard,a shop ,clinic etc. Workers have to clock in/out and they are not allowed to go out late at night unless there is permnission from company...we need not isolate them but I think certain measures in place will give assurance to nearby residents. Over time, they will be accepted..
No, I do not think having such a township is beneficial for Singapore. Instead of looking at short term; One should weight the long term effect too. Such township would give rise to polarization in the country and 'status' etc. In time of unrest..it may give rise to riot which will be more difficult to control. Once such township is given, it is not reversible. It is best to leave it as it is. It has been like this for many years with no issue and accepted by all including foreigners who are working in Singapore. Emotional long term effect should be a sense of 'belong to Singapore" not 'Group' etc. Do we want such group such as 'Tamil Tigers' etc?
u say 'no' is a descrimination, and say 'yes' then u have to face wth problematic foriegn worker. coz if u allow this and not look at the problem than there's nothing wrong, but if u look deeper into it there's a lot of matter to look into. most of all is over crowded where agent and management will stuff in as much people as possible thus make the place cramp and noisy. and second of all is drinking problem where most of them have this problem and police have to step in. so basically there no saying in this matter. as for my opinion is very easy. U HAVE MONEY U RENT and solve all the problem
No i dont tink they should be allowed living in my area.. they should be cluster in just one area for them to stay. as now Foreign workers are overwhelming in singapore..Even mrt and buses are alwaes packed with them.. In addition some of them are lacking in manners just like some singaporeans when they take public transport.. Goverment should create a quarters for them to stay and company should arrange transport for them to n fro from their work this will reduce the congestion off public transport as around 20% of the people using public transport are the foreign workers..
Yes, I would be able to accept as their contribution is instrumental to our nation building. I think the townships should be to at the end of Singapore e.g. Tuas/Jurong, Pasir Ris. However, there should be constant checks on health/hygiene/security within the dormintory.
Big fat NO.. Why ?? Dun get me wrong.. I am against discrimination of any sort.. I deal with such foreign workers in my line of work... The problem is with the majority that does not bring their heart here... They are here to learn a living and that is their sole or main objective.. It is true that they contribute towards the progress of our nation's physical infrastructure.. But, that is their job.. No more... If you have the time... Interview some of them... Some of them can be really nice people.. They are human with families from where they came from... They bring with them cultures or habits that can be deemed unacceptable by us or might cause us discomfort.. But that's how they are.. They do deserve acceptable living spaces but not among the local residents. Our local residents deserve the peace of mind they desire when they return home after a hectic day.. They shouldn't be made to lose the sense of security that they get within their homes or community.. Therefore ,I suggest building foreign worker dormitories in every industrial estate complete with facilities to cater to their daily needs..
Preface: I was reading through some of the replies & I noted that for those that are not in favour of foreign workers residing in housing estates were given a "thumbs down". I thought this is voicing out personal opinions. Anyway, whether or not to house them in housing estates depend largely on Govt mandate. We can protest or agree all we want, still Govt will make the final call. I agree with the cultural differences that conflicted with ours. Though, it is a fair statement in indicating that we do have "elite-ism" within our society, but for those that practice such culture, maybe one should reflect on "are we gracious"? 1stly, I think that housing them near to their work-place will be a much better idea; be it near housing estates or not. This will save transportation costs and time. 2ndly, regardless of our nationality, if we are to work overseas, we have to learn the culture & adopt it. I suggest that the employers should spend some time in conducting Induction Programme to these foreign workers on the "Dos & Don'ts", so as to minimise the possible cultural conflicts. An example, there are a number of PRC students staying opposite me, there were a few nights in which one of them will make a call at past midnight. I was in my room with my room-door closed, guess what? I could hear his conversation in his thick accent very clearly; he was typically shouting into the phone at the wee hours. However, none of my other neighbours came out & told him off cos' S'poreans are typically 'patience'. 3rdly, as much as I tried to condone their behaviour, they must be made known that staring at people, especially females (of all age, race & built) is really very rude. When a few of them got together, thay can really be very rowdy; Bangras will get drunk very easily & start to make a din, PRC spat & smoke everywhere, even when it is a non-designated smoking area - both are very loud speakers, they shout rather than talk. 4thly, I am very concerned with security. If they are housed too close to housing estate, I am very worried for the old folks and the females. Furthermore, I doubt that our SPF has sufficient numbers to maintain a 24/7 suvelliance in our neighbourhood. I urge that the Govt do think twice, especially on the safety aspect. When the Govt makes a decision, it is the Nation that suffers from it.
We have to be fair to the residents and accept the fact that the foreign workers CAN be a problem. Esp for families with maids and teenage daughters. But we must also accept the fact that Singapore needs foreign workforce, be it unskilled/skilled workers or the expats or our sports persons. I feel it will be wrong to 'chuck' them in some corner of the country just because their living styles are different from ours. I am sure there is a way we can work out for everyone to live comfortably with each other. Isn't 'Be courteous' 'Do not Litter' campaigns mainly for Singaporeans .Lets not forget that our current Vibrant Garden City, Singapore has been made up of early settlers from India and China.
It's a very difficult question to answer. If foreign workers of a certain country are quite mild in manner and they are relatively quiet and considerate, the answer is YES! Why not? If these foreign workers are from a country or countries that exhibit loud noise and abuses of any kind, then the answer is obviously NO! Even within the same country - say for EXAMPLE - China, there are foreign workers that are loud, rude and inconsiderate and they urinate when people are not looking or they disregard others by making comments about the government, etc..then these culprits ought to be sent back and not even allowed into Singapore. But there are Chinese workers who are kind considerate and gentle too. Even Indians or Banglahs have their fair share of crazy ones and good hearted ones.. So we cannot actually say that it is not right to put them in the estate. The funny thing is that : WHY ARE FOREIGN WORKERS NOT HOUSED in HOLLAND ROAD, ORCHARD ROAD, BUKIT TIMAH near NJC or HUA GUAN TERRACE area or KATONG? WHY? Can anyone answer that?
The bottom line is property value. Its not an issue about "racial harmony" or discrimination of the foreign workers, but how the residence will see with the introduction of the dormitory, which will be an eye sore to the estate thus devalue the property for future buyers. Just like Holland Village. The values of the properties keep rising because of the expats who live there, making it a "prestige" location for eveyone. Even the prices of the old HDBs are outrageous. Hence I too won't be happy if I have invested heavily on my property which later gets devalued just because of a few blocks of foreign workers dormitory across my house.
No. most of them cant behave
About 50 years ago when we were still only a colony, our forefathers who came from India ,China and other asian countries were discriminated upon by our former colonial masters , The British.Fast forward to 2008, we are discriminating against these poor foreign workers who are actually doing jobs that most Singaporeans would not touch with a 10 foot pole. It is a most shameful event that really tell that for all the material wealth that we have accumulated in our short transient life, we have not evolved spiritually as a person. In our push for wealth , we have lost our soul.
Don't get me wrong, i understand the issue here. i understand the worries about the security and families and their children's security. i also understand how women feel about the foreigners looking at them with sometimes perverted looks. i have this issue too and mind you, i don't get these looks from foreigners only. i live around Novena and i am literally surrounded by constructions around my block. i am living with foreign workers who are living in those tanks-look-a-like next to my block for the past one year and will be doing so probably until 2015. i am more annoyed by being surrounded by 3 simultaneous construction fields than them sitting around, working on construction fields, which can be quite dangerous and living in tiny boxes with probably 10 other mates or more. they've been living with me for the longest time and i have no problems with them. for those complaining about the peeing around in staircases and littering... can i say that my condo, at Novena, is being peed and littered at in the staircase too, where no one else but the residents of the condo have access to? who does that? i think this is worse. yes, there are a lot of exceptions and there are bad apples, as one said. but they are humans too. they left their families and loved ones to make their lives better back home. and they are willing to undergo quite a fair bit here just to make this happen for their families. would you have done the same? giving them this opportunity to have a little township of their own, is to me, something great for those who will be able to get a place there, because not all of them will have this opportunity anyway. at least this will make it a tiny bit better for them.
A foreign worker township should be self contained with facilities e.g shoplets,cafes or canteen and provided with own fringe transport system. The conversion of an old school seems right and pertinent to suit these requirements unfortunately it is sited in an private housing estate. A more suitable location could be in Kranji or in an old army barrack outskirt.
Land is scarce in Singapore, there are residential estates everywhere. It is very difficult to build foreign worker townships far away from heartlands, except maybe in Pulau Ubin or Tekong! The existing areas like Jurong are already fully cluttered with these foreign workers. The MRT train, station and park are very crowded (mainly foreign workers) on weekends. Are Jurong residents not Singaporeans? They loitered and spitted at the void decks, sat in big groups on grass patches with many bottles of beer. It is only fair that these workers lodging are spreaded across Singapore, not just Jurong or other existing areas.
Yes, I would allow. Presently I am also renting one of my room in a 4-room flat to 4 china workers. They have been well-behaved, and do seek us for opinion when need arise. Maybe government may make us of this chance to allow more headcount to rent room from the private resident. It will also increases our income in this bad market.
Im staying near there Serangoon Garden is one of my Fav hangouts... Not to mention most of my dinner's source are form there.. anyway..if its going to infest with Bangladesh..then.... just visit the place less at night cos it spells DANGER.. Seriously im not being Racist or something just that the theory of "one bad apple spoils the whole pie" .. i have seem most of the time foreign worker making alot of noise, spit anywhere, stink up HDB void Deck, disturbing the maids/chinese girls, fights, drink drunk troubles... Hence i thought the current situation near our Estates is bad enough... imagine with additional 1000 workers near the estates...the resident dont bother to sleep already. Plus Serangoon Garden Neighbourhood Police post is not a 24hr police post... how i know...my car damage by some drunkards at serangoon garden outside 7-11 one night last year.... and it takes 30min for policemen to arrive at the scene...Can you imagine if 1000 workers start fighting and create great disturbance?? Police are there LATE.. Hence NO NO for More foreigner... the amount of foreign construction workers are high enough.. we have already reach the limit of tolerance. Our heart is already open wide enough... its is not the issue of "No my Backyard" any more.. it is the level of foreiger should keep at a sustain level.
I am beginning to seriously question if those "planners" (if they really are qualified planners to begin with) have even seen what the HDB blocks of flats in the Little India are looking like these days, and let's not forget the weekends. Amnesia, perhaps? If they still think it's alright to go ahead with the Burghley Drive plan, then they may even want to consider their next planning in the Dempsey area, Novena, Cairnhill, Holland Village or even along the Grange Road area. Fair and square, I'd say.
Wherever such lodging is going to be provided, it's the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that enough facilities are provided for the workers. If there are not enough areas for them to shop and relax and transport services are not improved, then don't blame them for loitering around "your" area or taking up your bus seats. I understand the protests from the Serangoon Gardens residents, though I do not quite agree with them. They are unabashed to state their own reasons i.e property prices going south, social and security concerns. It betrays their unspoken fear of foreign workers as potential troublemakers and law-breakers who have come to destroy their hitherto peaceful cocoon. But let's say these 1000 workers are Caucasians in a brand new condominium for expats only or 1000 International School teenagers staying in a boarding school there, would such protests have erupted over the same concerns? You go read between the lines...
nope
For those who answered yes to the questions. Pls make your way to Boon Lya interchange on a weekend to see for yourself and ask if you are still in singapore, and how do u feel?
How i feel. I feel sad. To think that the people objecting against the government's proposal are the people whose forefathers were probably in the same shoes as these foreign workers now are. It is ironic that Singapore, which prides itself for its multiethnicity, has among its children people who throw here and there implicit and explicit racial slurs and stereotyping. Would I accept them in our estate? Yes, especially if the government vouches for their acceptable behaviour. I believe in this government and I know it will be as pragmatic so as to make sure these foreign workers are made aware of the do's and dont's. Why do I feel for these foreign workers? One because I am once a foreigner too. Second: I am not bigoted, I am not racist, I am not cruel, I am not inhumane, I don't think of myself superior over other people. I acknowledge the significant conritbution of these foreign workers to the construction industry in particular and the entire Singapore economy in general. I know that they will not be staying in the estate forever (especially now that they have been made to feel unwelcome, unwanted and presumed as nuisance), they are here just because the country needs them to do the work that locals do not like to do. I respect other people's views anyway, but I feel sick. Uniquely Singapore. I want to cry...
townships? a million times no! foreign workers will remain an indelible part of singapore landscape at least for some time, albeit a transient one. having hostels to house such workers such as proposed in serangoon gardens should be sufficient. we must accept this with the accompanying 'inconveniences'. grow up, singapore. do not throw out social graces the window when we 'grow from 3rd to first world'
seriously NO WAY!!!! these ppl are annoying and inconsiderate.they stare at girls making them feeling uncomfrotable. have u ever met dirty workers blocking the passage way of the bus making the front door of the bus jam. have u ever seen a BIG grp of dirty workers gathering in the train and talk very loudly when some ppl really need a peaceful time in the train esp after work. does these ppl ever bathe or change their clothes?they really stink.they are polluting singapore. singapore are already polluted with chinas , indo etc and now more of these workers. omg,i really cant imagine how s'pore is going to be like after 50 years. NO MORE workers pls...
No, they should not be housed anywhere near residential areas. Industrial areas should be the designated domains to house them. Bear in mind, Singapore is not their home, it is a place for lodging until their contract runs out... Are housing estates hotels or hostels? It's not about elitism, it's about what citizenship means. It means to call a place our home and to treasure and protect it. It's about a way of life that we are proud of, and will defend it against any element that threatens to change it. To those who support putting foreign workers in housing estates? Let me ask: 1) As citizens, do you want to wait for 1 rape case, 1 murder case or robbery case to happen for you to be convinced? 2) Try living with them in the Township then; ask them to take your daughters to school, ask them to cook meals for your daughters and tuck them in bed for their afternoon naps.