SINGAPORE: A Singapore youth lashed out at the government over the rising number of local women marrying foreign men, saying the government must intervene to end the trend. The man, speaking during a question and answer townhall meeting with Minister in the Prime Minister's office Grace Fu that foreign men were “stealing” Singaporean women from local men. His complaint drew a round of laughter from the audience, but he silenced them. “I think we shouldn't laugh. It is an important problem and we need to solve it," he argued. He added that foreign men tend to enjoy higher pay and better perks which give them an unfair advantage in the competition for Singaporean women's heart. Fu said there is nothing the government can do about the trend. “The government cannot regulate love," Fu argued. Men in Singapore have been the most vocal over local women marrying foreign men and have repeatedly taken to social media sites to lash out, but women in the country have demanded an end to such accusations, saying that it is their right to choose their partners. They have repeatedly told Bikyamasr.com that there must be an end to such attacks by men in the country. Women in the city-state said these reports in Singapore and also in Malaysia are “irresponsible" and should be condemned. “We looked at these reports and all they were was speculation," said wife and mother Mary Kim, a Korean national working in Singapore. “What is this based on? There are no statistics and no real substance but hearsay. We should be expecting more from the media." The reports argued that women, especially foreigners, are loitering around shops in the city in an effort to catch the attention of foreign men, where they then reportedly have affairs with them in order to get hitched. But none of the reports give any real statistics or talk with government officials, said Kim, who along with her Chinese and Singapore female friends have called for an end to this type of “reporting." Alana Chang, a Singapore woman and recent graduate from the National University, told Bikyamasr.com that “while some women here might have the goal of getting on with a foreign man, the reality is that there are real and honest relationships, and foreign women, by what I can read, means local Asian women, are not really stealing husbands. That's just ludicrous." She argued that she knows three women her age who are in relationships with foreign men. One of the men was recently divorced. “Does that count as stealing their husband? I don't think so." The women argued that if foreign men come to Singapore or Asia and don't want to be with their wives, is it the responsibility of the local women to stay away? “These assertions as I see it are trying to sexualize Asian women once again and it is sad that it is Asian press that is doing it," Kim said. These women argued that the stereotyping of Asian women must be curtailed in local media in order to have “honest looks at what is affecting us" in the region. For Chang, there are more important issues to be discussed. “This idea that sex is so vital for media in this region is really disturbing. Pointing to Asian women stealing husbands only reinforces the idea that Asian women like us are sex-crazed and want money. We worry about other things more often and this is being missed."
