Myanmar community here gets bigger
Posted by lushhomeonline on May 3, 2008
MYANMAR nationals are making their presence felt here, not just in their red T-shirts joining the queue outside their embassy to vote on their country’s new Constitution, but in other sectors of Singapore too.
The Myanmar Embassy, in St Martin’s Drive, estimates that there are 100,000 of its nationals living here, up from 60,000 at the beginning of last year.
This 40,000 jump in numbers has been fuelled by the unrest in their country, which was triggered by the ’saffron’ protest in August last year when monks demonstrated against the rising price of fuel.
Some 75,000 people fled their homes in East Myanmar amid the conflict, which left about 500,000 displaced.
Most of the Myanmar nationals here hold employment passes or work permits, and work in accounting, engineering and construction. More are also arriving to work as maids.
Most come here in search of money and a better life.
‘There are more opportunities here and we can get access to the Internet, a wide range of books and reference materials from the library,’ said Ms Ei Thet Khine, 29.
She came here in 2006 to work as an assistant accountant, while studying to be certified as one.
Mechanical engineer Maung Pho, 31, said Singapore has given him a chance for a better life. His $3,400 salary pays for the rent on a two-room HDB flat in Jurong West and supports his wife and two-year-old daughter.
‘The same job in Myanmar would pay me only $60 a month. How could I feed my family?’ he said.
The presence of well-heeled Myanmar nationals is also being felt in the property sector. They made it into the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s top 10 list of foreign buyers of private property last year for the first time in the last decade.
Last year, Myanmar nationals bought 159 condominium apartments, said Mr Joseph Tan, executive director (residential) at CB Richard Ellis.
Popular areas include Little India, Buona Vista and Boon Lay.
Myanmar youth are also filling up classrooms here.
While the Education Ministry declined to give figures, Myanmar student networks say they number about 5,000. The students are enrolled in all levels of government schools and at tertiary and private language institutes.
Partly driving those numbers is the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) aggressive effort since 2006 to promote Singapore to Myanmar students.
That year, its education exhibition in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, drew about 1,500 people. Last year, 2,700 showed up, said STB director of education services John Gregory Conceicao. It now plans to open an education information centre there.
Mr Gregory Lye, general manager of Education Unlimited Singapore, one of the largest agencies which match foreign students to schools, said he placed 60 Myanmar students in private and government schools last year.
Madam Zin Zin, a Myanmar ’study mama’, explained: ‘Over here, my children learn more about the outside world and can ask questions, something they can’t do back in Myanmar.’
Her son is in his final year at Temasek Polytechnic and her daughter is in Whitley Secondary School.
The 53-year-old housewife and part-time tutor, who holds a master’s degree in science, plans to sink her roots here by getting permanent residency and a job.
Despite the rising cost of living and struggles with learning English, most Myanmar nationals say roughing it out here beats going back to a home still in a state of unrest.
An administrative executive who arrived here last year and gave her name only as Nyunt, said: ‘Even if it means cutting down on my expenses and eating out less here, I’d rather do that than go back.’
Source : Straits Times - 3 May 2008
