I agree with James but only to an extent because he's only touching the politically correct surface, plus what is already propagate by PAP and the state-run media.
In Singapore, the current resentment of foreigners has more to do with the types of immigrants coming in. It's an issue of what really defines "foreign talent".
In the past, most foreigners coming in to work in Singapore were of two categories, (i) the bona-fide foreign experts/talents, where locals lacked the skills, knowledge or experience, (ii) the labourers, maintenance workers, domestic helpers, or any profession where very few locals would venture into. These were the migrant workers most Singaporeans would welcome and have no issues with. More importantly, the numbers were manageable for a little red dot.
But it's a very different scenario now. The current PAP policies are about bringing in foreigners (especially from China) by the masses, regardless of skills, qualifications and occupational demand the country needs. PAP only want numbers, the bigger the better (although they're cutting down now to avoid election backlash). PAP wants a competitive business environment which ultimately leads to lowering labour costs and hiring of cheaper foreign workers. Another reason is to boost the population to a staggering 6 million, according to the old man's twisted reasoning.
So what's becoming of the average Singaporeans now? They are facing job losses or lower wages because of the cheaper foreign hire. The hardest hit are the lower to lower-middle income group. And these jobs include administration, clerical, manufacturing, engineering, IT, customer service, hospitality, sales, retailing, transportation and so forth, whether it's white-collar or blue-collar in nature. These are the types of jobs Singaporeans will not shy away from, but are at risk from cheaper foreign imports....and NOT those "labourer" or "domestic worker" types PAP usually try to justify in defense of their policies. The scariest thing is...if the economy takes a hit, you will see more Singaporeans suffer due to lack of jobs with sufficient wage to support the rising cost of living.
And not to mention other problems and inconveniences Singaporeans are facing daily due to the massive influx of foreigners....ie. inadequate transportation, rising property prices, unaffordable public housings, overcrowding (not an understatement!!), inflation, social problems & nuisances (notably from certain China people), safety, security and so on.
Sometimes you have to make a stand and say enough is enough. If your government is too arrogant, too detached and has since stopped listening to you, maybe it's time to say "let's move on" to another......see my sig below.
. And no - I don't belong to the middle-high income bracket.
