- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 33,627
- Points
- 0
<TABLE id=msgUN border=0 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>
Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Gan: FT & SG are the same "in-group"...</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Feb-8 2:19 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 10) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>28312.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Feb 8, 2010
Foreigners abroad 'are the real competition'
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_487810.html
THE contentious issue of the competition posed by foreigners here for Singaporeans was given a fresh airing.
How can the Government further protect the 'in-group' (citizens) against the growing 'out-group' (foreigners), a resident asked Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong at a dialogue yesterday.
They compete for the same scarce resources, such as health care, education, housing and jobs, the resident added.
In reply, Mr Gan said the line between the 'in' and 'out' groups should be drawn differently.
Everyone working and living here - be they citizens or foreigners - should be considered the in-group who are contributing to the country. They are fighting against the competition from the real out-group, who are those working outside Singapore, he added.
Relating a story, Mr Gan said a resident in his Choa Chu Kang constituency went to his Meet-the-People session, complaining she had lost her banking job owing to competition from foreigners.
After talking to her, he found out that the bank had relocated some operations to Vietnam, leading it to shed staff here.
'The competition came from Vietnamese working in Vietnam. She lost her job not because of foreigners in the bank, but foreigners in other countries,' he said. 'They are more competitive, have the same knowledge and skills, and the cost of operating in Vietnam is lower than in Singapore.'
He added: 'I will look at foreigners among us as the real in-group who are helping our companies to be competitive... Together, if we can keep the companies competitive, we can fight against the companies outside.'
Mr Gan also explained that the Government intends to keep the foreign population steady at one-third of the workforce over the next decade.
'We cannot grow the foreign worker population indefinitely,' he said, adding that maintaining that level is the sensible thing to do.
But foreign worker numbers will follow business cycles.
'If the economy is doing very well, we must allow it to expand a little bit, within some limits,' he said. 'As the economy comes down, we must allow the foreign worker population to come down.'
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Foreigners abroad 'are the real competition'
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_487810.html
THE contentious issue of the competition posed by foreigners here for Singaporeans was given a fresh airing.
How can the Government further protect the 'in-group' (citizens) against the growing 'out-group' (foreigners), a resident asked Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong at a dialogue yesterday.
They compete for the same scarce resources, such as health care, education, housing and jobs, the resident added.
In reply, Mr Gan said the line between the 'in' and 'out' groups should be drawn differently.
Everyone working and living here - be they citizens or foreigners - should be considered the in-group who are contributing to the country. They are fighting against the competition from the real out-group, who are those working outside Singapore, he added.
Relating a story, Mr Gan said a resident in his Choa Chu Kang constituency went to his Meet-the-People session, complaining she had lost her banking job owing to competition from foreigners.
After talking to her, he found out that the bank had relocated some operations to Vietnam, leading it to shed staff here.
'The competition came from Vietnamese working in Vietnam. She lost her job not because of foreigners in the bank, but foreigners in other countries,' he said. 'They are more competitive, have the same knowledge and skills, and the cost of operating in Vietnam is lower than in Singapore.'
He added: 'I will look at foreigners among us as the real in-group who are helping our companies to be competitive... Together, if we can keep the companies competitive, we can fight against the companies outside.'
Mr Gan also explained that the Government intends to keep the foreign population steady at one-third of the workforce over the next decade.
'We cannot grow the foreign worker population indefinitely,' he said, adding that maintaining that level is the sensible thing to do.
But foreign worker numbers will follow business cycles.
'If the economy is doing very well, we must allow it to expand a little bit, within some limits,' he said. 'As the economy comes down, we must allow the foreign worker population to come down.'
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
