Singapore Settee

What price citizenship?

Singapore continues to encourage foreign talents into Singapore providing them with permanent resident status as well as citizenship. A number of such talented people arrived with help from the various sports groups like Soccer, Table Tennis and Athletics. Are these sporting talents really ready to put down their roots into Singapore? Are they really Singaporean or are they simply paid assassins.

As an example, Egmar Goncalves, a soccer player, is said to be looking at returning to Brazil where he hailed from. He gave up his Brazilian passport to carry a Singaporean passport. He has represented Singapore in many matches and helped Singapore win a number of trophies. He has indicated he may return to Brazil as he is unable to secure further lucrative deals with teams playing in the S-League.

Is there a problem with Singapore that he cannot continue to stay on after the end of his playing days? Is he also planning to retire away from Singapore? Why not try his hand at coaching or helping out in some local Singapore schools to raise the level of skills for Singapore? After all, he is now a Singaporean. Surely he would clearly love to see future generation of players playing on the world stage.

It is not just him but a host of other players and from various sport organizations. Why is it that so many choose to leave Singapore after their playing years is over. Then there is the player who chose to try his luck in Europe after agreeing to a deal with an Indonesian team. What are the criteria for a Singapore citizenship? Would these newly minted Singaporean be willing to defend Singapore defend Singapore when the need arises? Or would they run back to their original country?

I am also further surprise that these citizens are able to return to their countries and stay on so easily. I am not aware that there are so many countries that will provide a foreigner citizenship rights even if that person was born there. Would Singapore welcome back to its fold any and all previous Singaporean after they have spent their youth and value shoring up their wealth elsewhere and returning home to retire. Perhaps most of us have a chance to retire in many other places – just check out the countries these foreign talents came from. If they can get citizenship so easily, we have a real chance ourselves.
But I think this is not so. Those born in Singapore will have to look for alternative – upgrade (or downgrade) their skills and try to adapt to the fact that their spending power has shrunk. While these foreign talents can retire in their original countries taking their money (including CPF) with them, many other Singaporean will have to learn to survive on less money. Maybe it is time for me to learn to bend it like Beckham. At least, I know I can retire anywhere I like. Hey, I can even play where I like.

posted by JHG J Chang @ 3:01 pm