Serious Bro Chun Sing Reassures Foreign Towkays That PAP Will Always Keep Racist Oppies At Bay!

[JohnTan]

SINGAPORE - Foreign business chambers in Singapore are worried the recent rise in anti-foreigner sentiments and scrutiny on the role of foreign manpower could negatively impact future investments from the global business community.

Representatives from 16 foreign chambers, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, voiced these concerns to Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing on Thursday (Oct 1) during a dialogue hosted by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF).

They noted that it is Singapore's stable and predictable business environment as well as connectivity and openness that have encouraged many of their members to set up their regional headquarters and operations here.

But the recent rise in anti-foreigner sentiments could give the "wrong impression" to the international business community that Singapore was becoming closed to foreign investments and global talents.

The foreign chambers highlighted to Mr Chan during the dialogue that Singapore continues to require global talent to supplement the local workforce, so that it can meet the needs of the changing economy.

Mr Chan wrote in a Facebook post on Friday that he assured them Singapore remains committed to being open and connected to the world.

"This will never change," he said. "We recognise the role that international companies and workers have played in growing Singapore's economy and intend to continue to ensure we provide a business-friendly environment for them to operate in."

But, he added, Singaporeans are increasingly anxious about their future in these unprecedented times.

"It is important that we work together to support our Singaporean workers and assure them that we will always provide a fair and level playing field," the minister said.

"In this regard, I was very heartened by the international business chambers' assurance that their members were deeply committed to developing their Singapore workforce and would continue to abide by fair hiring practices."




SBF chief executive Ho Meng Kit said in a statement that the topic of foreign talent is fundamental to Singapore's development, and the country has been able to make a living because it is open and relevant to the world.

The changing profile of the Singapore worker and the challenges he faces amid Covid-19 job cuts
"Is there a change in orientation? We do not think Singapore is turning isolationist as some economies have become. It is good to hear from Minister Chan that this is not the case," he added.

He also urged the foreign chambers, who gave "many examples of their members' efforts to develop the Singapore core", to publicise their efforts and engage the community.

"All these will help to square the debate how our foreign companies are here to add to the economy and not to take away value from it," said Mr Ho.

CALLS FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL TO RESUME
During the dialogue on Thursday, the foreign chambers also urged the Government to push for the opening of borders with more countries, so that business travel can resume.

They also called for the pilot Business Travel Pass to be extended to more companies and employees, and for the Government to move from a stay-home notice (SHN) regime to a testing regime with a shorter SHN for business travellers.

Mr Chan said the Government understood the need for business travel and will continue to push for the opening of borders in a safe manner, balanced against health and safety concerns.

But to do so, mutual consensus between countries is necessary to establish bilateral travel arrangements, and sharing of information among governments on their local Covid-19 situations would better facilitate the resumption of travel, said Mr Chan.

The foreign chambers also said they support further easing of safe management measures to support business recovery and looked forward to details about phase three reopening.

They also expressed their appreciation for Singapore's management of the Covid-19 situation, and the support that has been provided to businesses, said SBF.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...nge-chan-chun-sing-assures-foreign-businesses

 

[A Singaporean]

PAP will never support Sinkies. Foreigners come first.

 

[Cottonmouth]

Traitor Chan will get his corpse whipped.

 

[bobby]

Very thin line between being patriotic and xenophobic.....

 

[winners]

For Singapore to thrive and prosper without foreigners, dream on. Get real. Even the most closed economy Japan, is now beginning to open up to foreigners.

 

[kryonlight]

Now I know what PAP stands for: Paradeshee Action Party.

 

[worcer]

Really ish after election another kind of pattern come out!

 

[nayr69sg]

Singapore Business Federation. SBF.

Sammyboy Forum SBF.

 

[Annunaki]

Chan Chun Sing the retard and my darling Kirsten Han are right again .... sinkies are fucking xenophobic!

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Chan: We're committed to attract the best foreign talents to join Team Singapore - The Online Citizen
Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing told reporters at Marina One yesterday (1 Oct) the importance of Singapore to attract foreign talents.

“Singapore’s reputation as a hub for talent is hard-won. But at the same time, this reputation can also be easily lost if we are not careful,” he said.

Singapore has to be able to draw talent here to contribute, he added.

He recalled how a businessman told him that the COVID-19 crisis can be “the opportunity of a generation for Singapore to attract the very best from all around the world to come and join Team Singapore”.

“We are committed to strengthening our attractiveness to businesses and talent to (get them to) join Team Singapore in order for us to excel against our competitors,” he said.

Fake talents

There is nothing wrong trying to attract the “very best” from around the world to join and contribute to Singapore, but over the last decade or so, many of the so-called “very best” were questionable.

From the various reported incidents in the media, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) does not seem to have the ability to discern the “very best” from the “very mediocre” or even the “very fraudulent” in issuing work passes for these “foreign talents” to work here.

A good example is Mikhy Brochez, the “foreign talent” at the centre of the Singapore’s HIV Registry leak last year. He, in fact, had used forged university degrees to work at Temasek Polytechnic (TP) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) when he was in Singapore (‘Temasek Poly on Brochez submitting fake degrees for job: “He met the job requirements”‘, 3 Feb 2019).

When TP was asked by the media how Brochez was able to be recruited by the school with forged degrees, a TP spokesman said, “Based on the documents that Brochez submitted in his job application in 2008, he met the job requirements.”

It was during a police investigation over a drug possession case that Brochez was found to be using forged degrees to work and stay in Singapore. The police then informed the 2 schools.


The media also interviewed MOM about the Brochez case and a MOM spokesman replied that before making an application for an Employment Pass (EP), the employer would have already evaluated the candidate, including his qualifications.

Appearing to be defensive, MOM said most employers take this role seriously and ensure that their recruitment of foreigners would be rigorous. MOM added that it takes a risk-based approach by conducting additional checks on “selected applications”.

The media reported that 36 foreigners were prosecuted by MOM in 2014 for providing falsified documents. This was a drop from the 121 foreigners convicted of the offence between 2012 and 2013, even though the number of “foreign talents” entering Singapore to work here has been increasing.


With regard to the Brochez case, former NMP Prof Eugene Tan was reported to have told the media, “Sure, he (Brochez) might have had help, but given the roles and responsibilities he was entrusted with – educator and child psychologist – it does raise the question of whether checks (across the sectors) were robust and thorough enough.”

Hiring own kinds

Then, there are foreign hiring managers “hiring their own kinds”, which raises the question if those hired “foreign talents” of the “same kinds” are truly the “very best” Chan was talking about.

In fact, many Singaporean PMETs know that discriminatory practices by foreign hiring managers have been ongoing for awhile. As far back as 2013, Singaporeans working in the financial industry were already complaining about discriminatory hiring practices. At the time, DPM Tharman and then Manpower Minister Tan Chuan Jin had to call up some banks in Singapore to ask them to stop the practice of “hiring their own kinds”. This was revealed in Parliament by Minister Tan in 2013.

It’s only in recent times that the PAP government has stepped up enforcement, especially after the ruling party has just lost 2 GRCs in the recent general election in Jul.

In Aug, MOM announced that another 47 companies with suspected discriminatory hiring practices have been placed on its Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) watchlist (‘MOM places firms with “high concentration of PMETs from single nationalities” in FCF watchlist‘, 6 Aug).

Of the 47 companies, 30 are in the financial and professional services sectors. They include banks, fund management firms, management consulting companies, as well as firms that provide project management and engineering services.

MOM acknowledged that all 30 of the financial and professional services employers have a “high concentration of PMETs from single nationalities”. In one financial institution, almost three-quarters of their PMETs are of the same nationality and in another bank, almost two-thirds of the PMETs are also of the same nationality, MOM revealed.

MOM did not name the companies or the nationalities involved. It added that another 240 firms are under investigation for possible pre-selection of foreigners or not adhering to the spirit of the job advertising requirement under FCF.

This high concentration of PMETs from single nationalities was so prominent that even West Coast GRC MP Ang Wei Neng lamented in Parliament (31 Aug) that he felt “like a foreigner in my own country” when he visited the Changi Business Park prior to the coronavirus pandemic (‘MP Ang Wei Neng takes 9 yrs to feel like a foreigner in own country when visiting Changi Business Park‘).

He told Parliament that when he entered a lift, he noticed that the “well-dressed” people around him were “apparently foreigners” and speaking in a language foreign to him.

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[zeddy]

This is good news for a rich Towkay like Sir John. Tomorrow he will import 1000 more Bangla slaves to slog for his company.