Archive for October 2014

Everything you need to know about changes to the 457 visa

For a talented chef hoping to start a new life in Australia, the 457 visa seems the perfect way to make your immigration dreams a reality.

The most commonly-used visa has gone through a transition recently in an at tempt to strengthen the immigration process for Australian businesses and prospective employees alike.

The 457 visa, which is in place to address the Australian labour shortage, currently allows eligible employers to identify skills gaps that cannot be filled by local workers. Under the current protocol, employers can sponsor foreign workers with the skill sets desirable for their business. They will then move to the country and commence employment with the sponsoring company.

Unfortunately, the 457 visa has been misused in the past, with many vulnerable foreign workers being scammed into paying thousands of dollars to a bogus migration agent. The overseas worker then pays hefty travelling fees to cross the ocean and begin work in either an entirely different role, involving forced labour and low pay, or to no role at all.

The visa has been reviewed to increase the country's capacity to identify and prevent unlawful employer practices, ensuring both businesses and migrants are protected.

Low vs. high-risk applicants

The department aims to streamline the application process for low-risk applicants, ensuring that their applications go through as smoothly as possible.

Low-risk candidates are those with a guaranteed intention to work, are in premium health condition with insurance, can communicate with a high standard of English, and have no criminal convictions.

Furthermore, the government has set about new measures to monitor high-risk applicants who have criminal convictions, cannot prove a genuine position of work or are in poor health without insurance.

The application process for start-up businesses has also been reviewed, with sponsorship approval being granted for 18 months instead of 12.

English language proficiency

Most applicants who are sponsored by a standard business must ensure that they are proficient in the English language with a score of at least 5 across all areas of the IELTS test, including speaking, reading, writing and listening.

However in an attempt to build up the Australian economy, the government has become more flexible in regards to the level of English spoken by applicants. Migrants should be accepted as long as they have the necessary skills for the role they are applying for. Many skilled trades, such as cooking, do not require workers to speak a high level of English.

Income threshold

The income threshold for 457 visa permits has stayed at $53,900, allowing workers to live a comfortable life. Standard business employers are required to pay their staff the market salary rate. This means that if the market salary rate is under $53,900, then the position cannot be offered.

Migration agent

With many cases of improper use, and unprotected workers being exposed to scams, the government is keen to stress the importance for external workers to use an authorised migration agent.

A registered migration agent can handle your application needs from start to finish, by filling out the appropriate forms, liaising with the necessary officials and keeping you updated in regards to timescales and deadlines.

It had been almost 3 years of fatherhood in cheat mode.

In gaming, there are the easy mode for elementary players. Objects move slower and demand less of you. You are allowed to screw up now and even then an NPC will save your wimpy ass. In normal mode you are expected to perform like the bulk of the bell curve. If you excel beyond the norms you are imbal. Then there is the cheat mode where players boost themselves with unfair advantages not available to honest players, such as stronger abilities or even invincibility.

When it comes to fatherhood cheat mode, the code is simple: Mother. I have to emphasize not all mothers are great like what they sing in children songs. Some are downright scumbags. The rest, I will like to believe, are as great as what we love to remember them by. My wife is one of them. The acid test is how frighten a dad is when he is left with his toddler alone for a week. The more frighten the dad is, the better the mother has been. Only when Jen left for Singapore in a hurry to attend her Grandma's funeral, I realised how good a father I actually was. I stared at the little Albany, wailing at the sight of her mother disappearing into the check in area, and told myself, "Oh shit."

Sure I was left alone to take care of Albany in different phrases of her life so far but that was never more than 6 hours. Those were merely simple survival periods and would all end well when Jen came back to take over from there. This time round, there is no time-outs, no excuses, no substitutions ... no cheat code. Albany will be under my 24 hours care until the end of the week.

The boss at work seems to be more flabbergasted at the news, after I suggested to go on leave for two days of the week, leaving Albany in childcare for the other three so that I can turn up for work. To be fair to him, the company appears to really need me to be around this week. So we negotiated with the child care to accommodate us for another two days. Does that sound simple now? Dump Albany in childcare and pick her after work. Viola, problem solved. That addresses our problem but it really doesn't cover her needs. If I'm just alone I will have live on nuts. Or fruits. Or even plain water. Too easy. When it involves a toddler, it means running the household, cook, clean and every aspect of her physical and mental well being until she finally falls asleep. Only a parent will understand the little cute noises of a sleeping child is one of the sweetest sounds ever. We ended the first night alone with her tucked nicely in bed but I woke to see her tiny feet on my face in the morning. I slept a bed away. That only happens when I am in her bedroom. I have yet to figure out why and how.

Albany held on to me at the child care, begging me to stay with her. I had to allow a few piercings to the heart to walk away and I have to do that for another three days. I came to realise how few fathers actually went through fatherhood without cheat code.

Hi,

chance upon ur blog and I will be in Perth soon for tradesman course. I understand that student visa holders are allowed to work 20hrs per week, is there any way to cheat the system to clock more hours? Kindly advise.

Regards

Ken

Hey,

Welcome to Perth.

There are many ways to cheat and I thought nobody will ever ask. As I have never done this before, any advice coming from me will be rated high risk.

Ways to cheat the system

There are less policemen working at night so work at night. Furthermore, because visibility is poorer in Perth after the sun sets.

Don't clock the hours when you clock them. You know, like how our factory workers refusing to punch their card when they are late for work, then tell the supervisor the machine is not working.

Grow some fancy plants in pots and sell them in the Sunday markets. Heard Cannabaceae sells well here.

Get your employer to pay you by apples and tell the authorities your hobby is barter trading.

Get your employer to pay you by interest-free credit notes after your 21st hour. Claim them when you are no longer student.

Get a medical certificate from the doctor in Singapore certifying you have dyscalculia as your defence in case you get caught. If you can't do that, get an easy one from China, since most Aussies cannot tell the difference between a Singaporean and a PRC.

Don't make friends with tax people.

If the above are no-go for you, try these money saving tips;

Money saving tips

Give tuition to your weaker schoolmates for sex. It saves you the money bringing chicks out so you can work less.

Tap your neighbours' internet access via wireless and offer to pay them a small token.

Pluck fruits and herbs from the streets (at night of course), eat some and make shampoo with it.

Offer to cook meals for people for free food.

Work for your landlord for free rental.

Don't get a car (I'm serious). Cycle to school and go home after school.

Even more advice

Many students are able to finance their entire course and basic living expenses by working 20 hours a week. This is rarely enough for entertainment. So if you are a self entertainer like me, you'll survive with 20 hours.

The 20 hour limit is removed during school holidays. So work your guts out and earn the money you need.

Get the highest possible paying job as you can. Quality beats quantity. The most high paying casual jobs are the most unpleasant so toughen up the mind.

Focus on finding jobs related to the trade you are learning. Those hours will be the best invested.

I received a straightforward question from a Singaporean who called himself "A cursed Singaporean son." His question reminded of a discussion of in Parliament early this year when Manpower Minister Tan Chuan Jin raised the red flag about a potential “glut” of graduates here, and a possible problem of people becoming over-educated and underemployed in the near future.

PM Lee offered a solution - the government will relentlessly redefine what constitutes success beyond paper qualifications. How will that work out, for example, the well known iron ceiling for diploma holders in the civil service? The PM responded, "It should depend on your performance. Whether you are a graduate or not should not be critical - for many jobs degree and diploma holders work side by side."

Soon enough later in the year, in accordance to the emperor's wishes, the Public Service Division announced changes to various Government schemes to improve the career prospects of Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnic graduates. The improvements would give non-graduates in the Civil Service who perform well and are ready to take on larger responsibilities an opportunity to progress faster in their careers, based on their performance. The PSD said it is also studying merging both the graduate and the non-graduate schemes to give its officers the opportunity to progress on the same career track.

Is it safe for you young punk out there to pursue your diploma or ITE courses with confidence for your future? Let's read the email I received from a young Singaporean and think about it.

Hi, I have question regarding migration.

Is migration to Australia limited to degree holders only? because as far i've seen, most migrates are university graduates.

How about high school leavers/certificate holders/diploma holders, do you have any tips for them?

Best regards,

A cursed singaporean son.

To A cursed Singaporean son,

No it isn't true that migration to Australia is limited to degree holders. If we look at the Skilled Occupations List (SOL) 2014, [link] you would notice there are a sizable list of occupations on demand which do not require a degree such as, locksmith, bricklayer, gas welder, motorcycle mechanic etc etc. So, should you go to the ITE to take up a relevant course right away? If you are 100% sure you are getting the fuck out of Singapore, sure, go for your trade course if you want to but let me tell you what you have to be prepared for. Make sure you understand what you are getting into.

After your graduation, you will train yourself up as a tradie by finding a relevant job to your trade of choice and work a few years in Singapore. The number of years depend on the requirements of the assessing authority of your trade in Australia. Different trades will require different minimum years of experience. When you are qualified, you will be able to apply for your visa under skilled migration.

Why did I emphasize that you should only do that if you are 100% sure you are migrating? Despite what PM Lee said, you (or other young punks) must be a fool to put faith in his ideas. You will be able to verify that when you take up a trade job. Try for example, go be a welder, in a society where they pay $2 an hour to a worker putting himself at high risk working under at height, confined spaces or under the hot sun. While you are hard at work, think over what PM Lee said, "If you perform well, you will progress faster in your careers," and see if you should place your trust in the great leader. In a society where there is but one bogus union to "fight" for the rights of the tradesman, you should never consider being a tradesman unless - and I reiterate - you are 100% sure you want out.

If you have the slightest of doubt, go get your degree and carve a better life for yourself in Singapore. My advice is to totally disregard what PM Lee suggested. Think about it, if the PM is serious about rewarding workers according to their performance instead of their academic qualifications, half of his cabinet should be sacked today! As the Chinese saying goes, "上梁不正下梁歪", until you see them practicing what they preached at the top, don't bet a whisker you'll receive what you are promised at the bottom.

"Retimed to 1815" means 5 hours delay ... at first....

This incident will be great advertisement for companies selling travel insurance. When you are caught in a bad situation like that, you can't help it but feel a itching urge to slap the next person who gleefully tells you he or she always buy travel insurance, though no significant claims have been made. After all, who gets a 17 hours flight delay on every other day? Let's get this straight. No travel insurance was going to get me a plane to fly back to Perth today. There were passengers who were willing to pay any price to get back but there was simply no avaliable planes at a short notice.

Since everyone raved about Scoot and asked me to have a go, I did and had a great flight experience flying from Perth to Singapore. Little did I know I would be stranded at Changi Airport with no flight to return to Perth two weeks later. When we arrived at Changi, we were dismayed to see our 12.30pm flight had been pushed back to 6.15pm much later in the day. With a restless toddler around, every additional hour would be a challenge to any parent, much less 5 hours but we were prepared to bite the bullet and grind the hours through. At least we would still be on Perth soil before midnight. So we thought.

To our disappointment, at around 2pm, we were told to go to the "Transit E" area via the intercom. It was mayhem when we made our way there. The Scoot operations team was nowhere to be seen, while Changi airport staff were standing around without answers to questions thrown at them by disbelieving passengers.

Then we received a notification that the next available plane is 7am the next day, totalling the delay to 17 hours. Two Scoot girls meekly appeared and started issuing meals vouchers and informed annoyed passengers there would be no other compensations unless they had travel insurance. So we were caught between two unpleasant options. To participate in the mayhem of retrieving our luggage "by batches" with a single Scoot staff allocated for the purpose, and clear the customs to re-enter Singapore. Judging at how things were going, I would reach my place at 8pm or so at best. Then we would need to wake at 4am and lug over 50kg of luggage back to the airport to relive the 1 hour check in procedure we experienced earlier on. Or relish the potential of a rare enthralling experience of camping at Changi Airport with a toddler to save the trouble of travelling and save the unnecessary chore of handling luggage and an additional check in process.

While waiting, Albany fell asleep in an Airport pram we borrowed. We are waiting and discussing while keeping an eye on the development. I spotted a Hong Kong couple telling different staff they didnt know what to do and their son was sick. A few elder Aussie blokes shouting at an un-uniformed (Scoot?) staff. Unsettling murmurs echoed across the hall among the Caucasian crowd. I overheard a Chinese looking guy telling another he just wanted to go home. Meanwhile, the Changi Airport staff in red uniform began to scatter from the scene. One of the beautiful girl, fully qualified to be SIA stewardess by her demeanour, who was speaking to me earlier told me it was her first month at work and honestly did not know what to do at that moment, much less handle frantic consumers. At the corner of my eye, her smartly suited manager constantly on the phone apparently didn't know what to do either. The poor chap would be mopped for answers the moment that phonecall ended because every girl in red told the frantic passengers around their manager would be able to advise later. I whispered a silent prayer for that fellow Singaporean son that his phone wouldn't ring out in the middle of his long conversation.

Meanwhile little Albany sleeps on, oblivious of the fuss around her.

Maggie and Aku were technically 'jobless' today. So they thought it was a good idea to have a 'farewell' breakfast with me early in the morning, before I head down to Chinatown to fix up my chronic neck issue. True to their word, the couple appeared at 7.10am smiling in the shortlived, cool Singapore morning. They were in good spirits for they would be flying off to Taiwan for their yearly retreat. "Not very often you see happy jobless people," they quipped.

Not exactly.

A quick flashback reminded myself about my jobless days in Singapore. They were among my happiest days in my life. As I found out, the only problem about unemployment was a lack of income. There wasn't any issue whatsoever regarding motivation or life purpose that some 90 year old zombie who refused to stop work have been suggesting. If anything, unemployment inspired me to discover my life goal - and that is to be unemployed as soon as I could, after my inevitable return to employment.

I queried the couple why they decided to holiday in Taiwan so regularly. (As they have refused to visit me in Perth so far) Both of them like the place so much that Maggie even casually researched how to.migrate to Taiwan before. All I needed to do, she revealed, was to bring NT5 million ( about SGD$210,000) to Taiwan for 1 year and a long term visa will be granted. She backed her claim by sending me a link of an article which elaborated on what she claimed.

Thought $210k wasn't a small amount to raise, it wasn't exactly out of reach. Moreover, they were only require to hold it there for a year, in which the funds will be released back to the applicants afterwards. If Aku and Maggie were to raise $50k themselves and borrow another three portions from others for a year, promising them a generous interests, they would be able to set forth northwards for a year where they will be permitted to work or operate a business. A few days ago, Stephen rubbished the notion of migrating to Taiwan when I told him about it. He reasoned that if the economy of Taiwan is that good, there will not be so many young Taiwanese on work-holiday visa in Australia. I don't disagree that Taiwan is facing a graduate 'glut' like Singapore. I don't deny fresh graduates are not paid fantastically - that is if they can even get a job.

Still, we have to take note these things may be merely playing in our minds. For example, for someone who does a migration related blog, I receive emails from Singaporeans trying to get the fuck out all the time. It is easy for me to assume a lot of Singaporeans are trying to migrate. In reality, even if you factor in all Singaporeans who have migrated and those who are intending to, the figure only makes up about 1% of the Singaporean population. Not many countries boast low employment rates like Singapore but does statistics like that tell the whole story? Our elderly people collecting trays at the food court are barely surviving with the pittance they are being paid. So are the 'licensed buskers' on the streets. All these people will be counted as employed. I could spend months and months of sending resumes during my final years in Singapore and my invitation count for a job interview was a big fat zero. Low employment rates? So fucking what? Strange to speak, I got a job in Perth before I could pronounce 'G'day mate' properly despite Australia's high unemployment rate. As for Taiwanese on working-holiday visa in Perth, it will be shocking to hear if they think conditions back home are good for them. Otherwise why are they here?

When it comes to migration, the question of jobs and income will always be one of the first things that pops up. For someone like Stephen who gave it all up and came to Perth risking everything, in his comfort zone these days, could forget the rules behind. You may leave for jobs but it's the flowers that makes you stay. With great weather and beautiful scenery, I would say Taiwan has plenty to offer. A job is not everything in life. If we can take anything that comes by, survival is a non-issue. Our Singaporean daughter [link] who moved to Thailand is still happily living life there. We will only know a place properly if we drop our pre-conceived ideas of it. If I didn't drop mine, I wouldn't have came to racist, high tax Australia.

If all fail, maybe a plausible a back up plan?

Since Maggie revealed that it was possible to rent their flat out for around $1.7k and since they were paying a mortgage of $700 a month, it was possible to achieve a handy supply of about $1k (NT24,000) to aid their survival up north. Is NT24,000 a month sufficient for a couple to sustain a year in Taiwan? Why don't they find out during the trip? If not, surely a menial job will be enough to supplement the cost of living? Maybe they could even 夜市人生 over there haha.

From the status she posted in Facebook, Ah Mag must have enjoyed so much and clean forgotten about it. Anyway I was just kidding around with the couple. I knew they would rather break at arm than to contemplate a possibility of moving to a place they loved so much. Perhaps regular visits is the better way to go. Renting may be better than owning in some cases.

Ever since I left Singapore, I didn't have any opportunity to celebrate birthdays with my friends anymore. It was good fortune that Tucky's wedding day was at the eve of Ah Liam's birthday. So we had the chance to meet up for a meal and to celebrate the day Ah Liam turned into a "middle age uncle." He would officially be known as Uncle Wong, taking over the title from his dad who was promoted to Grandpa Wong. Though we could only do a belated birthday celebration, we were still happy to meet up.

Earlier in the day I was at Chinatown for some therapy. The sky was a hazy, like any day since my return. After I emerged from the shopping complex, only 2 hours later, the place looked foggy, as if I entered Silenthill. There was a distinct burning smell in the air. Further from my view was the sun, glowing like a blushing girl. I wondered for a second if that was the red moon eclipse my sister was talking about a few nights ago.

"Where are you, where are you, where are you, out already?" Tucky's text came. I was supposed to hitch a ride from him after bumping into him with his newly wedded wife while I was searching for my lighting supplies earlier on. What a small world. What the hell were they doing in Chinatown anyway? That wasn't my business to know. What I had to do immediately was to get to Tucky as soon as I could, because he must have waited for me for quite awhile. So I sprinted through Chinatown MRT station and dribbled past the human crowd like a boss, through the hawker center and finally the car park where the Little Red and his owner was waiting. The moment I sat in, I noticed my nose began to drip. Bad times to come.

Uncle Wong wanted to have "Punggol Nasi Lemak" so we picked him at Breeze and he directed us to the famous food place. I couldn't remember when was the last time three of us was in a car at the same time. We would never be bored with Uncle Wong around because he had the gift of the gab of a salesman and the humor of a stand up comedian. His charm level also over 9000. Without Uncle Wong's company, I would never agree to join a queue that snaked to the road outside - best Nasi Lemak in the world or not. We went into gaming talk and time melted away under the Singapore heat.

It was great meeting Grandpa and Grandma Wong once again. The very first time I met Grandma Wong, she treated me to a plate of fried rice with bits of Char Siew - still chunkier than Gyodon-thin Char Siew wafers than the Wanton Mee hawker served a few days before - despite them being intended to be diced and not sliced. That plate of fried rice happened 23 years ago on a hot sunny late morning but I never forgot it. Never underestimate the power of memory. Sometimes it is harder to forget than to remember. I had a happy childhood in a place I loved and called home. That was why reminiscing was a painful process for me because my future in Singapore looked monochrome as compared to my beautiful past.

I saw Uncle Wong's future in the form of baby Sarah. She was shy in our presence, which saddened me a bit. If I had never left, I would impose on the Wongs often enough to have her hugging me like a godfather whenever she saw me. Sarah was a lucky girl because she had great parents who wouldn't subject her to insanity cycle like other Singaporean parents would. (eg. gobbledegook) And that she had both sets of grandparents looking after her on regular, rotational basis, whereas little Albany could only see her grand parents once in a red sun.

The best time to talk to your buddy about his hurtful past relationship was on the eve of his wedding day. After rushing around completing final errands for two days, we finally sat down at a kopitiam near the Pinnacle@Duxton. As we drove past, I raised my eyes slightly to take a glance at the award-winning development, apparently for designing a HDB flat that looked like a binary board. Apparently the officials were very happy with that and self masturbated the fact with their party magazine named Straits Times. What could I say about it? Motherboard hole's MOP just ended this year and the first units were selling for a cool $800k. In time to come, they would be putting these out for a million bucks each to bait suckers. The G-men would then be clamouring about how they created a binary load of millionaires, of course.

There we hid feasting on street food, under the shadow refuge of the Pinnacles. Since there was nothing left to do on the wedding preparation list, Tucky was naturally in good spirits. That was his last dinner as a bachelor. I should have told him to order anything he wished on my bill, like how prison wardens ask prisoners on the death row what do they want for their last meals. Heh heh. Tasteless morbid joke yeah but tarot readers like us view death in a different way. Every beginning is after the death of something else. For instance, some say marriage is the graveyard of romance. For me, it was a day to bury old ghosts for good. Indeed, we were able to chat about his old relationship lightheartedly. That was a far cry to the awkward long years after it ended. Nobody wanted to bring it up to risk opening old wounds. It saddened me to see how he struggled to come to terms for so long. The shadow of the past cast doubts even when he was preparing to propose to his current wife. Bless the fair maiden who gifted him a complete heal.

I was standing behind the man when he was reciting his marriage vows, which I heard so many times over that I could almost read it out myself. Of course, little Albany was trying to make her daddy famous again with a yell in the middle of the vow at the part Tucky was already fumbling to. I doubt he actually heard Albany though. In moments like that, most of us were in the zone shut off from the rest of the world. Even if a plane was crashing into Grand Copthorne at that moment, the man would still finish it up. It was a lovely vow. Embarrassingly, I almost cried. After she gave a smooth rendition of her own, rings were exchanged and the couple were pronounced man and wife. Tucky held my new "sister-in-law", beaming.

I walked over to little Albany, who had her arms outstretched upwards, jogging on the spot crying, "Daddy, daddy, bao boooow." I lifted her up and hugged her for the millionth time and took her to greet "Uncles James and wife", which she couldn't stop repeating after we received the wedding invitation months ago.

My friend Tucky told me a few times that he "couldn't have done it without me," throughout his wedding preparation week. In reality, all I did was to keep him company. Surely, a big boy could wash his own car, carry a few bags or get his wedding car tied up in ribbons? However, a man living his last days as a bachelor is usually at his most vulnerable. All of a sudden, he is a lost child and any simple thing suddenly seem a big challenge. I fully understood. I was there before so therefore I was there for him. Besides, I thought it would be fun to have our usual chats together like we always did and it was. We had plenty of time talking while we drove around the place getting things done.

Back in those days when we first met as young teenagers barely out of childhood, I would never imagine Tucky getting married. It was just too far away and too difficult to imagine what type of woman he would fall for. He ended up the last of us to get married but that would be well worth the wait to see watch him settle down with the fine woman who love and appreciate him. Though I spoke to his would-be wife for no more than ten times, it wasn't difficult to sense what kind of girl she was. My buddy would be in good hands, he got lucky and he knew it but he needed it and he deserved it. In return, his wife could expect his undying love and loyalty.

I told Tucky the wedding preparation process was the first test of an impending marriage. It would be a period where a couple would be pissed off with each other for whatsoever reasons, due to the anxiety and the hustle of getting everything done right on time. It would be the time to see a side of each other that they might have never seen yet. I had even heard of couples breaking off during this period, due to differences. In short, a wedding preparation is a sneak preview of marriage, which runs on teamwork, clear communication and the willingness to compromise. It is also the time you see the true colours of the person you are about marry, leaving you one last chance to plug out or be prepared for what lies ahead.

Grand wedding grand thoughts aside, the Malaysian girls at the wedding shop really caught our attention - but not in the manner you think. My buddy had a special request and that was to erect a pair of soft toys characters that his girlfriend likes. Needless to say, before you sign on the dotted like, every and anything could be done. A different story once the bill was paid.

No, the toys were too big. No, the toys were standing and not sitting. No, that would require a large wedge at the back and that would look really ugly. No, the 'wind' would force the toys to a 'sleeping position' when once the car moved at high speed. In short, "We are not doing that."

All they brought along was a pair of scissors and a stapler. The only trick up their sleeves (oops, they didn't have sleeves, no wonder) were tying up the toys with ribbons. No wonder they thought the job couldn't be done. Ribbons and staples. Genius. We couldn't be bothered to argue because it was too hot to do so in that underground car park. The girls just wanted to get the job done and begone. So did we.

When we got back to Tucky's home, I requested for some safety pins. In no time, he returned with his mum's sewing kit, a good ol' fashioned one in a metal tin that once contained food long ago. It had everything a half baked engineer would need to perform a simple task of erecting a pair of soft toys in front of a car. I told Tucky to carry on other unfinished business.

Tucky returned after a few minutes from the petrol kiosk armed with a carton of drinks for the guests attending the tea ceremony at his house the next day. Eyeing on the new addition on his wedding car, he asked, "Done ah?"

"Ya. How?" came my reply.

He circled around the toys curiously and glanced suspiciously for a few seconds and commented, "Hmm, looks not bad."

"I'm pretty confident it will not fall back when the car moves. Wanna try?" I suggested.

After a glance at the time and confirming we had time to burn, Tucky said, "Yeah, let's go."

At 70km/h, the toys did not flinch. "Go on!" I urged Tucky on. 80km/h. 90km/h. The toys remained steadfast just as we wanted them. "Done," we grinned like the childish teens we were when we first met.

I came from a Hakka family (though I was never taught to speak the language). Unlike traditional Hakka families, our extended family had not been exactly a close knitted one. However, there was something we were always proud of, our traditional food. My grandmother did Hakka food tremendously well. One of my favourite items was Yong Tau Foo. If there was anything a small kid enjoyed during Chinese New Year other than ang pao collection, that would be feasting on my grandma's Yong Tau Foo on the first days on Chinese New Year. The soup was always rich with natural flavours brewed from bones and soy beans, further enhanced by involving cooking some of the meticulously stuffed delicacies. The stuffing was a pure divine combination of hand beaten fish paste, minced pork, laced with finely chopped water chestnut and laced with a right hint of salted fish bits.

Over the years, Grandma perfected the dish with suggestions and feedback from the family. By the time I tasted my first Yong Tau Foo "outside" during my early teens, I swore I swore, "What the fuck was that?!" Till today, I found nothing offered out there that comes close to Grandma's. She was the platinum standard.

This is shit

Gradually, Grandma decided to pass down the recipe to one of her 5 sons. Fourth Uncle took up many years of apprenticeship under Grandma and became the main chef during Chinese New Year with Grandma being the supporting cast. He added his style to the dish and carried on the tradition admirably.

On my return to Singapore, I was invited to 2nd sis's to dinner. Like every member of my family, I love my 2nd sister. She is one of the most positive and inspiring person I know. I have to count my blessings I spent most of my early life under her good influence. There isn't any doubt I would have turned out worse if 2nd sis did not set a good example and took a lot of effort taking care and guiding me.

To my surprised, 2nd sister prepared Yong Tau Foo for dinner. Although I had not made my debuting attempt at the dish, I knew it well enough to understand how much effort was required to put up a single meal. That was why these was done only on special occasions. That was why the commercial versions were pure shit. Though nobody mentioned a word, I was sure every attending family member appreciated 2nd sis's attempt to put that together. Due to the traditional values and meaning behind that dish, that meant a lot to me.

With that, 2nd sister became the heiress of our proud recipe for my generation. In truth, there wasn't any recipe. All three chefs from different generation cooked their version with the same principals but differing styles. That was because such a dish required a lot of thoughts and heart. The result would always be distinctive and unique.

Brilliant brilliance

Over the years, I always thought I would be the first person in my generation to attempt our family traditional dish because it was obvious I was the "cooking person". When I was meddling with huge woks, 2nd sis could not even open canned food properly. Motherhood, of course, changed that. She is now a competent cook that puts her maid to shame on the stove any day. Yet again, I was very proud and impressed with 2nd sis's spur constantly learn and improve. She remained a source of my inspiration.

Will she be the next?

Most importantly, there was finally somebody who took up the knife and carried on with our family dish. It would be such a pity if decades of knowledge and refinement wasn't properly passed down to later generations. With constant practice, 2nd sister would be able to attain the level of her predecessors and even surpass them. That would be the responsibility of the heiress of the recipe.

When I left Singapore for Perth, the population of Singapore was 5.18 million. The latest population update was 5.4 million in 2013. So on my visit this time round, I estimate our population to be around 5.5 million. That will be about 1.3 million to go to 6.9 million, the figure that the government lately call a "planning parameter" and not a target.

Ah Liam gave me a ride after my farewell dinner on Friday night. We were trapped in a traffic jam and it appeared we would need to queue for a long time before we could enter the CTE to head up north to where we live. Ah Liam has always been the cool guy among us so he wasn't going to allow a traffic jam to get to him. With a sharp turn of his steering wheel, he switched lanes and got us out of the jam towards a clear road. "Let's take a detour. It'll get us where we want anyway. I've got enough fuel to burn. Besides, I would like to spend more time talking to you."

Though the last sentence sound a bit gay, I was happy to hear it from an old friend. Nobody will get sick hearing that from a friend of more than 20 years. Likewise, I would not mind a bit if I could chat a whole night with Ah Liam. Along the way, I asked him what was his opinion of Singapore's grow-at-all-cost strategy. He gave me a summary of the positive effects of a growing economy. One example was a strong currency, which I believe most if not all Singaporean commoners would mind, judging by how often we shop online and go for overseas tours in recent years. The rest of his summary were solid, sound reasons that I could not fault. So we couldn't say the grow-at-all-cost policies do not benefit the general Singaporean population. The benefits have been clear and I see that.

I believe many of my friends thought I was a hard core anti-government, opposition supporting Singaporean. You see, I rant all the time about bad policies, 'dog officials' (狗官) and I migrated somewhere else, seemingly all in a fit of anger. So it was easy to label me as such. I never bothered to explain. Not because I don't care about what my family and friends think of me but some things are better left unsaid. The Chinese phrase, 越描越黑 best describe the situation.

Like I mentioned in the blog umpteen times, migration is a personal choice. I have been unwell ever since I returned to Singapore due to the poor quality of air but I recovered instantly a day after I landed in Perth. I adore the simple fact I am able to enjoy the quality of air that makes me happy all the time in Perth. I am an introvert and I dislike people in general. Worse, lots of people congregating at the same place. In my earlier days in Singapore, I would avoid crowded places as much as I can. As I grow up, I realised these corners of sanctuary are fast disappearing. I love Perth for the abundance of space it provides me. I love the fact the city sleeps at night and I was pleasantly surprised that great sleep is possible only after I discovered Perth. I left Singapore for Perth simply based on my personal preferences, nothing to do with the Singapore government. I criticise the government all the time because they have clearly been declining in terms of performances and have been making glaring mistakes they rarely made in the past. It is pointless telling one another that the government is still better than many governments in other countries. If anything, such a mentality breeds complacency which ironically, is what our government has been warning us against.

While the benefits of a grow-at-all-cost are clear, so are the costs. I shared many of those often in the blog in the past because back then, they weren't obvious enough for the unsuspecting busy Singaporean to notice. By now, everyone should see the adverse effects of a growing population density in their day-to-day lives. I just happened to foresaw them earlier and didn't like what I saw (that's why I'm in Perth and not you). Since most Singaporeans are still happily living in Singapore, I will assume these conditions are easily bearable and I am the weak one with a low tolerance for bad living conditions. So what? Even the weak has a right to fight for survival.

Migration wasn't an easy experience for me. Perth scared me to no end during my early days. Ang Mos still scares me and the places around are still strange to me. The good thing is that such things move on a declining curve and things are always going to be better the longer I hang around this place until it reaches a plateau. (which is nowhere in sight at the moment). If I hated the Singaporean government in any way, it would be because they didn't share my vision of a livable city. For if they do, they will make Singapore a fantastic place, given their vast resources and their ability to (still) deliver. Instead, they decided to make Singapore the exact opposite place I will love to live in. I couldn't help wondering if they are left with no alternative. Must we grow at all cost? Can there be economic growth without population growth? Can we supply value instead of cheap labour? Is there no way out then? Whether or not there is a way, the answer ends up the same for me. If there is no way out or if there is but they decided not to do it, I'll find the way out myself. Stay and make the difference? I'm turning 40 in a few years time. If I am a normal man under the CPF life expectancy research, I've expended 50% of my life already without turning 40 yet. If my health gives way, I may only have a decade or less left in me, who knows? Not everyone lives to 91 and get to wave flags at parades. I have my own dreams to fulfill. You stay and be the difference if you think that's worthy as a life goal.

As for the 6.9 million population target in Singapore, if I may be honest, it is attainable. In fact, we can even achieve a 10 million population easily. Singapore may be the top 3 densest country in the world but as a city, there are more than 50 cities with higher population density than Singapore. Mumbai is only ranked the 32nd densest city in the world despite a population density of 20,694 people/km2 , almost triple the current population density of Singapore. That alone is proof that Singapore can easily house 10 or even 15 million people in the country if someone decided to turn the entire country into a city. Yes we can but how would life be when it happens? Some would like it. For example, my friend Tucky would be celebrating being a paper millionaire then if his BTO application goes through this November. The musical chair continues.

A Singaporean In Australia

Past Rants