Foreign Labour – Off The Streets And Making Waves At The Bay

The Workers’ team at the Marina Bay – HSL Chairman Mr Lim Choo Leng (third from right) rejoices with the team after their outstanding win in the Tail Race.

HSL Constructor’s weekend paddlers turned proud winners

Singapore, 9 July 2014 – Eleven Bangladeshi workers from HSL Constructor picked up oars for the first time and emerged winners at the DBS International Dragon Boat Regatta last May. The workers were introduced to the sports in March this year, and trained every weekend for over two months where they triumphed at the Tail Race of the Regatta.Last Wednesday, 9 July, the Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Singapore, H.E. Mahbub Uz Zaman, met with the team to congratulate them for their feat and shared an iftar (breaking of the Ramadhan fast) at the Ba’alwi Mosque. The occasion was graced by the Guest-of-Honour, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and Education, Hawazi Daipi.

(left) Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Singapore, H.E. Mahbub Uz Zaman and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower and Education, Hawazi Daipi congratulatde the workers and presented them the official HSL Dragons jacket, as Mr Lim and CEO Charles Quek cheer on.

(right) The team and HSL management shared an iftar together with Imam Habib Hassan al-Attas, Chairman and Imam of the Ba'alwi Mosque in Singapore.

“Sport gives us that opportunity to interact and be together under the same banner, under the same platform,” shar ed H.E. Mahbub Uz Zaman. “It acts as a sort of bridge for friendship, cooperation and understanding. We actually encourage [the workers], and the dormitory owners [as well] to play these games and sports.”

(left) CEO Charles Quek congratulates the workers’ team right after their winning performance.

(centre) The Dragonboat team in action at the Tail Race of the Regatta.

(right) Mr Lim accompanying the team as they trained hard on weekends leading to the race.

The team then competed on the competition held three days later at the Dragon Boat Festival 2014, but with an added challenge this time - the members were fasting as they tried to repeat their level of performance.

(Photo courtesy of The Straits Times)

On a weekend of December last year, Singapore witnessed the horrific riot in Little India involving South Asian nationals working here. The government has since called for a Committee of Inquiry (COI) to investigate on the cause of unrest, which led to the repatriation of 57 workers who had participated in the riot on that fateful weekend, and 200 others who received police advisories. 

Watch the news report by Channel NewsAsia below, originally aired on 11 July (Friday) at 10:00pm for Singapore Tonight.