- 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 - pro-FT BT Editor is a "FT" himself...</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>2:17 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 4) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>28120.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/02/03/pro-foreigner-columnist-at-business-times-turns-out-to-be-a-foreign-talent-himself/
________________________________________________________
Pro-foreigner columnist at Business Times turns out to be a “foreign talent” himself
February 3, 2010 by admin
Filed under Headlines
Leave a comment
Written by Our Correspondent
Even as the PAP leaders and the mainstream media are busy trying to convince Singaporeans that the government will “reduce” the inflow of foreigners, one Business Times columnist Vikram Khanna has continued to defend the “value” of foreign workers to Singapore.
In his commentary published on Business Times yesterday, Mr Vikram wrote that is important to read the recommendations from the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) as “it can easily be misinterpreted as a foreigner workers versus local workers issue.” (read article here)
“Contrary to some media reports, the Government is not about to clamp down on foreign workers. The ESC report notes that these workers ‘will remain valuable to Singapore’ and that ‘they fill many jobs for which there is a shortage of Singaporean workers’. In absolute terms, the number of foreign workers could well increase, at least in the short term. Over time, as new skills are developed, the reliance on foreign workers would go down,” he added.
Mr Vikram opined that since the ESC also “stressed that the aim is to increase productivity of the whole workforce – that is, both local and foreign workers”, this means that “incentives will be put in place for companies to retain foreign workers so that their skills, too, can be upgraded.”
He predicted that foreign workers will be needed in Singapore for the foreseeable future to boost both productivity and growth.
Mr Vikram appeared to be blind to the negative impact of the large number of foreigners in Singapore.
In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, it was reported that the influx of foreigners into Singapore over the last few years had depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing, decreased labor productivity and led to an overall decline in the standards of living.
It is strange that Mr Vikram chose to advocate for foreigners to be retained in the Singapore workforce when they already make up more than one third of it and Singapore’s population as well.
Mr Vikram’s pro-foreigner stance will not come as a surprise to unsuspecting readers if he revealed to them his background right from the very beginning: he is a “foreign talent” himself!
According to his CV on LinkedIn, Mr Vikram was born in India and educated in the United Kingdom. He has been with The Business Times for 16 years since 1993. It is not revealed if he is already a Singapore PR or citizen.
With due respect to Mr Vikram’s professionalism as a journalist, he may have certain blind spots as a result of his upbringing.
Being a foreigner, he may not be able to understand or appreciate certain facets of Singapore society at large.
While he is perfectly entitled to his views, he should have informed readers of his background for them to judge for themselves if his articles are made without any inherent prejudices.
Besides Mr Vikram, there are an increasing number of foreign journalists in SPH who are tasked to write on domestic affairs including China-born journalists.
It is little wonder that some of SPH’s articles appear completely out of sync with the public sentiments on the ground.
Being the sole media agency in Singapore, SPH has the social responsibility to Singaporeans to reflect the sentiments of the majority of the population.
Right now, the prevalent view is that Singapore should slow down or even reverse the inflow of foreigners which doesn’t seem to be reflected in the mainstream media.
Perhaps SPH is increasing its intake of “foreign talents” to better cater to the needs of the new immigrants.
After all, at the rate the PAP is mass importing them to replace native Singaporeans, they are likely to become the majority in a few years’ time.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
________________________________________________________
Pro-foreigner columnist at Business Times turns out to be a “foreign talent” himself
February 3, 2010 by admin
Filed under Headlines
Leave a comment
Written by Our Correspondent
Even as the PAP leaders and the mainstream media are busy trying to convince Singaporeans that the government will “reduce” the inflow of foreigners, one Business Times columnist Vikram Khanna has continued to defend the “value” of foreign workers to Singapore.
In his commentary published on Business Times yesterday, Mr Vikram wrote that is important to read the recommendations from the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) as “it can easily be misinterpreted as a foreigner workers versus local workers issue.” (read article here)
“Contrary to some media reports, the Government is not about to clamp down on foreign workers. The ESC report notes that these workers ‘will remain valuable to Singapore’ and that ‘they fill many jobs for which there is a shortage of Singaporean workers’. In absolute terms, the number of foreign workers could well increase, at least in the short term. Over time, as new skills are developed, the reliance on foreign workers would go down,” he added.
Mr Vikram opined that since the ESC also “stressed that the aim is to increase productivity of the whole workforce – that is, both local and foreign workers”, this means that “incentives will be put in place for companies to retain foreign workers so that their skills, too, can be upgraded.”
He predicted that foreign workers will be needed in Singapore for the foreseeable future to boost both productivity and growth.
Mr Vikram appeared to be blind to the negative impact of the large number of foreigners in Singapore.
In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, it was reported that the influx of foreigners into Singapore over the last few years had depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing, decreased labor productivity and led to an overall decline in the standards of living.
It is strange that Mr Vikram chose to advocate for foreigners to be retained in the Singapore workforce when they already make up more than one third of it and Singapore’s population as well.
Mr Vikram’s pro-foreigner stance will not come as a surprise to unsuspecting readers if he revealed to them his background right from the very beginning: he is a “foreign talent” himself!
According to his CV on LinkedIn, Mr Vikram was born in India and educated in the United Kingdom. He has been with The Business Times for 16 years since 1993. It is not revealed if he is already a Singapore PR or citizen.
With due respect to Mr Vikram’s professionalism as a journalist, he may have certain blind spots as a result of his upbringing.
Being a foreigner, he may not be able to understand or appreciate certain facets of Singapore society at large.
While he is perfectly entitled to his views, he should have informed readers of his background for them to judge for themselves if his articles are made without any inherent prejudices.
Besides Mr Vikram, there are an increasing number of foreign journalists in SPH who are tasked to write on domestic affairs including China-born journalists.
It is little wonder that some of SPH’s articles appear completely out of sync with the public sentiments on the ground.
Being the sole media agency in Singapore, SPH has the social responsibility to Singaporeans to reflect the sentiments of the majority of the population.
Right now, the prevalent view is that Singapore should slow down or even reverse the inflow of foreigners which doesn’t seem to be reflected in the mainstream media.
Perhaps SPH is increasing its intake of “foreign talents” to better cater to the needs of the new immigrants.
After all, at the rate the PAP is mass importing them to replace native Singaporeans, they are likely to become the majority in a few years’ time.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
