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Singapore's answer to foreign competition in the local job market cannot be to shut its doors and turn away investors.
Instead, the country has to - and will - invest in its people, working to mitigate the downsides of an open economy and striving for growth that will benefit all.
This was the gist of a 10-hour parliamentary debate that ended past midnight on Tuesday, during which four political office-holders rebutted the Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) assertion that the Government's foreign talent policy has cost citizens jobs.
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong acknowledged that an open economy has its downsides, even though the vast majority benefit.
"In the end, the Government has the responsibility to govern and to make policy decisions in the best interest of all Singaporeans," he said. "Some decisions will not be so popular, even though we are convinced they are necessary, and must proceed for the good of all."
They were debating the issue of jobs and foreign talent, which PSP's Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai and Mr Wong had filed motions on.
The minister said he asked to speak as Mr Leong's proposed topic falsely attributed the challenges Singapore faces to free trade agreements (FTAs) and foreigners.
This was why the Government had sought "to explain and reiterate our position on this important matter", he added. "It is important Singaporeans - and the world - understand where we stand."
Mr Wong sharply criticised the racist and xenophobic undertones in the PSP's rhetoric on foreign talent - an allegation the opposition party has repeatedly denied. "Look - if it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, it is a duck," he said, adding that such irresponsible politics will divide society and spell disaster for Singapore.
Mr Leong had urged the Government to take "urgent and concrete" action to restore balance in the job market - starting by raising qualifying salaries for work pass holders and imposing a monthly levy on Employment Pass (EP) holders.
A lengthy exchange ensued between Mr Leong and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, who pressed Mr Leong for his position on various issues, including his support for FTAs like the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) with India. He also sought to get Mr Leong to admit that other Singaporeans, like some PSP members, might see his views as racist.
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng also rose to reinforce the Government's position with statistics.The PSP maintains that foreign PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) have displaced local ones, he said. But in fact, the number of local PMETs went up by 300,000 over the past decade, while the number of EP and S Pass holders increased by 110,000.
This trend held true even in sectors that typically hire more EP holders, such as finance, infocomm and professional services. The number of local PMETs in these sectors went up by nearly 155,000 in the past 10 years, compared with 40,000 more EP and S Pass holders.
The Straits Times
