新加坡

"Excuse me, are you Singaporean?"I went around asking a bunch of people this question recently, not with xenophobic intent.迷你倉In this instance, I was hoping they would say they were Singapore permanent residents. It would mean less competition for me to get my elder daughter Faith into the school my wife and I wanted.At Phase 2C of the Primary 1 Registration, for applicants without affiliation to the school of choice, all available vacancies go to Singaporeans before PRs get a sniff.My situation, while not as nerve- racking as the balloting exercise conducted for a greater number of applicants than there are places, had its fair share of tension. Mine was more a comedy of manners, of my own clumsy staging, than the nail-biting thriller of a ballot.I wasn't so kiasu as to target a ridiculously popular school with excellent academic results. My wife and I were eyeing a fairly reputable girls' school that is closest to where I live now with my in-laws.We didn't want Faith, and eventually her younger sister Sarah, to have to wake up too early to travel a long way to and from school.In an earlier registration phase, Faith had already secured a place in my wife's alma mater, about 30 minutes by car and likely up to an hour by school bus.The plan was to pull out of that school and register in the nearer one (just three bus stops away) on the last day of Phase 2C, but only if we were sure of getting in.No balloting for me - my heart wouldn't be able to take it. Also, I've never won anything of note in a lucky draw.So my wife was stationed at her alma mater to withdraw Faith's registration. My job was to monitor the numbers at the other school. In the final half hour or so before Phase 2C closes, I would call her and tell her to pull out or not.I thought I could just look at the numbers written on a whiteboard, which provided a breakdown of how many Singapore citizens and PRs had applied.But no. Those figures were not updated regularly because the staff were busy.Worse, there were many parents hovering in the registration area, also looking at the numbers before deciding whether to make their move. They could represent a last-min自存倉te surge in figures and meant the undoing of my plan, just like I could throw a spanner in their arrangements.The only way I could be sure of no nasty surprises at the end was to ask everyone there if they were Singaporeans. Then I would tally up the registration numbers myself.It was not my intention to stir up an "us versus them" hornet's nest, though I did receive a dirty look thrown my way in response to my question."Yes, I'm Singaporean," said the man in a distinctly mainland Chinese accent.Lowering my head, I sheepishly crept away, chastened and newly aware of Singapore's fast-changing society. For the sake of my daughters, I had to thicken my hide.Thankfully, most parents answered without rancour. A female Singapore PR smiled sweetly and said: "I'm no competition for you."My heart squeezed a little, out of relief and embarrassment at my relief.Even better, a group of about five of us developed a camaraderie because we were in the same boat and could see the humour in our situation.A father in the group volunteered to share my burden of asking the Singaporean question. Another joked that since he could pass off as a security guard, he should set up a roadblock at the school gate to lie to other parents that the school was terribly over-subscribed.A third man wasn't even there to register his daughter, who was already in Primary 3 in that school. He was helping his colleague survey the situation and ended up cracking wry jokes to lighten the atmosphere.At 3.30pm, half an hour before the deadline, I told my wife to pull Faith's registration at her alma mater.Shortly after the deadline had passed, the staff told us that balloting was required only for Singapore PRs living more than 2km from the school. Smiles broke out and handshakes exchanged in mutual congratulations.My heart went out to a crestfallen couple, who were PRs living pretty far away. All the schools in their area were already over-subscribed.I think Faith is going to be just fine in her new school next year, if her classmates are anywhere near as fun-loving and easygoing as some of their parents I had briefly developed a rapport with.andychen@sph.com.sg迷你倉新蒲崗