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[h=2]Lim Hng Kiang: Singapore needs to continue with ‘calibrated’ immigration policy[/h]Posted by temasektimes on September 25, 2012
Despite making earlier promises to ‘moderate’ the inflow of foreigners, it appears that they are still coming in droves as PAP ministers continue to flip-flop on the immigration policies.
Soon after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shocked the entire nation by declaring that Singapore has the capacity to accommodate 6 million people, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang follow suit with another reminder that foreign manpower is ‘needed’ to ‘complement’ Singapore’s resident workforce, and support the construction, health and social services sectors in a media release today.
He added foreign manpower is also needed to anchor and build up new sectors in Singapore — such as the biomedical and aerospace industries.
“If you train Singaporeans to fill up the sector before you launch the sector, you may lose the opportunity, and you take too long. So our strategy is to bring the sector in, allow the companies to hire foreign talent, workers, and meanwhile we train Singaporean workers to fill up the jobs,” he said.
In a recent poll done among 30 participants at a forum with PM Lee, 67 percent of them agree that Singaporeans need to continue importing immigrants to boost the country’s flagging birth rate.
It is not known how many of these newcomers will be ‘converted’ to citizens and given voting rights five years later.
Despite making earlier promises to ‘moderate’ the inflow of foreigners, it appears that they are still coming in droves as PAP ministers continue to flip-flop on the immigration policies.
Soon after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shocked the entire nation by declaring that Singapore has the capacity to accommodate 6 million people, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang follow suit with another reminder that foreign manpower is ‘needed’ to ‘complement’ Singapore’s resident workforce, and support the construction, health and social services sectors in a media release today.
He added foreign manpower is also needed to anchor and build up new sectors in Singapore — such as the biomedical and aerospace industries.
“If you train Singaporeans to fill up the sector before you launch the sector, you may lose the opportunity, and you take too long. So our strategy is to bring the sector in, allow the companies to hire foreign talent, workers, and meanwhile we train Singaporean workers to fill up the jobs,” he said.
In a recent poll done among 30 participants at a forum with PM Lee, 67 percent of them agree that Singaporeans need to continue importing immigrants to boost the country’s flagging birth rate.
It is not known how many of these newcomers will be ‘converted’ to citizens and given voting rights five years later.
