S'pore cannot do without foreign talent: Ex-MM Lee

[silentisgolden]

By S Ramesh | Posted: 22 July 2011 2108 hrs
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Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew (R) at the South Asian Diaspora convention in Singapore.</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td class="update"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> <table style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #cccccc" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="240"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="topic" valign="top"> Video </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#CCCCCC" valign="top">

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</td> <td class="bodytext" align="left" valign="top" width="60%"> S'pore cannot do without foreign talent: Ex-MM Lee</td></tr></tbody></table></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left" background="/images/dotline_240.gif" valign="top">

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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

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

why S'pore like US, UK and Europe so many foreign trash....................all controlled by Zionist stooges

 

[soikee]

All this while I thought Lao Yeow Siew oredi up the lorry!

 

[Bigfuck]

I cannot stop laughing at the failure of LKY which is no unfolding at a faster and faster rate. Foreign talent import is meant more to hide the mistakes he made from Singaporeans. It does not work anymore. I will be contributing less and less at this forum as it is a done deal, and what he and his regime say and do will not change the coming apart of many things in Singapore due to his foolish pride.

 

[annexa]

He completely miss the point. We are angry because most of these foreigners are TRASH not TALENTS.

 

[steffychun]

Why not send them to the UK? UK is opening up to China

 

[tanwahtiu]

Chinese already gave 'green cards' to talented diaspora Chinese to return to China. These talents held dual citizenships US/CN, and Old Fart is scrapping the bottom of the barrel for untalented Chinese enter Singapore to keep PAP remain in power. Again old fart throwing smokes and think Sg are daft to believe him time and again.

This time, when old fart died many old fart haters will stand along the road and throw eggs, shoes, slippers at his coffin as his coffin parade along the street to his graveyard and that is the ultimate satisfactions many people will get and nothing SPF (old fart Police) can do about it but watch with amazement. Then the final chapter of of old fart is closed beautifully by not other than true blue Singaporeans.

I cannot stop laughing at the failure of LKY which is no unfolding at a faster and faster rate. Foreign talent import is meant more to hide the mistakes he made from Singaporeans. It does not work anymore. I will be contributing less and less at this forum as it is a done deal, and what he and his regime say and do will not change the coming apart of many things in Singapore due to his foolish pride.

 

[zeddy]

I say in the other thread that this imcorrigible Old Fart won't last till 2016 and I'll delightfully drink a celebratory toast on the day he up the lorry..

May that Happy Joyous Day comes soon enough..

 

[palden]

LKY : You ingrates! I will turn sinks ore into India before I up lorry.

 

[metalslug]

What a Lao Bu Si!!

 

[palden]

What a Lao Bu Si!!

Actually what he say is true. Can you imagine go ktv and there is no Vietnamese or prc?

 

[Forvendet]

I keep hearing chants of demanding real foreign talents instead of foreign thrash. Here's my take.

I don't dislike foreigners but I dislike the term foreign talent. Singapore can't do without foreigners, yes, but not all of them are talents. I don't mind construction workers, cleaners, maids etc. These are unskilled but essential jobs that there're simply few or no Singaporeans available or willing to do. The real threat to Singaporeans are the real talents or at least qualified on papers. They're the ones competiting with you for executive and management jobs that you want and need and can do as well, if not better. They're also the ones with the salary levels and PR status to compete with you for HDB, COE etc. and their children against your children for school places from kindergarten to university and all the way to the job market in their generation.

When I resigned from my last job (mid-management position), my replacement was a Malaysian PR. During handover of office and files, we had a little chat. I asked him how long had he been a PR. He replied about 10 years. I remarked that he should have qualified for citizenship by now. He smiled and said, nah, no, not for him and his family. They'll go back to their Penang hometown someday (probably meaning when they've earned enough money). He was quite frank with me as he knew that I studied and worked for some years in US before returning to Singapore, like, I should understand.

Of course I do understand, it's the government that doesn't understand. This type of mid-management positions are what middle class Singaporeans are looking for. This type of positions now account for most the middle class, middle aged and tertiary-educated unemployment, forcing them to become salesmen and taxi drivers. The influx of PRs are the cause of the problem. PRs should be granted on human social grounds only, e.g. by marriage, parental repatriation etc., not on economic grounds like degree and salary. They don't create jobs for Singaporeans as the government claims, the jobs are already there for grabs, otherwise they won't come. They take jobs away from Singaporeans.

 

[batman1]

JUST waiting for the old fart to kick the bucket so that I can open my botttle of cold champagne.
Come on OLD FART,ARE U LISTENING ? make my day,kick the bucket NOW!

 

[annexa]

Who is this Gupta guy who prompted the question and answer? Is he a sinkie? What is his motive? IS he using LKY to say something to sinkies?

We sinkies are NOT afraid of competition. We survived the last few recessions by SUBSIDISING employers, you go see which country the workers subsidise employer by cut CPF, cut pay, freeze pay? We are NOT xenophobic idiots. We just want fair play. And the fucking FTs are no fair play! They ask for cheaper wage because it is a PAY INCREMENT for unemployed ah nehs and pinays back home, and Mudlehsians who work for cheap pay in Sinkie land can buy a fucking BUNGALOW in mudland in 10 years, while a sinkie with that kind of pay cannot even buy a SUBSIDISE HDB in 30 years!

FT take PR is like cheap cheap no need screening. Sinkie males have to do NS and reservist and KNNBCCB IPPT, RT. And you blame for not want to have kids? You know how much pre-school (yes even before KINDERGARDEN) cost? I wonder how much we paid the guy in charge of pre-school before erections. And then the primary school places not enough, which gahmen CLOSE DOWN primary schools in late 1990s and 2000? Population grow to 5 fucking MILLIONS and which gahmen FORGOT to build MORE UNIVERISTY? No, we sinkie not fuck care about FT, but the gahmen favor FT is what we angry about. Don't make us sound like assholes.