That was the crux of the sentiment during the question-and-answer session at the Overseas Singapore Club Forum.

It was a quiet start to the forum as 60 Singaporeans living overseas re-acquainted themselves with the latest developments in the country.

But the feedback came fast after that.

Chief among the issues raised was how overseas Singaporeans could remain connected if simple connection issues could not be resolved.

Many spoke of difficulties registering with embassies and remaining updated by government agencies.

Lee Ying Zheng said: "It's a common practice among government agencies that once we don't live in Singapore, they don't want to communicate with us overseas. They say I cannot mail you letters overseas – is this (due to) postage reason or something? I don't know. So we are being cut off from communication with agencies. I consider this strange. Do you consider me a citizen or not? I'm not sure. (But when) it comes to income tax, you know how to go after me."

Ho Geok Choo, Chairperson and Speaker, Overseas Singapore Club Forum, said: "As far as the embassies are concerned, it's probably a matter of prioritising what has got to be done first, given their limited resources. I am not speaking on their behalf but this is my quick response and certainly your feedback is very good for us."

A man who left Singapore for the US made an impassioned plea for help for SMEs.

Charlie Giang said: "At the age of 35, I packed my bags with $20,000 in my bank account and brought it to the US. I just went with one Singaporean trait and that was to 'cheong' – which means to go after something. I left this country because opportunities were slim."

Other concerns were about integrating Singapore students who could not afford international schools back into the system.

And there was laughter too, underlying the issues.

Mr Lee recounted an incident when he asked his Singapore embassy on their plan for an evacuation drill in the event of a crisis.

He said: "When I got a response from the embassy, they said, 'Sorry, it's a secret'. I said, 'What? Evacuation plan is a secret?' They said, 'Yes, we are not supposed to tell you'. I said, 'What kind of evacuation plan is this?'."

The forum is a biennial event and this is the seventh in the series.

- CNA/so

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