India has entered the Era of Gloablization in a big way and from Tokyo to the US and Canada and Australia, Indians can be found looking for jobs and pitching their business ideas. Singapore has emerged as one of the favorite destinations for Indian jobseekers, and a relationship has developed which benefits both partners.

Bridge Singapore reported: " Without pausing for thought Mohan Aiyer, 40, gave a resounding "yes" when asked whether he would be interested in doing an executive MBA programme with the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) when it opens an offshore Asian campus in Singapore later this year.

"Of course, I'll do the course. They're number one and have been long established. Getting an IIM education would be a very good thing for anybody, primarily because the people who come out of these institutions go on to become role models globally," says the Indian-born entrepreneur, who has been living and working in Singapore for the past seven years.

Now IIM-B - the business school in India's Silicon Valley of Bangalore - hopes to export its strength in business strategy and finance by offering an online EMBA programme, targeted for November or December, at its Singapore campus. The initiative will be hosted at Bhavan's Indian International School, with the institute sharing its lecture halls, seminar and conference rooms, library and computer centre. At the moment, there are plans to offer only a virtual, part-time EMBA course, which can be completed over a year and a half. However, more courses may be added as the school establishes its presence in the city-state. "The EMBA course modules would be taught online, with nearly all the faculty members, in terms of teaching staff, working out of our Indian campus," says Prakash Apte, director of IIM-Bangalore, which counts the UK engineering company BAE among its long-standing clients for executive education. "But we're also looking at hiring locally-based faculty members depending on demand," he adds. Admission procedure, course content and evaluation are the same as those of IIM-Bangalore. However, in terms of credit equivalence, the course is structured to lead to an EMBA certification, rather than a full degree. Mr Apte says this is because the course focus is on broadening the outlook and strengthening the skills of practising ĆĀ­managers. This is achieved by discussing the latest developments in management thinking and their applicability in the Indian and global context. Participants also obtain valuable insights from extensive online interaction with their counterparts from other organisations. "Even though it may lead to just a certification, I strongly believe there would be demand for it given our brand equity," says Mr Apte. "In any sense, the certification would be of very high value since the quality of the education will match the high standards of the teaching at the institute." One of the notable features of an IIM education is the rigour of its teaching methods and processes. For the institute, one way of building on these strengths has been to widen its mandate with the launch of international student exchange programmes. IIM-B runs exchange programmes with 20 global centres. The school says every year nearly 25 per cent of its graduates are headhunted or poached by multiƂĀ­nationals and offered sky-high salaries. "The teaching you get there [at IIM] is value for money," says Mr Aiyer. "The rationale behind the education system is not money-making. For them it's not about running a profitable organisation, but rather the aim is to create intellectuals. Therefore, the teaching staff is very dedicated. The pedagogy and curriculum are comparable to the best globally, while the fee is at a fraction." As an overseas Indian national, Mr Aiyer fits the profile of the type of candidate the institute hopes to attract for its first EMBA. The initial enrolment target for this year is about 40 to 50 students. IIM-B officials say that although there is growing demand from south-east and north-east Asia for Indian education because of the alluring status of IIMs, Singapore was chosen primarily for having a large Indian population. "Although we're reaching out to the entire region, a large proportion of the students are likely to come from the Indians living and working around the region," says Mr Apte. He adds: "Singapore is an excellent market; we are familiar with the business environment and the industry. Our MBA students are continuously engaged in exchange projects there. But more than that, there's a sizeable overseas Indian community working in Singapore who know us and our value." While he would not comment on the cost of the EMBA, saying that the committee is still ironing out the pricing strategy, Mr Apte did say the tuition would be "priced competitively and is not going to be very high" when compared with other foreign institutions in higher business education. IIM-B's biggest competition in Singapore will probably come from Insead and the Chicago Graduate School of Business. Both have well-established campuses in the city-state, offering full-time and part-time MBA and EMBA courses. Insead charges about $108,000 for its EMBA, while the same course at Chicago costs about $103,000. The standard fee for a two-year MBA graduate programme at any of the IIM schools in India is about $7,500, which administrators say is about half the actual cost incurred by the college. IIMs make up most of the difference with revenues from executive training programmes and government subsidies. Although the regional market is large enough to accommodate many leading players, IIM-B's entry into Singapore is likely to up the ante for Insead and Chicago. While the brand equity of IIM-B is strong and its reputation precedes it, the key challenge would be positioning itself distinctly from its heavyweight rivals, says Mr Apte. "Of course, we would be seen as some degree of threat," he says. "If you look at the global environment now, India is fast becoming an economic powerhouse. There is a great interest in the knowledge of the Indian economy, in Indian companies and the peculiarities of the Indian market. And this is what we can provide better than ƂĀ­Chicago or Insead. Fundamentally, this is where our strong value-proposition lies."

Says Hindu On Net: "Jobbing for Work If you have been offered a job in Singapore, try and make sure your housing needs are taken care of by your employer. They may need to shell out anything from S$ 4-6,000. It is possible to get a modest flat at a Housing Board Colony for S$1500, but the neighbourhood may not fit in with your lifestyle. The company generally picks up electricity and water bills. If you come from one of the hot dry places in the country, be sure that the air conditioning is working well in your flat, as you will need it if you need sleep and rest to live! If you end up paying for yourself then budget for S$600 per month! Make certain your employer gives you full medical coverage and makes an allowance for transport.

"You can't drive too far in Singapore without falling off the side of the island! As its only 22miles across, the Singapore government likes to give residents the feeling that the place is as large as a normal country. To do this they have arranged a series of one-way roads that necessitates a drive of about 30 miles to go to your neighbour's house for dinner! Parts of town are no drive areas for cars with less than four people inside unless you pay for a special permit. Parking cost the earth so its better not to buy a car. In fact it's the intention of the government to keep the numbers of vehicles down! "

As Wikipedia reports: "Following Singapore independence in 1965, migration from India and other countries dwindled, and the Singapore population gradually acquired a more settled character. However, in the 1980s, a significant number of Indian Singaporeans began to migrate to Australia and other English-speaking developed countries. This was part of a minor brain drain from Singapore. Most emigrating families were middle class but culturally marginalised English-speaking minorities like the Peranakans, Eurasians, and gays.

"The loss of more successful Indian families in the 1980s has been somewhat balanced by the arrival of highly qualified professionals from India since the 1990s. From the 1990s, Singapore's policy has been actively to attract highly skilled migrants from around the world and this has produced a fairly large expatriate Indian community of well-educated and wealthy professional and business people. It remains to be seen how permanent this migration is. Most have retained their Indian citizenship, although some have been granted Permanent Residence status. Interaction between the local and expatriate Indian community remains ambivalent rather than easy and natural.

"Transient foreign workers who come to work in Singapore on short-stay work permits (two years validity, renewable) as unskilled or semi-skilled workers working in the as domestic workers and construction workers form a third Indian community. There is little interaction between this group and either the expatiate or local Indian communities."

Skilled Indians Shop for Jobs in Singapore>: By Ishani Duttagupta, The Economic Times.
"For many Indian professionals, it's now time to look East rather than go West. In fact, Singapore is turning into a hub for skilled and highly skilled Indians.
"Singapore's strategic skills list which is drawn up by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), after consultations with industry and other government agencies, puts out the skills for which there is expected to be strong industry demand in the coming years. Job seekers can use this list to help plan their career.
"In view of the expected demand for, and shortage of people with such skills, the MOM also accords added consideration to work permit (Employment Pass and S Pass) applicants, possessing such skills. And in various sectors such as IT and banking and finance, Indian professionals are in high demand.
"'In Singapore, the banking-finance and IT sectors welcome Indians with open arms and many companies, banks and financial institutions have even started visiting Indian campuses. They understand that US is still the main attraction for young Indian professionals and hence they need to sell the idea of working in Singapore to that segment,' feels Amrit Barman, who works with Cisco Systems and is an active member of the IIT Alumni Association in Singapore.
"'In terms of positions, Indians don't start at the CEO positions since one needs to grow into it and the knowledge of the region is important. But in senior management roles such as heads of departments, there are many Indians. However, the largest demand is in the mid-management levels. In the IT sector, jobs are even available for Indian professionals with a few years of experience. That is the starting point and there is a huge demand for skilled Indian IT professionals here,' adds Mr Barman who has himself been living and working in Singapore since 1997.
"Nina Alag Suri, managing director, APAC of global recruitment firm, Contact Recruitment (S) Pte, agrees that the Asia-Pacific region is buoyant in terms of jobs in comparison to the West. gThe APAC region, especially the South East Asian market, is currently quite buoyant. The demand is more or less the same as was earlier, which is not bad news considering everywhere else in the world the market is certainly slowing down due to recession. So, South East Asian markets continuing with their earlier growth is definitely great news for Indian professionals,h she says.
"The hot sectors, she feels, for Indians seeking to move to Singapore are IT and telecom, manufacturing, oil & gas as well as banking and finance. gThe demand is very high in the mid- management areas. Senior exec positions are mostly filled internally by most companies as a career progression for their current high performers irrespective of the nationality,h adds Ms Alag Suri.
"The tax policy of Singapore is one of the factors that draws immigrants. In Singapore, there are two categories of expat workers, those on employment pass and others who are permanent residents. Tax levels are same for both categories, though permanent residents enjoy better tax subsidies.
"Singapore, in fact, has one of the most benign tax regimes in the world. At the very top end, the tax level is 22% and compared to India and the US, taxes work out much lower for professionals..."

Doctor Jobs: http://www.doctorjob.com.my/.
This is a resource for students and jobseekers in Malaysia. You can search for courses or colleges, find out entry requirements, apply for scholarships, and read national education news. And oh -- you can also look for jobs!

Expatriates -- Malaysia: http://expat3.securesites.net/classifieds/mly/.
Classifieds for jobs wanted and offered, housing, personals, language exchange and childcare.

GetAFreelancer: http://www.getafreelancer.com/.
Bodisatva B says (presumably somewhere in India!): "Try this site.. www.getafreelancer.com
I got a project for which i get 10K everytime I complete a project. I have complete 1 so far. Have 5K in my bank... and the remaining 5k i blew up on RAM..DVD writer.. :D
Already, 2 more have been queued up. 20K
more... ::droool::
Dudes, dont waste ur precious time on adsense.. get a real online part time job. :D I am not an advertiser for getafreelancer... I am just spreading the word coz I found it to be a "moneyplant" :P (Heard of the adage "money doesnt grow on trees...!")

Gulliver Resort Jobs: http://www.mygulliver.com/malaysia/.
At last count, search 437 jobs from 233 employers, on this job search site dedicated to hospitality jobs worldwide.

Intel Malaysia: http://www.intel.com/jobs/malaysia/.
Of course, as everybody knows, one of the jewels of the Malaysian job crowns is Intel -- or more specifically, IntelMalaysia, which now comprises three campuses and employs more than 8500 people. Read up here, and if you are interested, you could be one of those 8500 Intel souls! Over the past 30 years, in fact, Intel Malaysia has grown into the largest, most mature Intel manufacturing facility outside of the United States. Intel Penang is a key assembly and testing site, Intel Kulim assembles processor packaging and is an important operations center for mobile modules, and Intel Kuala Lumpur includes a multimedia super-corridor development center as well as a sales and marketing office. But whichever of these three Intel hubs that you end up, one thing is certain: you will be in a country which is a tropical paradise and a true melting pot, a land rich with a great deal of cultural diversity. Thus you have been informed!
Career streams at Intel Malaysia are divided into the following categories: integrated circuit engineering, integrated circuit manufacturing, hardware engineering, software engineering, hardware manufacturing, facilities and site services, Information Technology (IT), Finance, sales and marketing, ebusiness, supply network, materials, legal, human resources, research and development (r&d) and quality and reliability. If any of these job descriptions fit your bill, you should hit the Intel Malaysia site listed above, to search for positions.

JobsDB: http://www.jobsdb.com/MY/EN/V6HTML/JobSeeker/jobalert/jobalert_e.htm.
Subscribe to Job Alert and JobsDB will do the job matching for you. This free service notifies you of new job vacancies based on position, monthly salary, qualifications, location, and so on. New job openings will be sent to your email account every day.

Job Street: http://my.jobstreet.com/default.htm.
A wide range of services offered here, most obviously job search and job alert. Also plenty of up-to-date info about job fairs and career seminars in Malaysia, top job categories, classifieds, jobs for disabled folk, and so on. Worth a click or two.

Learn 4 Good: http://www.learn4good.com/jobs/language/english/list/country/malaysia/.
This is a resource bank for people who want to live, study or travel abroad. There are listings of jobs, schools, places of accommodation, translators, hostels, discussion forums and information about travel and visas. You can search jobs by location, and category. Naturally, Information Technology (IT) gets a high priority on the Malaysian page, and the last time I checked, there were jobs available at such places as SK InfoTech, Adance Marine Services (database developer), Vantronic Industries, Technexel (Java developers), NTi Systems & Solutions in Subang Jaya (IT technician), Northern VIT in Penang (web developer), Applied Business Systems in Kuala Lumpur (Oracle consultant), and so on, and on. The service is available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Monster India: http://www.monsterindia.com/.
Tonnes of jobs available here all over India and the outside world, including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Jobs are available in such fields as IT, sales, call center work, engineering, finance, marketing and so on.

Naukri: http://www.naukri.com/.
This is billed as India's top jobs site, and while focussing on jobs inside India, there are plenty of Malaysian jobs advertised in any field you could think of -- from cooking to software design, geotechnical engineering to marketing and management. Jobseekers can open an account and post their resume online. If you need help developing your resume, Naukri offers services for this. Naukri has also introduced what it calls The Job Show. which allows foreign firms to interview Indians by television. Tune in every Saturday at 8.30pm on CNBC.

Solo Gig: http://www.sologig.com/.
This is billed as the place where freelancers and employers meet! If you like the idea of working from home (it certainly appeals to me!) then Solo Gig could offer you some hopeful leads. Jobs are available in such fields as web design, writing, editing and translation, database development and networking, architecture and telemarketing. In conjunction with CareerBuilder.com, Sologig has three times more projects than the other leading freelance websites. Don't get lost in the shuffle! Employers outnumber Freelancers five to one, which create good odds for the jobseeker willing to take a punt on the freelance side.

Tip Top Jobs: http://my.tiptopjob.com/.
A Malaysian online recruitment resource offering a service to both jobseekers and job providers. The jobs are sorted according to industry sector -- there is everything from accountancy and advertising, at the lower reaches of the alphabet, to travel and tourism at the other end. Shouldn't there be a category for zoology? isn't that an important field? No, they don't have any jobs for zoologists at the moment at tip Top Jobs, but they do have plenty of IT offerings. This site is also good for Malaysians looking for josb in other parts of the world.

s i n g a p o r e + i n d i a n s

Indians in Singapore - defined as residents of South Asian paternal ancestry - form about 9% of the national population. While they are the smallest of the city-stateā€™s three main 'races', among cities, Singapore has the one of the world's largest overseas Indian populations. Indian settlement on the island began with British rule in 1819. As a result of migration patterns, Singapore Indians are linguistically and religiously diverse, albeit with small majorities of Tamils and Hindus. Like the culture of the Chinese and Malays, Indian culture has endured yet evolved in response to local conditions over almost 200 years, becoming distinct from its cultural homelands. Indian elements are also diffused within a shared Singaporean culture. Singaporeā€™s Indian population is notable for its class stratification, with disproportionately large elite and lower income groups. Although stratification has long existed in the Indian community, it has grown more visible since the 1990s with an influx of professionals from India. As a result, Indians now enjoy higher monthly average incomes, and are much more likely to hold a university degree, than the Chinese or Malays. However, the success of recently arrived Indian expatriates also masks the socio-economic problems faced by some longer-settled Indian Singapore citizens. Prominent Indian individuals have always made a mark in Singapore as leaders of various fields in national life. At the same time, Indians are collectively well represented, and often over-represented, in areas such as politics, education, diplomacy and the law. "'There were around 270 of us, and we have already got the signatures of 178, and we'll get the rest by Monday,' said Dilip, an IT professional, who presented a petition to the Indian High Commission on behalf of all those detained after being released on Sunday night.

"A Malaysian police officer had earlier told PTI that some 164 Indians had been picked up during a raid on one building adding they were released following the intervention of the Indian High Commission and proof that they had valid visas.

"Some showed they were working for companies registered in Malaysia's Multi-media Super Corridor, the Information Technology project zone running from Kuala Lumpur to the new development of Cyberjaya, some 45 minutes' drive away, he said.

"'This has been a black day for all of us,' Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri said addressing the detainees after their release.

""We have taken the matter to the highest authority, and we will get to the bottom of the issue.'

"Police initially denied Indian officials access to the detained Indian nationals, but later relented.

"Several Indians taken into custody showed PTI their passports, pointing out that their visas had been scratched.

"A Malaysian immigration official, who verified the defaced visas, said the individuals and their employers would have to apply to his department for a fresh visa.

"The detainees recounted how police burst into their homes and herded them to a nearby police station, from where some were taken to jail.

"'We were handcuffed and made to kneel or sit in the police station car park, some of us were slapped and kicked,' said Nagaraju Cheekoti, an IT professional working for WWI Malaysia.

"Some said they were ordered to do sit-ups, while others said they were stripped to their underwear, slapped and kicked inside the station. Police confiscated their cell phones and refused them access to telephones.

"Police officials at the Brickfields station refused to speak to PTI.

"'We don't want to stay in this country if we are treated like this. We have come here at the invitation of Malaysian companies,' said one of the detainees to a chorus of approval from other detainees. 'We don't feel safe,' he said..."

How is life like for the resident Indians of Malaysia:

This is from the Tamil Nation homepage: "Large scale migration of Indians from the sub continent to Malaya followed the extension of British formal rule to the west coast Malay states in the 1870s. As early as 1901 the Indian population in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States was approximately 120,000, and by 1947 it had grown to almost 600,000 for Malaya and Singapore.' At the time of Independence in 1957 it stood at a little over 820,000. In this last year Indians accounted for approximately 11 per cent of the total population of Malaya and Singapore.

"The overwhelming majority of migrants from India were Tamil speakers from the south of the sub continent. In 1947 they represented approximately 77 per cent of the total Indian population in Malaya and Singapore. Other South Indians, mainly Malayalee and Telegus, formed a further 14 per cent in 1947, and the remainder of the Indian community was accounted for by North Indians, principally Punjabis, Bengalis, Gujeratis, and Sindhis.

"These ethnic divisions corresponded closely to occupational specialisation. For example the South Indian Tamils were predominantly labourers, the majority being employed on rubber estates, though a significant minority worked in Government public works departments. The Telegus were also mainly labourers on the estates, whilst the Malayalee community was divided into those who occupied relatively more skilled labouring positions on the estates and those who were white collar workers or professionals. The North Indians, with the exception of the Sikhs, were mainly merchants and businessmen. For example, the Gujeratis and Sindhis owned some of the most important textile firms in Malaya and Singapore. The Sikhs were either in the police or employed as watchmen.

"There were, in addition, three further ethnic and religious groups whose political and economic importance in Malaya far exceeded their numerical strength. Two were important business communities the Chettiars, a money lending caste from Madras, and the South Indian Muslims (Moplahs and Marakkayars) who were mainly wholesalers. The third group were the Ceylonese Tamils who were employed principally in the lower levels of the Civil Service and in the professions.

"The close correspondence between the ethnic and occupational divisions of the Indian community was inevitably reflected in the community's geographical distribution in Malaya. The South Indian Tamils were concentrated mainly in Perak, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan, on the rubber estates and railways, though a significant proportion found employment on the docks in Penang and Singapore The Telegus were mainly on the rubber estates of Lower Perak and parts of Selangor, while the Malayalees were located predominantly in Lower Perak, Kuala Lumpur, parts of Negri Sembilan, and Johore Bahru. The business communities, the Gujeratis, Sindhis, Chettiars, and South Indian Muslims, were concentrated in the urban areas, principally Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, and Singapore. The Ceylon Tamils were also mainly an urban community, though some were found in rural areas working as subordinate staff on the estates...."

The Tamil Nation goes on to record: "Despite the fact that the Indians constitute about 8% of the country's population of 22 million they own less than 2% of its national wealth. According to The Economist (22nd Feb 2003), they make up 14% of its juvenile delinquents, 20% of its wife and child beaters and 41% of its beggars. They make up less than 5% of the successful university applicants. The story of the Indians has been a case of progressive deterioration from the time Malaysia became independent in 1957.

"The mass Indian (South Indian) immigration can be traced back to the early 20th century when the British brought them to meet the labour force requirements in the colonial public services and in private plantations. While the bulk of the Tamils were employed in the plantations, the Sri Lankan Tamils and Malayalees were in supervisory or clerical positions. Of the North Indians, the Punjabis were in the police force, while the Gujaratis and Sindhis were in the business sectors (mostly textiles). Despite the mass exodus of South Indians back to India after independence and after the racial riots of May 1969, the Tamils (South Indians) today constitute about 80% of the total Indian community." Which explains all the Tamil style blue pyramid Hindu temples you see in Malaysia these days!

That is not to say that there is discrimination against, say, IT workers arriving in Kuala Lumpur from Mumbai. The Malaysian Government will no doubt be glad to have your skills in the country. However, it is good to know your history, and like India, Malaysia has been shaped by imperialism and racial discrimination. As so often happens, one race exploits another. Organizations like Tamil Nation are fighting against this most odious of human weaknesses, and fighting to uplift the rights of Malaysian Indians.

i n d i a n + s h o p p i n g

IF YOU ARE INDIAN AND HAVE ALREADY MADE THE MOVE TO KUALA LUMPUR, YOU WILL MOST DEFINITELY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT WHERE YOU CAN BUY INDIAN FOOD PRODUCTS AND SPICES AND STUFF. You will also want to know al the best places to dine and hang out. With the huge Indian native population, there are of course countless Indian supermarkets and restaurants and street markets where you can find all the things you enjoyed back in India. Here is a list -- incomplete I must confess!! - of some of the Indian shopping solutions in Kuala Lumpur:

Citra Spice Mart (M) Sdn Bhd: website: http://www.citras.com.my.
At the time of writing (March 2006) this website was not quite ready for general use, although it should be ready soon. The company behind this website is reported to be Malaysia's premier online shopping site for fresh pure spices, pulses and herbs. They also sell such Indian necessities as lentils, nuts, vathals, snack food and so on. In fact, whatever you need for home cooking, you can find at Citra Spice Mart. The company sells to individuals and households as well as caterers, hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. As well as this, the website lists Indian restaurants and boasts a forum where members can chat online. It is no doubt a good place to make Indian (and other nationality) friends in Malaysia, find out the best places to eat, and so on. Join up today -- you might see me online sometimes! (under the name CodeRot!)

b r i c k f i e l d s + f a c i l i t i e s

MORE IN DEPTH INFORMATION ON PUBLIC SERVICES, BANKS, DOCTORS AND MEDICAL SERVICES AND SO ON IN BRICKFIELDS:

Public Bank Berhad: 68 Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields. Phone: 03/2272 5930, 03/2273 6494.

g e t t i n g + t h e r e

To get to Little India from Masjid Jamek station you can take either the Star LRT or Putra LRT.
Brickfields can be accessed through the Tun Sambanthan and KL Sentral monorail stations.