Working in Singapore can be an exciting and exhilarating experience, and with the country recently announced as the world’s best country for expats, it is aiming to deliver bigger promise than ever.

As far as the working permit is concerned, the Singapore government classifies foreigners who do not possess the PR (Permanent Resident) status into two categories – those earning basic salary of over S$2,500, and those who earn S$2,500 and less.

The first, whose salary are in excess of $2,500 are granted with this thing called the Employment Pass, whereas the latter get the Work Permit.

What’s the difference? You ask.

Both are valid working permits, but those with Employment Pass (EP) will get certain advantages over the Work Permit (WP) holders. For example, a foreigner with an EP will find it relatively easier to obtain the Dependant’s Passes (DP), documents that allow him or her to bring their family (wife/husband and kids) into and residing in the country. The clearing process of job switching is also a breeze.

Most of the Employment Pass holders hold high tertiary education such as degree, masters or PhD, with many of them undertaking roles in administrative and professional duties such as consultants, engineers, financial executives and so on.

For the Work Permit, getting one of those WPs can sometimes can be tedious with the prospective employer and yourself having to deal with different agencies including Ministry of Manpower, Work Permit Department and so on. Some people would find it easier to have an agent or third party to handle the task, albeit at some cost.

For both of the permits (Employment Pass and Work Permit), forms can be obtained from the immigration office, addressed at: Singapore Immigration & Registration, 10 Kallang Road, Singapore 208718. Alternatively, call their 24-hour helpline at (65) 6391 6100 for inquiries.

The government jobs are getting more and more popular these days and to prove a point, about 98% of those who apply will end up rejected.

The statistics released by the Ministry of the Prime Minister’s Department showed that the number of job applications for the half year of 2008 has exceeded the previous year’s figure.

Today, jobs in the government sector not only attract the Malays and the Bumiputras, but also the Chinese, Indians and other races.

As of June 2008 ending, 797,973 applications were received, compared to last year’s figure of 760,840.

At the moment, there are 15,887 job vacancies to be filled for various government offices and agencies, which means only about 2% of the total applicants will be offered jobs, while the rest will be left disappointed.

The highest number of job vacancies come from the medical and administration fields. Medical Officers positions have more than 5,000 vacancies, while the Admin Officers has 2,000. Other critical jobs include Pharmacist (1,300) and Anti Drug Officers (1,500).

Kanang anak Langkau, one of the national heroes during the communist insurgence in the 70s, has humbly declined offers to make him a Datuk.

In a statement to press, he told that he can’t afford the Datukship title as he is not rich enough to dress and act like one.

Kanang, who hails from the Iban community, was known for its expert ability to track down enemies, making way for deadly search and destroy missions.

In 1979, Kanang was tasked to lead a troop in tracking a group of communists in Perak, after a soldier was killed. For almost two weeks, the team wondered around in unfamiliar territories until they were ambushed by the enemy, and Kanang himself was shot three times – twice in chest and once in stomach. But he survived the attack, killed 6 communists and emerged victorious.

He is the only Malaysian who has received 2 bravery awards – the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP) and Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB). The SP award itself is the highest award in the national order of awards, surpassing Datuk and Tan Sri titles.

Retired and now 68, Kanang now lives in Sri Aman, Sarawak, once a communist fortress.