First off, you can't purchase through a Singaporean "girlfriend" - both of you need to be legally married. Alternatively, you and your spouse need to be Singaporean PRs in order to purchase a HDB resale flat.

Also, your housing loan downpayment of SGD20K is far below the minimum required amount to secure a purchase of a SGD650K flat.

Banks require a MINIMUM of 20% of the VALUED price of the flat which in this case would be SGD130K. Moreover, valuers will always value flats at a price level which is below what the sellers demand, for example a seller might demand SGD650K for his resale flat but the valuer puts it a value of SGD600K. The difference is called a Cash-over-value (COV) in local jargon and must be paid in cold, hard cash (it will not be financed by any banks). This would mean a total cash outlay of SGD130K (downpayment) + SGD50K (COV) = SGD180K.

I haven't included the legal fees, stamp duty and the inevitable renovation costs.

90 sq metres is considered an average sized unit in Singapore. 5-room units which are 30 years old and barely 100 sq metres (and also needs renovation of at least SGD20-30K) in better locations like Queenstown, Redhill and Tao Payoh are selling for SGD700-800K!

Decent-sized condos (100 sq metres and above) at these locations are going above SGD1 million.

Unlike Malaysia where the property market is relatively quiet and stagnant, Singapore has a runaway property market with locals and foreigners (particularly Chinese nationals) continually buying and selling properties in an ever-increasing spiral where prices of condos can rise 20-30% in a mere 12 months!

Singaporeans can purchase new flats at much lower prices (SGD200-300K) which is off-limits to the PRs and foreigners. Also, they can obtain subsidy grants on home purchases.

And there is no necessity for a car so they can get on pretty well - in fact, the average Singaporean enjoys a much better lifestyle compared to the average Malaysian.

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Added on May 12, 2010, 10:12 amDefinitely. In fact, it works out much better for PRs than for Singapore citizens provided the PRs who have purchased resale flats intend to retire back in their home countries in the future when they can monetize their flats and earn a bundle. A conservative guesstimation would be a rise in value of at least 60% more than what you paid for your entire loan package (purchase price + home loan interests + conservancy charges + maintenance works) to the time you dispose of it 20 years down the road when you retire.

This post has been edited by SPS: May 12 2010, 10:16 AM

You will have less job options compared to a Singaporea PR holder or a Singapore citizen.

Precisely. Each EP is unique and is tied to a single employer.

Your ignorance does not mean Goh Keng Swee was a nobody.

GKS was one of Singapore's founding fathers, served as DPM and was one of the prime architects of modern Singapore.

Can't think of any but Malaysia has certainly produced a lot of thieves - they have even infested other countries like Singapore with their thieving and criminal ways.

First criminal (a Malaysian) to be charged at Marina Sands Resort after it has been opened for a week was caught for stealing someone's bag, a malaysian burglar was apprehended a few years ago breaking into hdb flats, a newsflash a few months ago where a tour bus filled with Malaysian tourists in Taiwan had to bring all its passengers to the police station to investigate a some of the tourists' belonging which were stolen during the tour (apprehended thief was one of said tourists in the bus), infamous credit card scams using fake credit cards in Australia (a Malaysian was apprehended this year) and the list goes on and on.

So if you are having your coffee at one of those toursity places like Orchard Road, Marina Sands, RWI, etc and if you know there are Malaysian tourists/ visitors sitting next to you, better hold on tight to that purse/handbag/laptop/cell phone of yours - disappearing acts of your personal valuables may occur which would make David Copperfield or David Blaine proud!

This post has been edited by SPS: May 23 2010, 02:10 AM

The recent brutal attacks that resulted in a death of one of the victims is shameful news for all Malaysians

http://forum.channelnewsasia.com/viewtopic...&postorder=desc

As reported by Straits Times

POLICE have arrested three men linked to a series of brutal slash-and-rob cases in Kallang, which left one victim dead and three seriously injured on Sunday.

The suspects, Malaysians aged between 21 and 26, were picked up on Monday night after a 24-hour police operation that was rare in both its scale and intensity.

The more than 100 officers deployed included those from the Special Operations Command, Bedok and Central Police Divisions, the Police Intelligence Department and the Criminal Investigation Department.

The Straits Times had reported that over seven hours on Sunday, four slashing cases took place in the Kallang area between midnight and 7.30am. The victims included a 41-year-old Indian national who was found dead at an open field along Kallang Road. The injured victims, who included a teenager who lost four of his fingers, were attacked at the Pan Island Expressway near the Sims Way exit, Block 44 Sims Drive and Kallang MRT.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, the police said the modus operandi, the timing and proximity of the four incidents meant they did not rule out the possibility that they could have been committed by the same perpetrators. All four victims had been slashed and robbed. Police are now searching for four more suspects who they believe are linked to the cases.

CID director Ng Boon Gay said: 'I would like to reassure the public that the police do not tolerate such vicious and violent acts of crime. We will spare no efforts to hunt down the perpetrators and ensure that they are dealt with to the full extent of the law.'

He also commended the officers for their effort in putting a stop to the 'brutal crime spree'. Murder is punishable by the death penalty, while gang robbery with hurt attracts a maximum jail term of 20 years and at least 12 strokes of the cane.

Right on. Hope they nab the remaining four animals still on the loose in Singapore.

The above news article indicates that we Malaysians shouldn't be so quick to stereotype Singaporeans as kiasu and kiasi as no one ever got murdered in cold blood as a result of kiasuism. Singaporeans can be just as quick in stereotyping Malaysians as a bunch of low life thugs, murderers and thieves in return.

You are right that not many companies in Singapore will pay that amount for a mid-level manager as SGD10K+ per month is in upper-middle management territory and above.

However, there are some global MNCs who do pay their middle management employees extremely well and not just the large banks.

Yes, the Singapore govt has taken on a much more stringent stance with regards to PR approvals since mid 2009 due to massive backlash from native-born Singaporeans unhappy with the large influx of foreigners since 2005.

Is this a blanket statement or only pertaining to some singaporeans?

If it is a blanket statement, likewise, can a Singaporean label Malaysians as a bunch of low life thugs and murderers from the numerous crimes occuring just one km across the border and from the recent spate of robberies that resulted in a killing in Kallang that was done by a gang of Malaysians?

In reality, that's precisely what the UMNO leaders are hoping for so that there will be less pendatangs to grumble and complain against them.

Little do they realize that these very same pendatangs are the ones that are propping up the economy with their taxes and productivitiy - remove them and one day in the near future, Malaysia will be a basket case ala the Philippines or Myanmar.

Talk about what?

A Malaysian has every right to complain and grumble about conditions and socio-political-economic conditions of Malaysia.

A Malaysian who voluntarily chooses to move to Singapore or any other country does it with eyes wide open and has no moral right to moan and grumble about culture and the political landscape of his new domicile if he is merely a resident and not a citizen.

In short, I say these Malaysian moaners and whiners who are working in Singapore yet continue to be disgruntled with the country and its citizens should "keluar" from Singapore if they don't like or accept Singaporeans and the way the country is being governed. Hell, nobody pointed a gun to them and forced them to move down south.

Singaporeans have every right to complain about Singapore because it's their country.

Malaysians or any foreigners who work in Singapore as economic migrants and who are not citizens have zero rights to grouse and whine about conditions in the country.

Try airing your grouses about Singapore to Singaporeans and they will tell you as an FT to return to Malaysia pronto if you don't like staying there.

Regarding foreign workers, try comparing the so-called plight of FWs in Singapore versus their counterparts in Malaysia. FWs in Singapore can go anywhere in Singapore as they pretty please whether it's Orchard Road or Sentosa. FWs are routinely beaten, exhorted, robbed and treated like animals by their employers, RELA and the police in Malaysia.

To be specific, if one is an economic migrant in a foreign country such as Singapore, he or she have rights as per the country's laws and acts. If one gets dismissed unfairly or is cheated in a business transaction, they certainly have rights to raise matters in a legal context.

However, if some foreign peep is moaning about Singapore's culture, lifestyle, national psyche and other similar matters whilst residing in Singapore, then he/she has 2 choices - 1) put up with it OR 2) return to their homeland => Many Singaporeans will be only too glad to rid themselves of these ungrateful moaners.

You move to Singapore and work and stay there, you do it with full knowledge of its culture, lifestyle, people's daily habits, etc. Moaning about how kiasu Singaporeans are or how tyrannical the PAP regime is creates nothing but resentment and makes your daily life in Singapore a lot worse instead of being better. Singapore citiizens can change things through votes and proper channels. Malaysian citizens in Singapore? They know what they are there for which is to earn as many Singapore dollars as they can and for many of them, return to Malaysia once they have made their pile. Moaning about how stingy, kiasu, and crappy Singaporean society is won't change things one iota. Don't like it? Balik kampung then.

This post has been edited by SPS: Oct 24 2010, 09:47 PM