When Loyalty Turns to Awakening: A PAP Supporter’s Hard Truth About Jobs, Foreign Talent, and the Vote for Change 【当忠诚化为觉醒：行动党支持者的残酷真相】
“I voted PAP all my life… until it happened to me.”
This was not the voice of an “angry opposition supporter.” It was the heartfelt confession of a middle-aged Singaporean professional, once comfortably drawing a five-figure salary in the tech sector, now grappling with the harsh realities of job displacement. His awakening offers valuable reflection — not to incite hate, but to inspire dialogue and awareness.
In a nation where political discussions are often muted by fear, convenience, or perceived stability, we owe it to ourselves to listen to such stories before it’s too late.
“我一生都投票给人民行动党……直到我亲身经历了这一切。”
这是一位曾在科技行业中稳坐中层管理、月入五位数的新加坡人的肺腑之言。经历失业打击后，他的觉醒值得我们深思。这不是仇恨，而是对话与觉醒的呼吁。
在一个因恐惧、安逸或表面稳定而让政治讨论常被压抑的国家里，我们有责任在为时未晚之前，聆听这些真实的故事。
The Comfort of Complacency — Until It Hits Home
Many Singaporeans, enjoying stable jobs and clean estates, may feel little reason to question the system. But beneath the sheen of economic growth lies a hard truth:
- Jobs lost not due to incompetence, but to policies favoring foreign hires fast-tracked as PRs or citizens.
- PMETs advised to “upskill” into junior roles inappropriate for their qualifications.
- Hundreds, sometimes thousands, competing for a single middle-management position — with many of the contenders being non-locals.
许多人在工作稳定、住处整洁、生活未受影响时，自然选择继续信任执政党。 但在亮丽的GDP增长背后，隐藏着不容忽视的现实：
✅ 并非因能力不足而失业，而是被外来政策所取代；
✅ 被要求“提升技能”，却只能从事不符资历的基层工作；
✅ 一个中层岗位，数百甚至上千名竞争者，多数并非本地人。
“It Won’t Affect Me” — Until It Does
The gentleman’s confession is powerful:
“I used to think those who complained were lazy… until I became one of them.”
It took personal loss to shake the blind faith. Sadly, many will only realize the true cost of these policies when they themselves are affected.
This is not about partisan lines. It’s about demanding fairness, dignity, and opportunity in the land our forefathers built.
他坦言：“以前我以为那些抱怨政府的人是懒惰不努力的……直到我自己成为其中一员。”
太多新加坡人，只有在亲身受害后才觉醒。 这不是支持哪一方的问题，而是关于 公平、尊严与机会 —— 在我们祖辈打拼建立的国家中。
The Real Fear: Losing Without Knowing Why
Mainstream media may sidestep these uncomfortable conversations. But as citizens, we cannot afford to.
The issue is not about rejecting foreign talent outright — it is about how policies are executed, and at whose expense.
Are we sacrificing local livelihoods for growth at any cost?
主流媒体可能回避这些不舒服的对话，但我们不能继续沉默。
问题不是要不要外来人才，而是： ⚠️ 以怎样的方式？谁在为此付出代价？
我们是否在为了数字上的增长，牺牲了新加坡人的生计与未来？
Have You Reflected on This Too?
If you’ve always voted the same way thinking “it won’t affect me,” perhaps it’s time to ask:
🔍 What will it take for us to care before it’s too late? 💡 Is blind faith truly loyalty — or is questioning a deeper form of patriotism?
如果你也因“这不会影响我”而一成不变地投票，也许现在正是思考： 🔍 我们要等到什么时候才真正关心？ 💡 盲目的信任，真的等于忠诚吗？还是，提出质疑才是真正的爱国？
Final Thought: A Call to Courage, Not Anger
This is not a rallying cry for anger, but for courage. Courage to have uncomfortable conversations. Courage to demand better. Courage to believe that Singaporeans deserve policies that work for us, not just for economic charts.
🇸🇬 Let’s not wait until we, too, are the ones saying, “I never thought it would happen to me.”
这不是煽动愤怒的文章，而是一次呼吁勇气的邀请。
🇸🇬 别等到有一天，我们也沦为那个说出“我从没想过这会发生在我身上”的人。
Further Reading:
For context on similar voter reflections, read the full “Sengkang Voter” article right here， which was shared with me recently.
🙋♂️ This guy’s experience is something PAP supporters should read:
“After reading the article on “I am a Seng Kang voter” and many other articles on MSM, I had some reflections. For your information, I voted PAP all my life as I was having good job and pay. I never told all my friends who I voted, I pretended I don’t really care about who wins, as long as my estate is well managed and water still flows.
📜 Actually I am quite aware of whats going on in Singapore, we are surely moving to 6.9M or even 10M, it will come. I believe that Singapore is a small country and we need more people to consume so that the country will become prosperous with GDP growth. Of course, I know whatever the government says or hints, it will happen and we citizens no matter how much we complain or do those feedback, they will still do what they want to do.
👔 I worked for IT MNC, I was middle management. Over the years, the company had imported so many foreigners that now more than half were foreigners and most are with PRs or new citizenships. It did not affect my job, I collected by five figure a month happily. However, last year the management changed, CECA imported aka new citizen became my boss. And to cut the story short, that was end of my career, I was pushed to limits and pressure forced me to resign. And my replacement, you know better. I quitted my job believing that my knowledge and skills would easily get me another one somewhere.🍃 Days turns into months and I remained unemployed since. I used to think people who voted oppositions are those complaint kings who are lazy and instead of upgrading, they complain and complain; in my eyes these people are standard opposition supporters. I went to WSG and E2i events, for your information, they are useless for PMETs, they just want you to rewrite CVs or do some low level menial jobs meant for lower secondary education. Sometimes I wonder why experienced and knowledgeable PMETs like us need to go upgrade to do a low level job while these third world imports get high level jobs and live in condos?
💔 This whole event changed my world and life. Like those sheep at CHC, I was in rude awakening, it took me time to reflect all these years of blind faith and voting PAP, the trusted brand which keeps saying, ”With you, for you” every GE and leave no one behind. I applied for jobs, most middle level jobs, you have at least 500 – 1500 applicants, many are foreigners, fighting for one vacancy. So I finally know what is like to be unemployed, I could not imagine how these foreigners are all here competing with locals.
👇 This election, I turned against PAP, the reason is obvious. After many decades of voting PAP, this is my first time voting WP. I had blindly trusted PAP for too long, too comfortable with my good job and pay. I never really believed this 6.9M or 10M is going to affect me. Now I had to caution all the local PMETs reading this to forward to all other PMETs who maybe sleeping or used to having blind faith like me. If we do not stand up to PAP earlier, eventually we will be hit or our next generations will be hit.
☎️ The MSM largely avoided the harsh truths of why voters are turning against PAP, they are skirting answers because they want to keep us dumb. I only changed my vote after I was hit. I agreed with most of the reasons listed by Seng Kang voter, he got it right. I am one of the blind faith and I know many of us are fearful of repercussion or change.
❓ Will PAP change? Honestly, it will not, unless someone new is going to take over and overhaul the system. The plan for 6.9M is certainly on, I believe they will pretend to listen but will still do the same. So the Seng Kang voter is right, we expect them to continue to import more foreigners and convert, redrawing boundaries, more CPF changes and blood sucking policies.
📍 I had trusted them for far too long, and I am asking all of you who have not woken up to start thinking and till the next GE, we should all go out and vote oppositions to stop them from destroying our lives and country our forefathers built. Remember these foreigners did not build this country, they came in on VIP tickets, our lunches are served on them. So for the sake of our future and next generation, we need to vote more oppositions or end up like me.”
🔖 Hashtags:
#SingaporeVoters #PMETStruggles #SupportLocalTalent #VoteWisely #SilentDisplacement #PolicyMatters #FairCompetition #FutureOfSingapore #JobsForLocals #Elections2025 #问责不是背叛 #守护新加坡人 #新加坡未来 #政策要公平
💬 Engagement Prompt:
Have you or someone you know experienced similar displacement? What do you feel needs to change? Share your thoughts — your story may be the voice that wakes another.
你或你身边的人是否也有类似经历？你认为我们需要怎样的改变？欢迎留言分享，让更多真实的声音被听见。
This article is also published on LinkedIn. More interesting stories, articles and insights can be found on marvinfoo.com’s blog section.
