|
|
发表于 29-10-2009 15:37:32|来自：新加坡
|
显示全部楼层
Pink vs Blue: Minding the gap
By Zakir Hussain
IF YOU are a Singapore citizen, you have the right to vote, visit 150 countries without a visa on your red passport, and receive a slew of tax reliefs and a cornucopia of subsidies.
If you are so inclined, you can form a political party, launch a tirade and stage a protest at Speakers' Corner on most matters - but race and religion are off-limits.
Indeed, from the cradle - or from the point you are given a pink IC - to the sick bed, you have a leg up over permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners working or living here.
Should you have the misfortune of becoming destitute or unable to support yourself, you would qualify for public assistance, ComCare aid, a rental flat and handouts to help pay your utility bills and conservancy charges. And if you fall ill, you can bank on Medifund to pay for your hospital bills.
The distinctions between citizens and PRs could not have been clearer.
As the National Population Secretariat (NPS) under the Prime Minister's Office declares unequivocally: "Our citizens' interests are the priority of the Government."
As it points out, a PR holds an entry permit, which is issued under the Immigration Act that grants him or her the right to enter and remain in Singapore.
"Citizenship is a birthright for legitimate children of Singapore citizen parents. As such, citizens enjoy more rights and benefits than PRs," said the NPS.
Yet, with all these perks and privileges, many Singaporeans still complain about being marginalised by the influx of new arrivals and becoming strangers in their own land. They say they see no difference between the benefits enjoyed by citizens and PRs.
To allay these concerns, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told 1,500 students at a Nanyang Technological University forum last month that there will be a sharper differentiation in the way citizens and PRs are treated "to reflect the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship".
Elaborating a day later, Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said: "We are looking at this whole issue of calibrating the differences, so Singaporeans can see in concrete terms what it means to come first.
"Foreigners in our midst will still feel a sense of welcome, but they must understand that they cannot demand the same privileges that come with membership. This is something we have to keep calibrating with time."
So what is contributing to the growing groundswell of discontent and disquiet among Singaporeans? Why the need to review the distinctions between citizens and PRs for the second time since 2006? What more can be done to reassure citizens that they still bask in the Singapore sun?
From: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Asi ... 0091028-176479.html
新加坡讯，新加坡海峡时报星期六刊载文章，分析了为何新加坡人对永久居民感到不高兴。文章引用数据说，其中一个主要原因是，新加坡人认为政府批准永久居民太过宽松。
文章说，一个无可争议的因素导致了很多新加坡人感觉公民的权利已经减缩，即使这并非事实。这是因为永久居民占据居民总数的比例在升高。
文章列举数据说，在1990年，每23个公民只有1个永久居民，但2000年每10个公民有1个永久居民，今年，每6个公民就有1个永久居民。
上个月的统计数据显示，新加坡的人口逼近500万，公民数则为320万，为总人口数的64%。
截至今年6月，永久居民数较一年前上升了11%，达到了53.3万人。其他外国人则有125万人。
s
大部分人流入是因为经济需要。在新加坡人口报告中，人口统计学家苏瑞福总结说，如果没有新公民或永久居民，生育率还是持续低，2010年的居民人口就只有360万，然后就从2020年起下降，2030年达到352万人，2040年为323万人，2050年为286万人。
尽管面临这样严峻的现实，政策研究院学者Leong Chan Hoong指出，大量的新永久居民，加上大力吸引外国人才，“已经制造了印象，政府发出永久居民身份证，太宽松了。”
他指出了三个因素导致了新加坡人对新移民的担忧。
第一个是对资源和机会的竞争更加激烈了，尤其是住屋、教育和就业机会。尽管这并非新加坡独有的想象，但最近的经济危机加剧了这样的情况。
第二，男性公民需要承担两年的国民服役的职责，接着还要承担10年的预备役，而永久居民则不必。
第三，一部分永久居民缺少融合，也导致一些陈旧的观点，即一些公民认为他们只是“酒肉朋友”，也不会和社群打成一片。
社会学家、官委议员斯特劳恩认为，新加坡较小的地理空间使这样的感觉难以避免，越来越多的非公民的出现，公民最终和他们的接触就多得多。
"一定会有更多的反应，积极和消极的，很可惜，我们一直没有足够强调积极的交流。"她说。
现在尚难以度量消极反应的强度，但最近的张元元事件，反应出这类情绪很容易被激起。张元元2003年来到新加坡，2006年得到了永久居民资格。 |
|
IP卡
狗仔卡
显身卡
