Immigrants move to S'pore on economic, multi-culturalism reasons

A series of dialogue sessions between the immigrant and local communities in Singapore has thrown up some findings on what motivates immigrants to come to Singapore.

SINGAPORE: A series of dialogue sessions between the immigrant and local communities in Singapore has thrown up some findings on what motivates immigrants to come to Singapore.

These sessions were held by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) of the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy and supported by the National Integration Council.

Sharing the findings at a conference on Saturday, IPS said while the primary consideration for coming to Singapore was economic in nature, there were also other motivators.

They included the secular nature of Singapore's brand of multi-culturalism, intercultural harmony and the possibility of achieving citizenship.

But immigrants did have some initial surprises and concerns about the Singaporean way of life.

The dialogue findings revealed that Singapore was seen as more competitive and fast-paced, with a higher cost of living than where they had come from.

Also, the multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious way of living was new to immigrants from some regions.

New immigrants sometimes found Singaporeans distant and reserved. But they noted that when engaged, close relations could be formed.

Immigrants sometimes also found it difficult to break into local social networks but recognised that personal initiative was needed to make this happen.

Many new immigrants who started a family in Singapore with young children noted the flexibility and ease with which their children seemed to fit in with the local environment.

The study also revealed that immigrants were aware of some Singaporeans' discomfort about their presence which manifested in the perception of competition in the workplace, education and housing sectors.

However, many immigrants were appreciative of the high level of fairness and transparency upheld by the Singapore government, their workplace and the social sphere, as well as the opportunities that were available to them due to a fair and just system.

IPS said there are about 53 associations catering to new immigrants in Singapore.

Source: ChannelNews Asia 1st November 2013

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Immigrants move to S'pore on economic, multi-culturalism reasons

A series of dialogue sessions between the immigrant and local communities in Singapore has thrown up some findings on what motivates immigrants to come to Singapore.

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