Alvin Tan: Jobless reader cried with Mum on Mother’s Day, May 18th, 2010
if anybody asks me what I have given my mum on Mother’s Day last weekend, my answer will be – SORROW.
“Oh, you’re such a unfilial son!” one will quickly retort.
No, no, hear me out.
I am a 44-year old single guy, held the post of a senior manager before but was retrenched last year.
I have sent out more than 230 copies of my CV to potential employers but received only less than 15 interviews so far.
Each appointment brought forth false hopes of employment and ultimately disappointment. How many rejections can a person take?
I was furious and dismayed but I could take it all.
As for my mum, she can’t. Such is the love of a mother has for his son. She wants her son to be gainfully employed and not daily coop up at home living a meaningless life.
I know that she is worried for me as each time when she heard that there was an interview coming, she would iron my clothes personally because she knows that my ironing is out of this world.
Weeks and months have now passed and I am still at home, patiently cutting papers for job opportunities.
I also began to slowly doubt myself – is there something wrong with me? Am I that bad that no employer is willing to give me a chance?
My savings are also drying up and the bills are haunting me slowly.
I can take it all – but not my mum.
She can’t bear to see her beloved son unemployed for so long.
You see, a year ago, I promised my mum on Mother’s Day that I will give her a good treat when I can find a job.
More than 365 days had passed since that day. How time flies when you are jobless.
Finally, Mother’s Day came last Sunday. I asked her what would she want for a Mother’s Day gift?
She cried and said: “The best present will be a job for you.”
I hugged her and we cried together.
Tears filled my eyes and there is a growing resentment within me.
I don’t hate myself anymore for being unemployed. I hate the current policies of Singapore.
It is not that I am lazy but the truth of the matter is many jobs have now gone to the foreigners.
Under Singapore’s lax labor policies, companies are allowed to employ foreigners so long a quota for local workers are fulfilled.
The situation is further exacerbated by the astonishingly short time in which the PRs are granted.
Most countries require foreigners to reside for a period of time before they are allowed to apply for PR but not in Singapore!
Two out of every three PR applications are successful here.
Many of these so-called foreign talents are in direct competition with us locals for jobs. Can Singapore truly accommodates six million people? Where are the additional jobs going to come from?
I have served my 2-year national service to protect my country and now my country is filled with these foreigners, which I am obligated to protect. How ironical can it be!
Is this what I deserve for being a true Singaporean?
As for my mum, she will have to wait a while longer for her Mother’s Day treat from me.