Minister visits foreign workers dormitories
Minister K. Shanmugam
Yesterday we went to a dormitory in Kranji. You would have read it in Tamil Murasu and seen it on TV.
The reason I am here is mainly to talk about last Sunday's incident,
understand your concerns.
Secondly, to provide some advice and thirdly to find out if you have any disturbances.
You can talk freely so please speak your mind
Firstly I would like to pose you some questions.
What happened on Sunday, as far as Singapore is concerned, is an act of atrocity. It should not have happened. (Participants respond in agreement)
Something like this has not happened in Singapore for the last 40 years. It should not happen.
Those who were involved were few. They should not have done it right? (Participants respond in agreement)
Those who were involved definitely have to be punished. That is fair right? (Participants respond in agreement)
If you were not involved in the incident, you will not face any problems.
The police may ask you whether you were present at the spot, what were you doing there and what happened?
Tell the truth. If you were not involved in the incident, you will not face any disturbances.
In Singapore, the law is universal. Even the minister, the workers and everyone are subjected to the same law.
Anyone who breaks the law, will definitely be punished.
Next, if you have any problems or need advice, there is a migrant workers' centre set up by the union for you.
If you have any concerns, you can tell them. I'm going to pass the contact numbers of these 2 union leaders to the centre.
If you prefer to speak in Tamil, you can approach the centre and speak to these leaders.
If you tell them, they will come and tell me and I will look into your concerns.
Participant: I read the newspapers recently. There seems to be some discussion on a possible legislation that would prohibit the consumption of alcohol in public places.
It would be good if that law can actually be implemented.
Minister: Is that so? (Participants respond in agreement)
Minister: How many of you support this suggestion? (Participants raise their arms to show support)
Minister: So you all want to save money? (Participants respond in agreement)
Participant: Sir, can we fix a time instead? Perhaps we can fix a specific time period for alcohol to be sold in public places.
Minister: We need to think about this. The government has been flexible but this requires responsibility on your part.
How restrictive the regulations are depends on your actions.
Following this incident, we need to review the laws and regulations.
Participant: Will this incident lead to lower intake of workers from India? (Participants laugh)
Minister: You need not worry about it as you are already here. (Participants laugh)
Participant: I have heard that there will be no visas for Indian workers for the next 6 months.
Minister: Please do not heed such rumours. (Participants laugh) In addition, you are already here so you will not be affected.
Participant: The private buses which ferry us to Little India have fixed capacity.
But some bus operators try to squeeze in more passengers to make more money.
Minister: The bus capacity indicated is for sitting passengers. Normally there is standing room in the bus.
Some commuters may also prefer to stand instead of waiting for the next bus to get home sooner.
So bus operators will allow more passengers than the stated capacity.
Of course the bus cannot be too overcrowded but sometimes you can exceed the total capacity slightly.
For example, I was told that this room can only take 150 people. I told them its ok to let in more people who want to attend this session.
That's why some of you are standing. Similar to how some people stand in the buses.
(Participants laugh)
Jeganathan Prakash
We are here to earn a living and provide for our family. So it's our duty to follow the laws of the land here.
We are all here basically to earn a living for our family so they told us to keep that in mind and focus on our responsibilities and return home.
They also told us to approach them if we have any problems and gave us the relevant contact numbers which are operational 24 hours.
Krishnamurthy
There's a lot of freedom here, more than what we expected.
We came to Singapore because we like it here and our parents are comfortable sending us here.
For such an incident to have happened, we are all affected.
Anyway, we are contented with what we have. It's just that when we get our pay, we would need to go to Little India to remit money back home.
We also take the opportunity to meet our friends. Sometimes we work on Sundays as well, therefore we only get to catch up perhaps once a month.
We meet, we chat and have a meal together before returning back to the dorms.
Minister K. Shanmugam
Beyond these two visits that I have personally attended, government officials are going around visiting other dormitories.
The main feedback received was this incident was the result of the wrongful actions of a very small group.
This was not the result of unhappiness with their employers.
They have the necessary facilities in Singapore. they like where they are staying. They like their workplaces. they get their pay on time.
If they don't get their pay on time, they can approach the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). MOM's contact number is stated on their work permits.
Therefore, the workers say they are working without any hindrances. They hope that they are not hindered any further.
Ms Vijay Thakur Singh
And there is reputation that the Indian workers have built for them. They are hard working, law abiding and peace lovers.
This is an isolated incident and we should treat it as such.
There exist a harmonious relationship between the two countries and its people.
We have to separate the incident from the relationship. The bi-lateral relationship is very strong. And the relationship will continue.