Judy Arrives

"Not so excited ah?" I asked Judy.


"Ya, unlike the previous time I came, I don't feel so hopeful anymore."


Shame that I do not have a million to spare. I told Judy if I have the money, I'll set up shop specialising in Nonya Confectionery and help her get a 457 Visa based on the fact I will face great difficulties hiring a Nonya baker. Heh, just imagine an Aussie baker making an Oneh Oneh.


I meant what I said but I do not have the means to carry it out.


Since I worked in a government policy department before, I know the limitations of policies. Regardless how well a set of policies are crafted, there will always be weaknesses to threaten the successful implementation of the policy to its desired outcomes. Usually, policy makers are contented with achieving 80% of their goals, as they know it is difficult to come out with the perfect policy without loopholes, so robustly designed to 100% efficiency. Like any other government policy, the Australian immigration policy is of course. In terms of achieving goals, the skill migration points system is rubbish.  To their credit, the goals are impossible to achieve. You would like to have immigrants to contribute to the economy by consumption, to fill up labour shortages or to create businesses and employment opportunities for the people. You want skilled, highly qualified, well learned candidates. You would want law abiding residents of good characters. It is a big ask to accommodate all these into a simple point system for your immigration officers to follow. Having said that, a 25 year old with excellent English language will be able to chalk up 50 points from merely 2 categories and only require another 10 points elsewhere to be eligible to submit an EOI shows how poorly the points system was designed if the above goals are supposed to be the priorities behind it.


Anyway like I said earlier, Judy has to kiss the points system goodbye. Who would have known Accounting, the hot favourite occupation for the past 10 years, have become close to being strike off the SOL next year? I think it is a reminder for young Singaporeans who has the intention to do this not to take things for granted. Well wait..... who would want to leave Paradise and live in a sub-standard racist remote island? What do I know? I'm just a pissed poor peasant.


Nonetheless I asked Judy to make the best of her time here. Deep inside, I know my definition of making the best out of time differs quite largely with hers. The lengths I will go will also vary a lot. I'll pounce on any scent of possible opportunities to stay here and bite like a rabid dog. I can't expect the others to do this with frenzied obsession. Still I hope she'll try a lot harder than her previous stay, with a positive mentality until the end. Hopefully she'll find a willing employer to sponsor her. It really isn't impossible but doors have to be constantly knocked on. It's up to her.


Judy is damn popular with her friends. Unlike me, who makes more enemies than friends per year, she has a horde of well wishers. Her classmates seem delighted to have her back. Guests kept appearing at my door to welcome her back since her arrival. She told me one of her friends said she will never find a willing sponsor because he thinks there is nothing outstanding about her baking skills. The rationale is, in order to be attractive for an employer to sponsor the worker, he or she must have extraordinary skills. I do not disagree. However he was only talking about the hard skills and forgetting the soft ones. Decisions are rarely made by a one-dimensional framework. If that friend is a married man, he should be asking himself if he chose to marry his wife because she has the best sandwich making skills in Singapore.






1 comment:

  1. I hope that Judy find happiness wherever she stays. I know the feeling of wanting that elusive PR to stay overseas. Since I wasn't born with a silver spoon, I had to work really hard for mine. It takes years of planning before I realised my dream.

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