I HAVE lived in Singapore for four years, working in a restructured hospital. I got my permanent residence (PR) only after living here for eight months. I am bonded to the hospital for six years because it sponsored my education to be a radiographer in Australia, and for this I am grateful to my employer. I got married in Australia at the end of my studies, and my husband and I moved to Singapore. Soon we started a family. My daughter is now nearly three. All three of us are PRs. My husband and daughter are Australian, and I am Malaysian.

Nearly half my colleagues are also PRs or work permit holders, or 'foreigners' for short. I guess my colleagues and I are 'foreign workers' because we don't live in a condo and earn a five-digit salary. Those who do are called 'expatriates'.

The purpose of this letter is to remind Singaporeans that middle-class 'foreign workers' exist in this country. We are your nurses, bank executives, IT professionals and so on. We pay taxes, contribute to CPF and send our children to childcare. And when our male children turn 18, they are liable for national service.

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