Jalan Kayu residents find ways to coexist with foreign workers

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 18 Sep 2008

When two dormitories housing 6000 foreign workers sprung up in the private estate of Jalan Kayu in 2005, it led to a flood of complaints from residents.

Manager of Tee Up Dormitory, Kelvin Low, said, “Initially, they hope not to see any foreign workers around the estate. This is unrealistic expectation.”

3 years down the road, not only have foreign workers become a common sight here, they are even mingling with residents.

Some foreign workers even join the police and volunteers to patrol the neighbourhood to discourage rowdy behaviour by fellow workers.

A volunteer of the Jalan Kayu Rangers, Saravana Kumar, said, “Some worker throw the bottle outside the road, I say don’t throw the bottle (on the road), must throw (into) the dustbin.”

Dorm operators have started education programmes, while agencies like the National Environment Agency (NEA) have been brought in to tackle the issues of cleanliness and security.

Chairperson of Jalan Kayu Neighbourhood Committee, Terry Fong, said, “For NEA, they have people to clean up during the weekends because you cannot completely stop and tell the workers to not litter here. For the police, they have regular patrols.”

With facilities like beer gardens, exercise fields, food outlets and mini-marts within the dormitories, foreign workers also have less of a need to encroach residents’ space.

In December 2007, 100 foreign workers from these dorms and 100 residents also jointly participated in a walk-a-jog. There are plans for more such interaction sessions to foster understanding between the two groups.

After all, these foreign workers are not too different from Singapore’s early settlers.

Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said, “It reminds me of the story of our own forefathers who came from China, India and lived in dormitories, sometimes (in) substandard conditions, (with) 30, 40 in a room. The story I hear today is similar to stories I hear from our own parents.”

And like Singapore’s ancestors, these workers play a critical role in Singapore’s development.