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A new poll that found 49 percent of Singaporeans are neutral toward foreigners here suggests that many people here have mixed opinions on the issue, observers said.
Only 14 percent of respondents in the telephone survey of 2,100 Singaporeans had negative views of foreigners, while 35 percent had positive views.
“(The proportion of neutrals) is usually quite small in other surveys that I am familiar with,” said the sociologist at the National University of Singapore, Tan Ern Ser. “It suggests that people are ambivalent, just not willing to compromise or it’s basically lukewarm. “
The proportion of people dissatisfied with foreigners is slowly increasing among the unemployed, with 26% of them expressing negative opinions, compared to 14% of those who are employed.
The survey was conducted amid the worst economic conditions caused by the coronavirus, as well as sentiments stemming from a general election and parliamentary debates that highlighted potentially discriminatory hiring practices among companies that hire professionals, managers, executives and technicians.
Associate Professor Tan said the results suggest that a significant number of unemployed people feel they have been discriminated against and that they compete with foreigners.
“Singaporeans want to be treated fairly with respect to the jobs they want and for which they are adequately qualified. I don’t think they are anti-foreigners; they are simply unhappy with hiring and promotion practices that seem unfair to them.”
Institute for Political Studies (IPS) principal investigator Mathew Mathews said the large proportion of neutrals suggested people’s conflicting feelings.
While most Singaporeans recognize the importance of foreigners to the country’s economy and society, he said, they may not be overly positive about their presence here during economic recessions.
At the same time, the results suggest that xenophobic online vitriol does not reflect how the majority of Singaporeans feel.
He said: “There is expected to be a small portion of Singaporeans who are really upset by the presence of foreigners here. The reality, however, is that this group is much smaller.
“Even if (most Singaporeans) are not always happy with immigrants, they accept that, ultimately, there is a real need for them here.”
Singapore University of Social Sciences Associate Professor of Economics Walter Theseira said there is a natural tendency to be prejudiced against immigrants, and that people who are more prejudiced tend to interact more directly with immigrants. especially with low-income and less educated workers.
What is more helpful than asking for opinions about immigrants, he said, is highlighting facts, such as the number of them here and the percentage of unemployed.
“This allows perceptions of the facts to be compared with the real truth … People (also) tend to respect hard work and feel better about migrants if they are reminded that migrants work and have aspirations for their future like everyone else. the rest”.
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