Former NTU Australian professor questioned Singapore’s immigration policy
September 7th, 2010 | 
Author: I have to agree on the issue of transparency with regards to immigration policy. I too was an assistant Prof in Singapore (Australian with PhD in Business from UK). I decided to move to Singapore because i meet and married a Singaporean in Australia.
After many years working and living in Australia we decided to move to Singapore to be near my aging in-laws. In the 7yrs I worked at NTU, I applied for to become a PR (Mind you with the aim of making a family and life in Singapore) three times and was rejected on all three occasion.
I tried to seek an explanation for my rejections every time, but was met with stiff responses from the authorities eg, please apply at a later date.
Whats worse is that during my time at NTU I attended several PR parties for staff from PRC, who got their PR within 6-12 months of arriving in SG. At the end we caved in and returned to Australia, which I was subsequently able to get my in-laws PR in Australia.
I let people be the judge about transparent immigration policies after telling them my story. For once I say – don’t vote PAP out, instead, do as Australian politicians suggest ‘Keep the BASTARDS HONEST’
MIKE GIGG
Posted in Letters
hi mr mike gigg
why dun you form a sinkie community where you live now.
i am sure alot of sinkies- if they qualify-would like to live in some place in Australia.
we can all sell our HDBs and private houses to the FTs/PRs/newbies and bring our money over there to do something more constructive in Australia rather than feeding these greedy miws and the greedy FTs with our money.
you can be a kind of immigration agent for sinkies,what say you?
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Are you really Australian? your grammar so half past six one??
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Hahahahaha! Becuz he’s an ang mo! We all know or rather brainwashed into believing that Westerners are too liberal. If the PAP let in too many ang mos like this Aussie academic, compared wif PRCs, those ang mos will likely vote for the opposition! As simple as that! Got it?
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It is the same old story. 20 years ago, when I was working in the heavy industry, the Chinese Malaysians in the company were offered PR within 6 months. The Indian Malaysians had to wait for several years before they had their PR approved.
One of the main reasons of the PR immigration stuff is to keep the racial demographics such that we maintain a Chinese majority population. The Chinese have always been poor baby producers, even 20 years ago.
A racist policy from a racist PAP indeed.
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haha i think ang moh are rejected because they know who to vote for and who not to? prc will be brainwash by pap to vote for them easily, pure and simple.
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OH YES, OCKER, KEEP THE B-A-S-T-A-R-D-S HONEST!! ROTFLMAO.
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Just another angmoh that thinks he is better than the rest. Typical.
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MIKE GIGG
U r probably not revealing as much as you should. Your credential is top class (being able to work in NTU for 7 years). On surface (yes on surface), there is no reason at all why you were not successful in getting your PR. I have seen not-as-great-as-you kind of people frm NTU & NUS (master graduates not PHD assistant professor) being able to get theirs PRs quite easily upon few months of working here.
As a PHD, u could easily write in n quote some examples of lesser ppl who were able to get theirs cornering those officers doing the approval.
“do as Australian politicians suggest ‘Keep the BASTARDS HONEST”
u wait long long. if u feel that someone is dishonest, how do you keep him honest if u keep on doing the same thing that u have been doing for him to be there in the first place. i expect something more from Phd material.
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I can understand your frustrations. Personally, I have encountered many talented PRCs with great working experience and good degree been refused a PR. On the other hand, some of those PRs I know dont have the proper certification and dont posses good working experiences.
I am just wondering if the government does not want well educated talents to reside in Singapore. Would it be another agenda of future General Election?
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Whether Mike is for real or not doesn’t change the fact that the PAP’s policies are bigotry at a National level, pure and simple. No one’s denied it, most certainly not our esteemed LKY – who actively enforced maintenance of the current racial proportions at all cost, all in the name of proven historical recipe.
Unfortunately this and many other Asian culture don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a bigot at a national level (and this is supposed to be the 21st Century??)
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On behalf of MIW, we would like to inform you that for you to be given PR (for us to even consider you, look at you, think about you, hug you, talk to you, eat with you, jump with you, hum you, sleep with you) you have to meet the following requirement:-
1) Chinese (PURE CHINESE, not those chinese born in Afghanistan, Akrotiri, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba
Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, The Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bassas da India, Belarus,
Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma (maybe might work), Burundi, Cambodia (maybe might work), Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos(Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Congo, Republic of the, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Dhekelia, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Gabon, Gambia, The, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Germany, Ghana (maybe can consider, for soccer only, WORLD CUP! WORLD UP!), Gibraltar, Glorioso Islands, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Holy See (Vatican City), Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India (yes of course, cheap labour), Indonesia, Iran (NO NO NO NO period), Iraq (NO NO NO NO period), Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel (better not, later offend Malaysia and Indonsia), Italy, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jersey, Jordan (NO NO NO NO period), Juan de Nova Island, Kazakhstan, Kenya
Kiribati, Korea, North, Korea, South, Kuwait(NO NO NO NO period), Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon (NO NO NO NO period), Lesotho, Liberia, Libya (NO NO NO NO period), Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia (Chinese only), Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Navassa Island, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman (NO NO NO NO period), Pakistan (yes of course, cheap labour), Palau, Panama
Papua New Guinea, Paracel Islands, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines (yes of course, with open arms, cheap labour but PR only), Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar (NO NO NO NO period), Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia (NO NO NO NO period), Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spain, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka (yes of course, cheap labour), Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan (hmm, chinese but like to fight with government, not approved), Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (NO NO NO NO period), United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam (yes of course, cheap labour), Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, West Bank, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
Thank you and good bye
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I agree with you @Andrew Chen,
….that the PAP’s policies are bigotry at a National level.
Or how to explain this.
That our MOM classify Korea as a source of ‘traditional’ labor BUT NOT INDONESIA.!!!!!
And yet Raffles sought out the Singapore ’s sultan staying in Riau(Indonesia) to sign the treaty—effectively buying Singapore from Indonesian.
Do you chaps know this?
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Well, if you really analyse the whole “PRship” and “Influx of Migrants or F/ts”…….you will see a “pattern”.
Actually …if you care to take note….there is probably very little Malay or “Muslim PRs” too!
Oldman is always very careful about our neigbours. This place will be “majority Chinese and Indians”…we are probably “betting” on the growth of India and China….and “No eyes” for our neighbours.
Its typical of my Puppies !
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I don’t know if anyone else noticed, recently there seem to be a lot of FTs/SPGs here both complaining about Singapore’s FT policies and they are FTs themselves at the same time.
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no guys, there is no criteria for getting your PR. what these jokers at ICA do is to flip the coin.
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Do you y old fart and his papies are most afraid of all these years? its the highly talented professionals becos he knows too well that all his MIW are nothing but just a useless bunch of losers and yes man, so he can do whatever he likes without fearing anyone daring to ask him questions.
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that’s a second case in which PAP rejected PR applications of academics. most interesting! so PR criminals get to keep their PR but qualified angmoh professors don’t even get to smell one!!!
what kind of FU policy is that?! where got TRANSPARENCY?!!
are we letting PAP run our country like their own fiefdom? are we giving them mandate to make decisions that will further their hegemony instead of singaporeans’ real interest?
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If there is 1 professor questioned, I believe there are 10 professors applauded.
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## Angmo’s PR applications are rejected because Angmo want real democracy, wont vote for PAP la!
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as more and more of such stories come out, i’m getting more and more disappointed with the immigration admin. i don’t even mind true talents like NTU professors not doing NS and getting citizenship. what’s happening guys?
i’d like to see the straits times run reports on this.
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Our immigration policy crewed up. But still I won’t fight for a foreigner.
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LIONS ROAR:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
September 7, 2010 at 11:35 pm
TO THE ‘LIONS ROAR’ WHO COMMENT AT 10.29 PM
..>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SORRY IT SHOULD BE TO THE ‘LIONS ROAR’ at 11.05 PM.>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
HAHAHA.
WHAT A LOUSY IMOPOSTER
I DIDN’T KNOW THERE ARE SUCH LOWDOWN PEOPLE TRYONG TO DESTROY OTHERS BY SUCH LOWLY TACTIC.
YOU HAVE GOT NO BALLS!
BUT I ENJOY YOUR ATTENTION.
HAHAHAH!
Mod’s note: Please register your moniker on our site to prevent this.
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Frankly story or no story does not matter. What matters is the system and the one-party is utterly flawed lah. It is susceptible to venality and inequities and many other ”ills” lah
Singaporeans are sleep-walking and sadly enthralled by the window-dressing lor or the icing on the cake. Like it or not when the icing melts away one gets to taste the REAL cake lah.
The same it is with Singapore – the consequences are glaringly evident from CPF.HDB.HEalth,Transportation. – no one knows for sure whether claims made by the incumbenst about costs, policy and …. are really as it is made out to be or otherwise. Common sense suffices lah, no need to analyse. No need for charts, pie charts and crap! When there are no effective mechanisms (eg Ombudsmen)to check, verify or …. anything goes.
In this instance, immigration that has become a bugbear for locals is something beyond their control in terms of transparency, accountability and so on so forth.
If one feels anger, betrayed know that by unwise voting, citizens unwittingly contributed to the problem by acquiescing to a system (one-party) and now one has to weather the storm and wonder why or how all these inequites are allowed is happening.
Now, imagine a system whereby there are two/multiple parties. It may not be perfect but it (the govt) will not be left with claims or … unchecked,unverified or be easily absolved of irresponsible policies/???.
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They are getting ready, adding two more blocks @ changi prison. Better planning then HDB.
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HI TR, although i dont live or work in Singapore anymore, i regularly read news about SG and also the pages of TR. I too can feel your frustration about the issue of immigration and especially foreign talent. I have friend who also married a Singaporean lady and moved back to SG after living abroad for 10yrs. He is a South African with only a masters degree, so nothing really special nowadays i guess. Like the academic, he too was rejected for PR twice and like academic he was also not given concrete reasons as to why his application was rejected, despite having a job and all in SG. While i do not advocate that all foreigners (white or non-white) be given automatic PR , but there has to be some pre-established criteria which one can be judged against. This also raises the question of what happens to foreigners who marry SG citizens overseas and wish to call Singapore home, surely such people should in my opinion be given priority over others who simply want to be a PR.
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Hello Mike do you know mandarin? Or are you chinese? No right? Then it is good that you fuck off already. If given PR and then eventually become citizen; fucking hell you will be a minority and will definitely be marginalized.
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Just to add some humours into this place.
That’s all.
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LOL! VERY STUPID FAKE LIONS ROAR OR LIONS ROAR II WHOEVER YOU ARE.
BUT I SUPPORT YOU COS THAT LIONS ROAR IS PRO OPPOSITION.
WE PAP PEOPLE ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST.
ALL TR BLOGGER SHERE STUPID PIGS.
THE PRC FT IS RIGHT.
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i dont think it is very funny
whoever you are
hijacking my nickname
picknose:
September 8, 2010 at 1:28 am
LOL! VERY STUPID FAKE LIONS ROAR OR LIONS ROAR II WHOEVER YOU ARE.
BUT I SUPPORT YOU COS THAT LIONS ROAR IS PRO OPPOSITION.
WE PAP PEOPLE ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST.
ALL TR BLOGGER SHERE STUPID PIGS.
THE PRC FT IS RIGHT.
Moderator please bring some order to this blog
LION ROAR
please do something
there is too many imposter around
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why pay so much for monkeys.
I disagree with the conclusion.
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Dear Mr. Gigg,
I do empathise with you, yr wife and in-laws. But then,granting of citizenship is never a democratic act nor is it a transparent one.Not even in the US. It is a priviledge of the granting country to the applicant.
I know that you have worked in NTU for 7 yrs and have contributed in no small ways to Singapore. As a Singaporean, I say thank you very much and sorry I could not help you, but if it is of any consolation, consider Mr. Mohd AlFaed (Not sure if I spell correctly), the owner of Harrods. He is in a even worst suituation then you. He has lived in UK longer than you in Singpaore and contributed more to the UK economy than you to Singapore, and he is in the same suituation as you. Simple rejection of application,no explanation. this is from the UK, a liberal western nation. There are speculations for the rejections just like you might have in your mind, however at the end of the day, they remained as they are, speculations.
The other side of the coin…..looking positively, you should thank them for the rejection. Otherwise you may have been caught in the spiral rising housing costs, tougher competition for services and futures of your kids. Now, you are back in the lucky country, cheap cars, fresh cheap farm produces abundantly, fresh air and plenty of land and space. last but not least, united with all your family and in-laws there. Yes, thank them for the lucky so call ‘unkindness”.
For every door that is shut behind you, there is one that will open in front of you.That is life. It is what you make of it. look at the brighter side and there is always sunshine and blue skies.
Good luck!
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your England I no easy understand. I happy you no my teacher.
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They prefer cheaper PRCs to come than ang mohs
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Mate, in Animal Farm, kangaroos and pandas are precious, same like a very small minority of what you might call in Australia – PINOPPI ( Persons-in-Need-of-Protected-Interests). In Chinese wisdom sayings, it is Mau Ku Lau Su ( all the cats cry when the rat dies) and Mau Kou Thong Mien ( dogs and cats live happily together) or was it kangaroos and pandas instead?
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Heard of politics of immigration, survival of ruling party with the support of new voters. Obviously Mike is deemed not likely to support them.
Another disastrous aspect of the immigration policy.
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The IMMIGRATION POLICY of the Singapore Government formed by the Pro Alien Party is used to manage the ethnic quotas that it see will give it the advantage at each election.
The Pro Alien Party is more chauvinistic then those whom it will shamelessly and falsely accuse others to be, as it is a master in making false charges stick without evidence of any kind.
It is able to perform this trick by simply rubber stamping new legislations to tie the hands of the Judiciary, simply by dominating a Parliament through the Electoral Process that it will shameless fix and gerrymeander, so as to disenfranchise the citizens of any rights to participate in the POLITICS OF LIFE.
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Hey fellow Singaporeans,
The papies really do there maths. By denying PR/Citizenship of foreigners marrying a Singaporeans, the family will have to relocated to the foreigners native land. They effectively get rid of the Singaporeans and their immediately family members who would otherwise vote against them. How smart!
You can see they go to the extend to sell Singaporeans away.
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The papies really do their maths!
By denying foreigners who married a Singaporean PR/Citizenship. They hope the Singaporean would eventually relocated to the foreigners’ native land. They effective got rid of the Singaporean who would otherwise vote against them. Better still if the immediately family move away with her.
How smart! But not all Singaporean are stupid.
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Why are we not attracting PRCs from the major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou etc? Instead, we are attracting what our highly-skilled PRCs will call “country bumpkins”
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The government is looking for stupid immigrants who would vote for them.
They don’t need smart immigrants who wouldn’t vote for them.
Very sad, I feel that our government is selling this whole country away just to keep themselves in power.
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By getting rid of Nantah in the early 80’s, PAP had sucessfully controlled the Chinese educated voters till now, LKY was and still a very smart guy even at his age right now!
The reason to reject this angmo is obvious, the future voter (PRC and Ah nein) will vote PAP like those Chinese educated AND indians (Tamail) in the 80’s!
I love this country and I hope all of us who frequent this site — please talk to all your relatives, friends or anyone you know to vote for change!
Trust me, as a Chinese in SG-in-UK, I still prefer SG to UK! If I could have an Political environment in UK and an Econmical environment in SG (hybrid if possible) I would have an almost perfert place on earth!
To make this dream come through, I’m still holding my SG citizenship inorder to materialize my final fantasy!To vote for change….
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this is the PAP manipulation
psycho the people that they want Foreign Talent but real Foreign talent are rejected.
fake and Foreign Trash are given the citizen and in exchange, they get them to vote for the regime
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I know of another similar case. An academic who worked in NUS for over ten years. Applied for PR 2 or 3 times, but all rejected. In the end, he gave up, packed up and is now a full professor in the States. He is not PRC or Indian. I guess that certainly tells a lot about the immigration policies.
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@ Academic:
September 9, 2010 at 8:57 pm
ICA is behaving like a den of secret society. I attempted to check foreigner’s background legality or illegality of residential status AND NOTHING ELSE – even though I have physicl evidence and name of offender. My phone call was recalled WHICH SHOULD BE.
A senior ICA officer threatened me verbally that if my allegation is not substantiated, they will prosecute me BUT REFUSED ADAMANTLY TO ADMIT OR DENY THE CULPRIT HAS LEGAL RESIDENCE. In other words, ICA existed to protect foreign criminals and intimidate locals. I wrote a email address to the Minister. Case was taken over by a ASP and COVERED UP via deception in police handling of this case.
Up till now, I cannot comprehend why the SPF or ICA has NOT prosecute me – assuming that my allegation is false ( and the police admitted that my evidence is true) and I WENT TO THE POLICE POST TO LODGE A COMPLAINT WITH EVIDENCES. ICA recording of my call gave them my phone number and my name, why are they not pursuing this case to logical conclusion?.
The lesson from that experience tells me two things
- don’t trust SPF and
- don’t trust ICA
I am no longer pursuing this matter but it tells me A VERY DARK SIDE OF POLICE OPERATION, ICA AND THE OPERATION OF IMMIGRATION POLICIES IN THIS COUNTRY.
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