I refer to the article, 'English test for foreign front-line staff? Bosses say 'no'' (The Sunday Times, May 25), on the need to impose some kind of English test for service staff. I believe it is necessary.

The authorities should consider having a regulation to ensure that foreign front-line staff in Singapore have a basic command of English.

This is more than just a business issue, and far from a minor one. Singapore is a multiracial country and our official working language has always been English. So why is this policy not being practised in the service industry?

Employers who hire workers who cannot speak basic English are indirectly discriminating against the non-Chinese minority here.

One can recall the countless times when Chinese Singaporeans have to act as translators for their non-Chinese friends at foodcourts when dealing with foreign service staff.

It is unacceptable that my fellow Singaporeans should be made to feel like tourists in their own country, just because some foreign service staff member cannot speak or understand basic English.

We cannot give the impression that since Singapore has a Chinese majority and many here speak Mandarin, that it is therefore all right for foreigners coming to work in the service sector here to take the easy way out by not bothering to attain a certain level of proficiency in English.

Singapore has come a long way in embracing diversity and promoting racial harmony. The Government has implemented several policies aimed at integrating the population, one of which is the bilingual policy in our education system.

If our young are subject to such a policy - where learning English is compulsory - why should foreign workers, especially in the service line, be treated differently?

This issue is not about being xenophobic or narrow-minded - we are not saying 'no' to foreign workers. Rather, we are saying English is the official working language in Singapore and this must apply to the service line.

Even from a business point of view, having an employee who cannot communicate effectively with customers would create unhappiness and eventually drive people away.

I believe the cost of hiring English-speaking staff would be lower than the cost of losing one's customers.

We took pains to establish English as a universal working language in our country and to help integrate the different races. Let's not undo this now.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jun 1, 2008

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