Sweta Agarwal proud to be Indian citizen and to have PR status in Singapore
August 20, 2009 by admin
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From our Correspondent
The man, or rather, the lady at the center of the controversy, Ms Swetal Agarwal has replied. (read article here)
In a letter to the Straits Times Forum on 20 August 2009, Ms Swetal Agarwal wrote that she is happy being a PR though she does not get equal benefits in housing and other aspects.
However, she was adamant that her child get the best education in Singapore:
“But where our children are concerned, we just want them to have the best education possible and I think we are not asking much…….where schooling is concerned, ‘every child has the right to get the best education possible’.”
Ms Swetal Agarwal did not explain why she did not choose to take up Singapore citizenship after living here for 6 years.
“About living here for six years and not taking citizenship, I think this is a very personal choice.”, she wrote.
Unfortunately, many Singapore citizens do not enjoy the luxury of ‘personal choice’ as Ms Swetal. They are stuck with the citizenship with nowhere to go. On the other hand, Ms Swetal can always choose to return to India where the cost of living is much lower.
Ms Swetal is not alone. There many Malaysian and Chinese PRs who refuse to become Singapore new citizens in order to enjoy the “best of both worlds”. They earn decent salaries in Singapore which when converted to their native currencies, will enable them to retire comfortably in their homelands. Therefore, many do not see their future in Singapore.
Ms Swetal ended her letter by proclaiming her loyalty to India: “I am proud to be a citizen of my country and have PR status in Singapore.” Many Singaporeans would be envious of her position. How nice it is to be a Singapore citizen and a Australian or Canadian PR at the same time.
In the meanwhile, the furore over foreigners being “given a free meal” continues unabated with one Singaporean calling on the government to start new citizens on ‘quasi-national service’. (read letter here)
Bryan Tan wrote of his suggestion: “Besides being seen to contribute to society, they can also integrate into society faster by interacting with people at various levels. By serving in hospitals or charities, they will gain an instant insight into cultural and religious aspects of the community of which they will become part.”
While Singapore men spent two years of the best years of their lives in the army, it seems a “good deal” for the new citizens to do contribute to Singapore by serving in civilian institutions. The question is: does the government have any political will or courage to implement it?
http://comment.straitstimes.com/showthread.php?t=23420&page=19
Swetha_Agarwal
August 20, 2009 Thursday, 03:17 PM
To all those who ask me to go back to India, my answer is SORRY NO. Why should i go back? . My husband is a computer engineer and singapore needs such foreign talents. He guides and teaches his inferiors in office who are singaporeans. I insist I want best education for my daughter. In the fast develoing world, to talk about citizeh, PR etc is non-sense. These are talk of losers and incompetent people. I will go back to India when singapore becomes rotten in future. So we wont take citizenship here. We have the support of Mr. Lee Kwan Yew, who is a visionary and stateman.
everyone look at singapore no up especially THE POLITICIANS FROM BOTH SIDES(OPPOSITIONS AND PAP).BOTH SIDES ARE CLOWNS BASED ON MERIT.SPORE IS A LAFFIN STOCK TO FOREIGNERS..............even SPORES own patriotic citizens wave fists at PAP and WALK OUT FROM SPORE AFTER YEARS OF FRUITLESS RESULTS!