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MP Baey is a very confused person these days - tre . Ed.
The MP for Tampines GRC, Baey Yam Keng, seems to be a very confused person these days. Speaking in parliament on Tue (28 Feb), he seemed to be making contradictory statements after statements.
On the issue of “foreign talents”, he called for the government to give more leeway to cleaning, construction and nursing sectors to employ more foreigners.
He said that the reduction in the foreigner Dependency Ratio Ceilings (DRC), when applied across the manufacturing and services industries, is too blunt and wanted the government to look into the needs of specific sectors and adjust the ratios accordingly.
In the same breath, he said companies in those sectors with significant proportion of foreigners should be prepared to pay more to attract Singaporeans to work in.
Being a PR consultant, he painted a nice picture calling firms to recruit more Singaporeans, “We are well aware that this move will result in higher costs in a few areas which will ultimately hit our own wallets. Nonetheless, we can derive a sense of comfort, assurance and pride from knowing that it is a fellow Singaporean who had just fixed our laptop, took our order, cooked our lunch, and drove us to work; it is a fellow Singaporean who will be here with us for the long haul, not a transient worker; it is a fellow Singaporean getting decent pay to support his parents and raise his children. This is what it means to be part of a nation tribe.”
Did he not realise that by adjusting the ratios and giving more leeway to firms to recruit more cheap foreigners, there is actually less incentive for these firms to recruit the more expensive Singaporeans? Why would these companies pay more to attract Singaporeans when they can easily get more cheap foreigners once they are given more quota?
Did MP Baey even know what he was talking about?
Next, he proceeded to apologise in Parliament for his comments over a remark by a PRC student here on a Singapore government scholarship. He’s been accused for not standing up for Singaporeans. He said it was not his intention.
Baey was referring to the case when PRC scholar Sun Xu published an irresponsible comment online scolding Singaporeans that “there are more dogs than humans in Singapore”. It caused a public outcry among Singaporean netizens.
Baey was later quoted by a newspaper saying that there might be something in Sun’s words that Singaporeans could reflect on. This further fanned the fire. He then quickly explained on his Facebook, saying that he did not agree with Sun’s comment but felt Singaporeans could be more open to criticism.
He continued to maintain this stand in Parliament, although he apologised to those who were hurt by his words.
Baey said, “In trying to give the benefit of doubt to what the student said, and attempting to soothe the hard feelings of some Singaporeans, I was accused of siding with a foreigner and not standing up for fellow Singaporeans. It was never my intention to undermine Singaporeans, but to those whom my words have hurt, I am sorry.”
The question is, does he think Sun’s comment was wrong? If so, then rebut Sun. Why expect Singaporeans to accept an insulting comment as criticism? Baey maintained his stand but yet apologised. All these actions looked very contradictory. Indeed, Baey seemed pretty confused.
Perhaps Baey is trying to please everyone. In that case, he should do well to remember this old saying, “When you try to please everyone, you please no one.”
Stick to a principle and you will be less confused, Mr Baey.
