Proposed solutions to strengthen social ties in Singapore
Through educating foreigners
- Stricter requirements for foreigners to learn basic English before being able to receive a work permit to work here The language barrier between Singaporeans and foreigners can lead to misunderstandings and frustration. To counter this, policies will be put int place to ensure that foreigners can converse in basic English to interact and get along better with locals. Locals may also be more willing to accept them if they are able to communicate in English.
- Learn about various cultures and traditions in Singapore to allow them to better understand and respect locals
- Teach them about the laws and expected behaviours in Singapore (eg. no spitting, littering etc)
When staying here, foreigners have to uphold Singapore laws and regulations, regardless of their nationalities. Foreigners should be well-informed of Singapore laws and regulations through activities such as talks and strict enforcement. This is because laws differ greatly from country to country and hence they may not be very well aware of the laws. They will be briefed about the standard of behaviour expected of them such as refraining from spitting and littering.
Through educating Singaporeans
- Learn about the cultures and traditions of foreigners so that they can accept them and live in harmony
Through policies
- Strict quotas to limit the number of foreign talents and foreign workers in Singapore so as to avoid over-populating the country/ to ensure foreigners are not taken in in excess
Common experiences
- NS for PRs
- In Bonding S’pore, we covered how shared experiences bring people together, like how NS brings Singaporean men closer together. By allowing PRs to go through the same experiences as locals, they would shared similar experiences to locals and both parties will be more accepting of each other, having gone through similar hardships. Singaporeans, especially, will treat them like their own countrymen, taking up the duty of defending the country.
Related articles:
‘Unacceptable nearly 40% of population is made up of foreigners’ http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/unacceptable-40-population-made-foreigners-141417393.html
Issue of foreigners dominates National Day Rally forum http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/issue-foreigners-dominates-national-day-rally-forum-20120831
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