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Along with economic reassurance, then, there is a need to encourage social integration and acceptance. But Dr Goh flags a disquieting possibility: that some sentiments, once rooted, may be hard to weed out.
"The government has tried to emphasise the open nature of Singapore's society and the migrant origins of our country at many levels to encourage Singaporeans to treat the foreigners in our midst with equal generosity and welcome," he says.
"Unfortunately, xenophobic sentiments come from a very deep place of anxiety and resentment. The belief among some members of the public that CECA is stealing jobs from Singaporeans is reaching conspiracy theory level, where facts and evidence can be reframed and reinterpreted to bolster the belief or explained away."
"The issue is deeply structural, with deep socio-economic roots," he adds, asking rhetorically: Why the focus on CECA now, and not in the 2013 Population White Paper debates?
"I think it all goes back to the labour market disruptions being faced by Singaporean PMETs in the last five to six years, which means that this is not about globalisation per se, but about the pains of skills mismatch and structural economic transformation to industry 4.0 that Singapore has been facing."
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/br...m-sentiment-in-singapore-and-how-will-we-move
"The government has tried to emphasise the open nature of Singapore's society and the migrant origins of our country at many levels to encourage Singaporeans to treat the foreigners in our midst with equal generosity and welcome," he says.
"Unfortunately, xenophobic sentiments come from a very deep place of anxiety and resentment. The belief among some members of the public that CECA is stealing jobs from Singaporeans is reaching conspiracy theory level, where facts and evidence can be reframed and reinterpreted to bolster the belief or explained away."
"The issue is deeply structural, with deep socio-economic roots," he adds, asking rhetorically: Why the focus on CECA now, and not in the 2013 Population White Paper debates?
"I think it all goes back to the labour market disruptions being faced by Singaporean PMETs in the last five to six years, which means that this is not about globalisation per se, but about the pains of skills mismatch and structural economic transformation to industry 4.0 that Singapore has been facing."
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/br...m-sentiment-in-singapore-and-how-will-we-move
