Dear TRS,
Really appreciate you for taking the time to read this humble post of mine. However, I hope that any reader will not be offended by the opinions provided.
As a 21yr old full time student at a local university, my first reaction to such a law was of disbelief considering the amount of time I used to spent during my NSF days drinking at some park during BBQ or even at the bridge outside Zouk. All of these will be no more after April with the passing of this new Law. Although not openly expressed, it is rather clear that this law was aimed at the foreign workers due to the recent Little India incident which caused a major Hoo Haa in Singapore. I agree that such a law might have been necessary to a certain extent to prevent such future troubles but I find it to be rather extreme due to the following reasons.
First, Government chose to avoid the root of the problem. It is often reported that foreign workers are mistreated in their workplace with overdue pay and mistreatment. All these little incidents left unnoticed or disregarded by government which led to much unrest in this population which eventually erupted during the incident. The incident would not have happen if all the foreign workers are treated much better and minor disputes resolved effectively which should have been the solution to this issue instead of a blanket ban targeted at them.
Following the Little India incident, a report was drawn out to recommend 1000 more policeman to beef up the force to prevent future issue from happening. However, government chose the easy way out instead with a blanket ban which sound like a much cheaper alternative.
Next, indeed alcohol was one of the major factors that led to the riot. However what alcohol did was to trigger the workers to daringly express their discontent in an extreme matter. Saying this, many foreign workers enjoys having a few beers on their weekend as a way to distress from their highly strenuous jobs and it had been a cheap form of entertainment for them. Most of them do not cause much trouble as they understand that the penalty will be harsh as they might be sent back to their country.
Depriving them of drinking outdoor would either force them to drink secretly in discreet places or maybe go to a Pub. Drinking at any pub is not feasible to them due to the high cost. On the other hand, drinking at discreet location might result in more littering which would not be desirable. Furthermore, this will result in a wider spread of the area that the foreign workers drink at, resulting in it being harder to manage and control.
Saying this, I have came up with a humble solution or suggestion that I believe could work out.
I believe that a certain area could be set up along Geyland/Little India area could be set up where drinking could be allowed. This would be similar to the yellow box designated for smokers. This marked out area could be a big grass patch where simple seats and benches could be placed to allow Foreign Workers to enjoy a drink over the weekend. This will not only make it easier for law enforcement but also provide a good alternative for foreign workers to spent their weekend instead of loitering around the City Area. Police officers could be constantly deployed at such area where drunk or rowdy workers will be asked to head back to their dormitory. This could possibly reduce the risk of further riots without setting a high cost to employ more law enforcement officers
Furthermore, to bring this idea one step further. Simple pubs and bars could be set up at such area to provide a close alternative for foreign workers to purchase their beer to further concentrate the drinking activities in the vicinity. Such pubs could possibly be set up by government agency where they would sell duty free beer to Work Permit holders, similar to the ones provided to NS personals. Such an initiatives would have many benefits. First, consuming beers could be tracked by limiting each Work Permit to purchase only a certain units of beer to prevent binge drinking which is the common cause of problems. Workers could be told that using others permit to buy will result in a ban to prevent other related problems. Next, such a initiative will be very welcoming to the foreign workers to better create a positive relationship between them, or as a form of reward for the great service that they have done our nation. Lastly, there are profits to be earned by the government to prevent further outflow of money.
Therefore, I believe that such initiative might be highly feasible. Also, to not kill business in the vicinity, these pubs could possibly only be opened specific hours and only could be purchased by foreign workers.
Thank you very much for reading this post and would love to hear comments.
Tianqi
TRS Contributor