News

There has been a strong reaction to the recent news that drivers in a remote part of Singapore have to be careful to avoid migrant workers sitting and drinking on the roads ( , June 10). The article and a subsequent Forum letter ( , June 12) seem to approach the situation as only being a problem of ill-behaved foreign workers who need to be firmly dealt with. But there are other things to consider. A migrant worker has an equal right to have a drink or two after a long, tiring work day. If anything, given the much higher physical toil he put in during the day, he deserves that drink more than most of us. On his salary and given the remote location of his dormitory, he has few options available to him for relaxing at the end of the day that are accessible and affordable. If he goes to a bar in town, he has to travel and pay more for the same beer, and is likely to be made to feel unwelcome by the other customers. He may understandably need more distractions to take his mind off being away from family for months or years. Some operators don’t allow workers to drink inside the dormitory compound. Singaporeans then get upset when we see workers drinking outside the compound and immediately think the worst, that they will become unruly and start misbehaving, and that a bunch of workers drinking will lead to a riot. So what are they supposed to do? Stop drinking? Do we not have any compassion to accept that they, too, need their minor vices and distractions? Certainly, if a worker misbehaves or breaks any laws, deal with him under the law. But please don’t see the entire community as being at fault by default. The fault may lie with the dormitory operator for not providing a suitable place for workers to socialise over a drink. And it does not help when many of us see migrant workers as a different species, without the same rights as us.