2600 Singapore Employment Pass renewal rejected in H1 2013

According to the latest figures released by Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM), 2,600 Employment Pass renewal applications were rejected in the first 6 months of 2013. About 50% of these were EP Q1 (lowest of the 3 EP tiers). Bulk of the unsuccessful EP renewal came from wholesale, retail, professional services and infocomm sectors.

MOM figures show that by June 2013, there are 172,100 Employment Pass holders in Singapore down from 175,400 compared to December 2011. But probably the decline is due to the fact that the employee who do not satisfy the stricter EP criterias (mainly minimum salary) are downgraded to lower Work Passes such as S Pass. In January 2012, the qualifying montly salary for EP holders was raised to $3,000 from $2,800 which will be further raised to $3,300 January 2014 onwards. Older and more experienced workers are expected to draw more than this minimum to qualify for Singapore Employment Pass.

Singapore Employment Pass (EP) is a type of work visa issued to foreign professional employees, managers, and owners/directors of Singapore companies. Unlike lower tier work passes like S Pass there is no quota system limiting the number of Employment Passes that can be issued to a company. There are 3 levels of Singapore EP: Q1 Pass, the lower tier, is given for minimum $3,000 salary to up to $4,500. Mid tier P2 Pass is for $4500 to $8000 bracket and the highest of all P1 Pass is for base salary above S$8,000 a month. Aside from the minimum salary, the applicant’s educational qualifications and work experience are also key considerations for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in granting and determining the EP category.

Expedia and Incofood International have apologized for their discriminatory job advertisements

Expedia Inc, the online travel agency, and consultancy Incofood International have apologized for their discriminatory job advertisements after Singapore's Manpower Ministry (MOM) suggested they do so. According to The Straits Times newspaper an MOM spokesman said the ministry was informed of the ads last month by members of the public. "We engaged the companies at a senior level, informed them to remove the advertisements immediately, and also suspended their work pass privileges," he said.

In a statement titled "Expedia Sinagpore Pte. Ltd. Apologises for Discriminatory Job Advertisement", Expedia Singapore released a public apology:

"Recently, Expedia Singapore Pte. Ltd posted an employment advertisement for a position, which created the perception that the position required an individual of Filipino descent, which was not the intention. The intention was to require an individual with Filipino (Tagalog) language skills not to require an individual of Filipino descent. The company has since removed the advertisement and implemented procedures to ensure that language skills that are necessary for any position are clearly stated. The company wishes to apologize for the mistake as that was clearly not the intention. The company will give an assurance that this will not happen again. 

The company recognizes the importance of diversity in the workplace and as such makes recruiting and hiring decisions based solely on individual merit and the qualifications directly related to professional competence and job requirements. The company strictly prohibits its employees and representatives from engaging in any form of prohibited discrimination in any aspect of employment including job application procedures, hiring, compensation, promotion or advancement. The company would like to affirm its commitment towards fair employment and the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices."

Incofood International Pte Ltd also apologized in their jobstreet.com.sg advertisement for an Admin Officer position by saying:

We apologize unreservedly for our earlier job posting of the same position. The company acknowledges that a discriminatory advertisement has been posted. The company gives assurance that this will not happen again going forward. The company affirms our commitment towards fair employment and supports the Triparte Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices.

Some firms openly advertise positions for specific nationalities and the complaint that these firms favor foreigners over Singaporeans was highlighted in last month's Budget debate by Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, who pledged to tackle such discrimination.

Singapore Permanent Resident Status 2013 and beyond

Singapore  immigration framework was tightened in 2009 and according to a newly released population white paper, the current levels of relatively tightened immigration framework is to stay here. For example, after peaking at 79,000 new Singapore Permanent Residents in 2008, number of Singapore PR intake is sharply reduced starting from 2009. Singapore Population White Paper says that there will be no increase in the number of PR intake in the near future. The paper, which outlines a target 6.9 million population in Singapore by 2030 and a 15,000 and 25,000 new Singapore citizens intake each year, says that current pace of about 30,000 Singapore PR intake per year will be maintained:

Permanent residence is an intermediate status through which foreigners take up citizenship. It is meant for those who have a long-term stake in Singapore and intend to sink roots here. We have tightened up significantly on the number of PRs granted each year. We have come down from a high of 79,000 new PRs in 2008 to about 30,000 each year currently. We plan to maintain the current pace. This will keep a stable PR population of between 0.5 and 0.6 million, and ensure a pool of suitable potential citizens.

The white paper also highlights target population composition:

With this controlled immigration rate, the citizen population is projected to be between 3.6 and 3.8 million by 2030. Together with the PR population of 0.5 to 0.6 million, this gives a resident population (comprising citizens and PRs) of between 4.2 and 4.4 million in 2030, depending on birth rates, immigration and life expectancy.

The white paper defines Singapore Permanent Residency as an intermediate step towards Singapore Citizenship:

Permanent residence is granted to those who have a long-term stake in Singapore and who intend to sink roots here. It is an intermediate step through which foreigners take up citizenship in Singapore. As with Singapore citizenship, applicants for permanent residence are comprehensively assessed. Since the immigration framework was tightened in 2009, we have significantly reduced the number of PRs granted each year, from a high of 79,000 in 2008. We have been taking in close to 30,000 new PRs in each of the last 3 years, and plan to continue at this calibrated rate.  This will keep the total Pr population stable at between 0.5 and 0.6 million, and ensure a pool of suitable potential citizens.

See the whole white paper here: A sustainable population for a dynamic Singapore - Population White Paper.

Foreigners, population and immigration were hottest issues discussed by Singaporeans in 2012

Foreigners and population & immigration are the two hottest issues discussed on REACH platforms in  the first eleven months of  2012, but  concerns over housing and transport have eased somewhat from last year. This is according to a press release by REACH.

In 2012, taking over Transport’s top place as the most discussed topic on REACH  is  the “Foreigner” issue. Replacing last year’s second hottest topic, “Housing” is  “Population & Immigration”,  which was  last year’s third most discussed topic.

Foreigners

The foreigner issue remains an overriding concern of many  REACH contributors and cuts across feedback related to other issues such as population, transport and housing. Generally, contributors express unhappiness with foreigners for what they perceive as crowding out public infrastructure, eroding social norms and values, and marginalising Singaporeans in school placements and the job market.  A series of prominent cases involving foreigners, such as the insulting comment by foreign scholar Sun Xu, the Ferrari driver’s fatal accident, and ASEAN scholar Alvin Tan’s sexual fiasco triggered heated views towards foreigners and calls for a more stringent immigration policy.

 Nonetheless, there are also some moderate voices surfacing, reminding Singaporeans not to generalise the behaviour of foreigners as it could damage Singapore’s social harmony and international reputation. They also call for the government to take a more pro-active role to promote integration between foreigners and Singaporeans.

Population & Immigration 

Population & immigration issues, ranked third last year (over 1,700 feedback inputs), emerged the second most discussed topic in 2012 with over 3,900 feedback inputs received up to November 2012.  The discussion last year had then centered on the issues of low fertility rate and putting “Singaporeans First”
in jobs, education and housing, underpinned by concerns on the influx of foreigners.

These issues continued to surface in 2012 and gained traction with the release  of NPTD’s Occasional papers on Citizen Population Scenarios in April and Marriage & Parenthood Trends in June, followed by the NPTD Issues Paper and a 14-week public consultation on population in July.  Among others, contributors cited the high cost of living, lack of work-life balance, and job insecurity due to competition from foreigners as the key obstacles to marriage and parenthood.  Many conveyed that they are not looking for short-term incentives but more holistic, long-term solutions to reverse the declining birth rate.

Singapore's population grew sharply in the past decade 

mostly by a large flow of foreigners into the island nation.

Transport

The six train disruptions in April this year sparked a lot of discussion on transport.  Subsequent train disruptions in August and October, however, received fewer responses compared to April.  While some expressed resignation to such disruptions, others talked about the improvements they saw in the response plans of LTA and the public transport operators (PTOs) for such disruptions.

However, there remain concerns of possible public transport fare hikes, triggered by the surge in the construction budget of the Downtown Line from $12 billion to $20.7 billion, the $900 million cost to maintain and upgrade the train system that is to be shared between SMRT and LTA, and more recently, media
reports which highlighted that bus fares might go up in future to help improve the wages of bus drivers.

The possibility of fare increases has not  sat well with most contributors. While many acknowledge the need to improve bus drivers’ pay, they urge PTOs to consider alternative options such as implementing  cost cutting measures and tapping into existing reserves, noting that raising fares should be the last resort.
Since this topic started on  6 December, REACH has received 140 feedback inputs up to 11 December.

The increase in the COE prices, which has been in the news headlines, is another hot issue discussed on transport.  Among others, Singaporeans call for the COE system to be reviewed holistically and the public transportation system to be improved to address car population issues.

On the trend of feedback received, REACH Chairman Dr Amy Khor says, “The continued increase in feedback received even after GE 2011 is a positive sign and indicative of a growing active citizenry and desire for views to be heard as part of the  policy making process.  I am also heartened by the many  well considered and sincere views expressed with a mind to contribute to a better life for all. We have seen various policies that are directed towards addressing some of the public’s concerns.  For example, the move to ramp up housing supply has helped to some extent to reduce the anxiety of HDB flat applicants, especially first time applicants.  This shift in sentiments is a good signal that the government’s continued efforts to listen to the ground and adjust its policies where appropriate to allay ground sentiments and address genuine concerns are welcomed.”

Commenting on the persistent  hot button foreigner issue, Dr Khor says, “Feedback from REACH  contributors have at times been emotive but there are also  no lack of level headed views.  These concerns are understandable.  The government is taking progressive steps to address them such as introducing
measures to steer our economy’s direction towards higher productivity  and tightening our foreign manpower intake.  But we also need to calibrate these adjustments carefully so as to ensure that the economy can grow at a reasonable pace over the long term and create good jobs for Singaporeans.  The impact of many of our  policy changes, such as expanding our transport infrastructure  to alleviate Singaporeans’ concerns about overcrowding, will take time to manifest. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and be prepared to rethink, recalibrate or remake policies when the situation changes.  In this regard, REACH’s role remains relevant.  We will continue to ensure that diverse segments of the population are heard and endeavour to make each engagement an interesting, useful and meaningful one. We anticipate that the foreigner issue will continue to be one of the widely discussed topics going into 2013, especially with the planned release of the White Paper on Population in January 2013.”

Number of new Singapore citizens and Singapore PR approvals down in 2011

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, that the number of new permanent residents (PRs) decreased from an average of 58,000 per year from 2004 to 2008, to 28,500 per year from 2010 onward while fewer Singapore citizenships (SCs) were granted last year as compared to the average of 18,500 per year in the last five years.[1] The fall in number of new Singapore PRs is due to the stricter criteria and Governments effort to decrease Singapore PR intake which is decreasing since 2008 peak of 79,200 new Singapore PRs and  drop in new Singapore Citizens is due to the introduction of the Singapore Citizenship Journey which lengthens the time taken for applicants to be granted citizenship by about two months.[1]


New Singapore Citizen intake numbers of the past 5 years, 18,500 per year, is still more than twice the 8,200 per year between 1987 and 2006 [2]. By the steep increase of the intake speed in the past 8 years, Singapore's total population increased 27% since 2003 to current number of 5.26 million.

3.81 million of these 5.26 million are Singapore Residents (3.27 million Singaporeans and 540,000 Singapore PRs). The rest, 1.46 million are foreigners with non-resident status. Of these around:

• majority, 671,600, are work permit holders (excluding foreign domestic workers)
• 219,000 are dependents of citizens, PRs and work visa holders,
• 204,400 are maids (foreign domestic workers),
• 175,200 are Singapore Employment Pass holders,
• 87,600 are students and
• 116,800 are S Pass holders.

Singapore Permanent Residency given by year. 2011 numbers are estimate based on the
28,500 per year from 2010 onward numbers given by Singapore Government

So by 2010 onward, Singapore PR approval per year falls to almost half of the average of the past 10 years. The numbers are also below the 35,250 per year average of 2001 to 2004. The numbers also show that an estimated 509,860 new Singapore PRs are given in the past 11 years excluding 2012.

Below graph shows the Singapore population growth between 1960 - 2011. There is a steep rise in population following 2006 which added 25%+ to the existing population in just 5 years!

Singapore population per year. There is a steep increase between 1986 - 1998 and after a rest of 

5 years following Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, population again 

goes into a steep climb 2003 onwards.

[1] - Number of new citizens drop last year
[2] - Our population, our future

Sponsoring Dependent Pass for spouse is stricter now for Singapore work visa holders

By September 1st  2012, S Pass and Employment Pass (EP) holders will need to earn a fixed monthly salary of at least 4,000 Singapore Dollars Per Month to sponsor the stay of their spouses and children, announced Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM). According to MOM, these changes to Dependent Privileges for Work Pass holders will help ease the pressure on Singapore’s social infrastructure:

“The Government is tightening the criteria for work pass holders to sponsor dependants as part of the overall direction to moderate the growth of Singapore’s non-resident population. This will help ease the pressure on our social infrastructure. Nonetheless, Singapore remains a global talent capital. We continue to welcome highly skilled foreign professionals who wish to bring their dependants to stay with them.”
Source : MOM Passes & Visas

There are 2 additional changes, P1 Pass holders will no longer be able to bring in their parents-in-law (they may still bring in their parents, spouses and children) and P2 Pass holders will no longer be able to bring in their parents or parents-in-law (they may still bring in their spouses and children).
These stricter rules on passes for foreign worker’s families are the last changes in a series of changes to

Singapore work visa framework in the past 1 year. In 2011, government announced an increase to the minimum salary requirements for each work pass type. The move is to further slowdown the inflow of foreign workers here. Currently, S Pass holders earning more than 2,800 SGD per month and all Employment Pass holders could sponsor their spouses’ Dependent Pass. Family members already here will not be affected as long as their sponsor stays with the same company but an employment change will be considered as new work visa and will be subject to new laws.

Immigration is the hottest topic in Singapore recently with the huge inflow of foreigners in the past few years has put great strain on the infrastructure of the country. Since married skilled foreigners will value the ability to bring in their family with them, these rules will make it harder for employers to offer lower prices to foreign workers.

Sharp increase in number of Singapore Work Visa Holders

Number of foreign workers has significantly increased in Singapore from 2010 to 2011. Each of three work pass categories (Employment Pass, S Pass and work permits) recorded increases but the fastest growth was in the number of employment pass holders. There were 115,000 Singapore EP holders in 2009. This number has increased to 142,000 in 2010 and as of December 2011 there are 176,000 Singapore Employment Pass holders. A 53 % jump in just 2 years!

Employment Pass is a work visa issued to higher wage earners in Singapore (3,000 SGD per month or more)   with recognized educational diploma/degree and professional qualifications. There are 3 types of Employment Pass;  P1 Pass for foreigners earning a fixed monthly salary of at least S$8,000, P2 Pass for foreigners earning a fixed monthly salary of at least S$4,500 (with  recognized qualifications) and Q1 Pass for foreigners earning a fixed monthly salary of at least S$3,000 (recognized qualifications).

Number of S-Pass holders has also increased during this period. In December 2009 there were 82,000 S-Pass holders in Singapore. This number has jumped to 98,000 in 2010 and as of December 2011 there were 113,000 S-Pass holders in Singapore. S-Pass is for foreigners who make a fixed salary of at least 1,800 SGD per month and applies to mid-level skilled workers such as technicians.

Number of work permit holders excluding the foreign maids has increased from 670,000 in 2010 to 702,000 in 2011.

Number of Singapore Work Visa Holders 2009 - 2011
	2009	2010	2011	2009 vs 2011
Employment Pass	115,000	142,000	176,000	53.04%
S-Pass	82,000	98,000	113,000	37.80%
TOTAL	197,000	240,000	289,000	46.70%

The sharp increases in the number of foreigners also shows that whatever growth Singapore is experiencing is still too much dependent on increasing the working age population rather than the real wealth generator source : increasing the productivity.

Singapore Employment Pass criteria is stricter now

Last Sunday in his National Day Rally 2011 speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has told that Singapore Employment Pass criteria will become stricter for mid-level white collar workers. He has mentioned that Ministry Of Manpower (MOM) will soon announce the details. Singapore Employment is a Singapore work permit issued to white collar foreign employees which enables them to work in Singapore. Unlike S-Pass, Employment Pass is not subject to any quota system which limits the number of Employment Passes that can be employed in a company. There were around 142,000 Employment Pass holders as of December 2010. These foreign professionals are directly competing for the jobs with locals and many Singaporeans openly express their intake should be slowed.

Today in its press release, MOM released the details in its newsroom by the name "Enhanced Employment Pass Framework". New assessment criteria to take effect from January 2012:

MOM will tighten the educational qualifications requirements for Employment Pass Q1 "so that only those from good quality institutions will be eligible". The minimum salary requirement for this pass type is also increased to 3,000 SGD per month from 2,800 SGD per month. Older applicants will have to command even higher salaries to qualify for Employment Pass Q1. This seems to prevent

Minimum salary to qualify for Employment Pass P2 is also raised from $4,000 to $4,500 while the criteria did not change for the P1 pass which was recently raised to 8,000 SGD per month from 7,000 SGD per month.

Minimum fixed monthly
Work Pass Type	Type of Applicants	Before Jan 2012	After Jan 2012
Employment Pass P1	Professional, Managerial, Executive or Specialist jobs	8000	8000
Employment Pass P2	Professional, Managerial, Executive or Specialist jobs	4000	4500
Employment Pass Q1	Professional, Managerial, Executive or Specialist jobs	2800	3000

All new Employment Pass applications will be subject to these new Employment Pass critera from 1 January 2012. How will these measures effect existing Employment Pass holders? For them, MOM announced transitional measures and it will phase in the new requirements over the next 1-2 years (depending on when their current passes expire).

"Existing EP holders whose passes expire:

Before 1 January 2012: receive a one-time renewal of up to two years based on the pre-July 2011 EP criteria.

Between 1 January 2012 and 30 June 2012 (both dates inclusive): receive a one-time renewal of up to one year on the existing EP criteria.

On or after 1 July 2012: The new EP criteria shall apply.

11. Existing EP holders who change employers after 1 January 2012 will have their applications considered under the new EP criteria."
Source : MOM - Enhancements to the Employment Pass Framework

The news for changes, as expected, echoed back in completely opposite ways from the different ways in the opposite sides of the force. Local employers will welcome it while local employers will feel it as a blow:

"DBS economist Irvin Seah said the policy change could encourage companies to have a closer look at and hire more Singaporeans. Business development manager Peter Toh, 45, said the changes would help to a certain extent. A formetr assistant general manager at a company in Hong Kong, he wanted to switch to the service industry but was unsuccessful even after sending more than 100 applications. Much still depends on individual employers and whether they are willing to hire older applicants, noted Mr. Toh, who is now with an accounting firm."
Source : The Straits Times - New rules offer hope to Singapore executives

And the employer side:

"Mr. Lawrence Leow, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) expects salary costs to "easily go up 2 to 3 per cent over a period of time" noting that Singaporeans will also expect a corresponding pay rise. The local service sector is expected to be most affected by the latest round of tightening measures, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also Manpower Minister, said yesterday."
Source : The Straits Times - SMEs feeling the heat of wave of changes


See Also : Singapore work pass salaries, foreigner intake and rents in 2011

Further tightening on Singapore Employment Pass Says PM Lee

In  his National Day Rally 2011 speech, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has shared that Singapore government is progressively tightening up on foreign workers. He has announced that Singapore Ministry Of Manpower (MOM) will further tighten measures on the middle range of foreign workers. Middle range of foreign workers are those with Employment Pass and their competition on the white collar jobs with Singaporeans was one of the hottest topics in Singapore. Mr. Lee has said that the tightening on mid level foreign workers will include "raising the salary thresholds for Employment Passes and tightening the educational qualifications". He has told that he will be announced by MOM soon.

Singapore work pass salary threshold is the minimum monthly fixed salary that can be paid to a foreign worker. The minimum salary depends on the employment pass type. If this new measures are implemented in 2011, it will be the second time minimum salary threshold increased in this year. They have recently been increased in July 2011; "from 1,800 SGD to 2,000 SGD for S-Pass holders, 2,500 to 2,800 for Employment Pass Q1 holders, 3,500 SGD to 4,500 SGD for Employment Pass P2 holders and from 7,000 SGD to 8,000 SGD for Employment Pass P1 holders". Source : Singapore work pass salaries, foreigner intake and rents in 2011

These measures address one of the primary concerns of white collar Singaporean workers who seem increasingly uncomfortable and vocal about the influx of foreign workers. Many I know are not against foreign work force, the concern is more about the speed and volume of the foreign influx. And also there is a common view that the quality of these foreign workers are not well monitored. Tighter educational qualifications will address both of this issues.

However, PM cautioned that "tightening on foreign workers does not necessarily mean Singaporeans will automatically get better jobs or higher pay, as  Singaporeans are also competing with workers all over the world":

"Slowing down the inflow of foreign workers may also mean that Singapore will face lower economic growth. There would be lesser vibrancy in our economy and society and fewer opportunities for our people. Hence, Singapore will need to strike the right balance between managing influx of foreign workers and bringing in enough talent to grow the economy."

Source: Singaporeans First Jobs

Singapore has to keep a right balance of foreign workers influx since skilled worker migration is one of the engines of growth of the strong economy of Singapore. But to much reliance on the increase of working population as a source of growth also drags the prosperity creating source of growth down: productivity growth. Recently Singapore government increased its effort on balancing the influx of foreigners as well as increasing the productivity of Singaporeans.

See also : Singapore employment pass criteria is stricter now

Best time to apply for PR in Singapore

Being a Singapore Permanent Resident is one of the most important steps to immigrate to Singapore as a resident. As we have covered recently it is relatively hard to get Singapore PR since 2009 compared to 2006 - 2008 period and a lot of permanent resident applications are rejected due to effort of the government to control/reduce the intake of foreigners. From the chart below you can see that the Singapore PR approval numbers significantly fell to 29,265 approvals in 2010 from heights of 2008. This is a 63% drop in approvals compared to 2008.

When is the best time for Singapore Permanent resident application? For individuals, the best recommended time to apply for Singapore Permanent Residency is after 2 years of employment in Singapore. I believe it is best to complete 2 full years as tax resident and apply PR after second tax notification from IRAS (notification about the amount of tax you will pay based on your declaration). Documents from IRAS about your individual income tax payments are very valuable documents which shows solid/monetary contributions to Singapore and also shows that you are a stable tax resident of Singapore. An application before 2 years of employment can still get approval if the applicant has good qualities in terms of education, employment, salary, family but do not forget, less than 2 years of employment here will work against your qualifications and risk an approval by putting you behind the people with the same qualifications but more employment history in Singapore.

Number of Singapore PRs approved per year (2001 - 2010)

For individuals whose Singapore PR is rejected previously, the best time to apply for Singapore PR is after waiting for the stated period in the rejection letter. For example if ICA requested you to apply 2 years later, they mean it and it is best to wait for 2 years. If in the rejection letter, ICA does not mention any date to reapply, the shortest period to reapply after rejection letter date is 6 months. Unfortunately, some people do not take this notice seriously and reapply Singapore PR after waiting less than the stated period. For example look at this forum entry from Singapore expats:

Hi,
I(from india) am working in singapore since from oct 2007 to till date. I have applied my PR first time in Aug 2009 with my wife (married march 2009). It was rejected. they mentioned the rejection letter apply after 2 yrs. The result was same as all of my friends. Then again i applied march 2010, again it was rejected at may2010 but the letter they never said anything the date period.My wife got the student pass on May2010(8month course) before a week of PR rejection letter. I am holding S Pass(expire sep 2010).My company ready to renewal.
My Question is Shall i apply again july2010 with my wifes details.

It is not hard to see why ICA rejected his permanent resident application second time, pretty fast (just in 2 months). Although ICA clearly stated to reapply 2 years later, he chose not to take ICA seriously and reapplied just after 8 months. He greatly risked his future chance to get Singapore PR.

Currently it is advised in online forums that anyone considering Singapore PR should wait for the elections of 2011. Since many Singaporeans think Singapore PR intake should be reduced or more difficult to get, Singapore Government would continue to keep PR criteria tighter and will not increase the number of approvals. Although there is no guarantee that the criteria will be eased and more PRs will be approved after the elections of 2011, it is still better to wait now. However if everyone is listening to this advise, then there will be a rush to ICA after the elections and it will really be difficult to float up top among all these rushers and get PR.

So 2011 also does not look like the best year to apply for PR. This does not mean you should not apply if you meet all minimum criteria, have good qualifications and - more important -you really plan to permanently reside in Singapore. This just means that those days of PR approval with relatively loose criteria has long gone and the best time to apply for PR is a date after you make sure that very less works against your application. So if you have room for improvement (i.e. only worked here 1 year, Employment Pass is Q Type, etc) improve first as much as you can then apply. You will have more chance and you will probably wait less to get your PR.

Related articles:
Singapore PR (Permanent Residency) 2012 outlook
Singapore PR Rejected? Appeal or not?
Singapore PR (Permanent Residency) rejected? What to do?
Number of Singapore PRs down in 2011
Sharp decline in chances of getting Singapore PR