In his address to members of the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) yesterday (20 Aug), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung assured the audience that Singapore is determined to never let far-right populist politics to gather strength here.
Singapore continues to value foreign contributions, he said. That means Singapore will continue to “complement” the local workforce with foreign talent, expand its network of free trade agreements (FTAs) and welcome foreign investments.
But there have been recent debates on foreign manpower and free trade. He said, “In Singapore, there have been attempts to use free trade agreements… to whip up anti-foreigner sentiments and seed xenophobia in our society.”
He and other Cabinet ministers have taken to Parliament to defend such agreements, as openness is a fundamental value for the ruling party, he added.
Ong was referring to the Parliamentary debates last month when he rebuked the oppositions for repeatedly made “false statements” that the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has given Indian nationals “a free hand” to come and work in Singapore.
In particular, Ong accused Progress Singapore Party (PSP) NCMP Leong Mun Wai for claiming that foreign professionals and FTAs have affected the jobs and livelihoods of Singaporeans. “These statements are false. They have been repeated for too long,” he said during the debates, adding that FTAs and CECA have been made “political scapegoats” to discredit the People’s Action Party (PAP) government’s policies.
But during yesterday’s meeting with EuroCham, Ong did acknowledge the downsides of globalisation, including heightened competition from foreign manpower and the over-concentration of foreigners in certain sectors or firms.
In fact, it has been revealed by the Manpower Ministry that of the 177,000 foreign EP holders Singapore currently has, 25 percent are Indian nationals. The ministry did not reveal the breakdown for foreign S Pass holders.
“We will deal robustly with these problems. If we don’t, resentments will grow, and there will be fertile ground for far-right populist politics to gather strength,” Ong said. “We are determined to never let such politics take root here.”
In other words, Ong attributed the “over-concentration” of foreigners in certain sectors or firms to “globalisation” and not to any specific FTAs.
Ong: We help foreign workers keep their jobs
In his conversation with EuroCham, Ong also said that when the pandemic hit, despite Singapore closing its borders, it took steps to stay open like contributing to the world by keeping supply lines clear and helping foreign workers keep their jobs.
Everyone infected with Covid-19 is also treated equally regardless of nationality, with the Government absorbing the costs, he said.
“People value us because the city is well-governed; everything works; we are stable, secure and safe; and above all, because we take care of everyone in Singapore, even in a pandemic,” Ong further assured members of EuroCham.
Singapore’s strong position today is a product of the trust between the Government and its people, he added. “It comes from the Government’s consistency of action, guided by a recognition of our constraints, a long-term perspective, and a strong sense of mission to keep Singapore stable, safe and secure.”
Still, that trust has been observed to be eroded somewhat based on last year’s results of general election when the ruling PAP garnered only 61.2 percent of the popular vote, a steep drop from the 69.9 percent it achieved in 2015 GE. Furthermore, for the first time in the history of Singapore, PAP lost 2 GRCs to the oppositions.
