S'pore cannot make do without foreign talent: Ex-MM Lee
By S Ramesh
SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore would not be able to punch above its own weight if it were to depend on talent from its own population.
He was speaking at a dialogue to wrap up the two-day South Asian Diaspora convention in Singapore on Friday.
DBS Bank's CEO Piyush Gupta posted a question to Mr Lee, asking just how big the issue of attracting foreign talent in Singapore is, having noted that it was a hot topic during the recent General Election.
Mr Lee felt it was an issue among Singaporeans even before the election.
Mr Lee said: "For some time, the Singaporean has felt the competition from talented foreigners. But these are people who have come here to become our citizens and I am a firm believer that the more talent that you have in a society, the better the society will grow.
"If Singapore depends on the talent it can produce out of three million people, it's not going to punch above its weight.
"It's because we have been drawing talent from across the globe - South Asia, Northeast Asia, China, India and beyond that - you have a vibrant economy which is way beyond what three million Singaporeans with the talent they can produce can do.
"So you've got to accept the discomfort, which the local citizens fear that they are competing unequally for jobs. (It) cannot be helped.
"But without them, the jobs will not be there to begin with. So welcome talent and we'll continue to welcome talent."
When asked how the political problem associated with the foreign talent issue could be managed, Mr Lee said: "You just have to assuage it.
"What is the choice - slow growth with no input of talent or faster growth with input of talent and the feeling that some of the top jobs are going to the foreigners? You may get no jobs at all if there were no growth."
Several participants at the convention also took the opportunity to tap Mr Lee's views on the importance of governance and meritocracy for the success of a country. One common question raised during the dialogue was how Mr Lee would have governed India, if the country was handed to him.
Mr Lee replied: "First, what sort of Indian would I be? A northern Indian? A southern Indian? That identifies you with the interest of a particular group.
"Or a Bombay Indian, which is the most cosmopolitan of all. But it may well be that a Bombay Indian doesn't represent Indians at all, so it's a problem India has to face.
"It is important whoever leads India should find acceptance with the widest group of Indians possible. But I think it is very difficult for any Indian leader to find more than 40 per cent of Indians believing he represents them."
Mr Lee also noted that Indians speak nearly 300 different languages, but in China, 90 per cent of the people speak the same language and that makes it a much easier country to lead than India.
- CNA/ck
He is no longer a minister talk so much crap for what. Senile! Getting more and more senile!
Lee Kuan Yew, please get ready to die la we all waiting for public holiday.
S'pore cannot make do without foreign talent: Ex-MM Lee
Singapore sure die if they do not support or nurture local talent: Medicated Oil
OF COURSE SURE DIE!
Singaporeans so STUPID!
So? We need FTs!
why didnt he admits tats his fault for not providin better education for the ppl in the last few decades
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it's not abt w/o them, it's how many.
And yes, wat's seriously so difficult into nuturing your own people. End of the day, good n bad it's only your own ppl + those tat has decided to root here tat will stay with you.
I think they will lose more votes in 2016.
Originally posted by sbst275:it's not abt w/o them, it's how many.
And yes, wat's seriously so difficult into nuturing your own people. End of the day, good n bad it's only your own ppl + those tat has decided to root here tat will stay with you.
You cannot blame those people who say "NS for Singaporeans, jobs for foreigners".
Haiz.
In a place where competition is loose . economy will grow slow . thus fewer jobs .
In a place where competition is tight . economy will grow fast . thus creating more jobs .
above all this FT and local talent problems . Singapore is a country and is facing it's own problems . if singapore also have all the natural resources like malaysia or indonesia . we wouldnt need so much FT to begin with . but our land is not that blessed . just imagine the water we drink still must buy from other country . somemore we are surviving on trading services .
This old man is a retard,....the older he gets,the more retard he become.
Btw,nowadays whenever i see picture of Lee Kuan Yew in the newspaper,i feel like vomit,does anyone feel the same?
Singapore can make do without ex-MM Lee Kuan Yew.
Is he a foreign talent?
of coz we need foreigners, but everything needs a balance... he never take mrt he won't understand one lah... he no need worry about money buy house he won't understand one lah... everything so expensive nowadays, pay house, pay car, need money go geylang, etc...
agree to a certain extent that FT is needed to stimulate growth, but that has to balance and sustain with social psychological interests as a whole...eventually the dream growth could not even find ten percent of the people he wished to lead..
i agree we need talents.
but we have to define and agree on who are the talents.
the population jumped a few million. so many talents???
singapore overcrowding le lah.
a few thousand can, but not few millions
singapore overcrowding le lah.
a few thousand can, but not few millions
The old man is either not using the internet or getting the wrong information from his dogs.
It is highlighted since day one that singaporeans are not against the foreign talent scheme as long as the flow of foreign talents are controlled and their benefits are not on the expense of the tax payers.
Now, singapore is infested with foreigners who are not better than the local and some of them are even bullying the local and abusing the system.
I dun think the old man or his lackeys will get the sentiments right as long as they are getting fat bonus from importing hoards of foreigners into singapore.
It is very sad for the local on one of local MP going overseas and belittling his own people.
Please differentiate between "foreign talents" and "cheap foreign labour".
Foreign talents are needed (agreed), but are we getting more foreign talents or cheap foreign labours (IT, sales, admin, technicians, bus drivers, banking, table cleaners)?
The main crux of it lies in PAP's quest to drive down labour cost, more labour supply means wages will not rise as expected, your wage increment would have been competed away by cheap foreign labour from 3rd world countries.