i do see lots of incompetent ang mos acting as FTs as well n get paid ridiculous 5 digits salary a month, being imported largely lol. this probably same issue like y 1 employ indian manager, his team will all be indians. this is bureaucracy!

all people here only know to hate prcs/other nationalities but not ang mos sigh.

Thanks for joining the conversation I share with Henry Lee. Perhaps a little clarification would be in good order.

I agreed that many of PMET positions were supplanted by foreigners – not necessary by reason reason of “talent” but by costs considerations of they being cheaper. The word “talent” has been “bandited” ( as in banditry – note the word I choose to fit the meaning ) by MSM and MIW in deception to delude Singapore the true agenda of massive foreign influx. Foreign qualifications are NOT by some magical definition any measure of “talent” BUT I CONCEDE THAT IN SOME LIMITED INSTANCES ONLY, foreign experience is talent because of their networking outside Singapore which Singapore, by definition of being local, lacks. And that “talent” is relevant to marketing and business development which the local PMET with years of experience accumulated locally would have also acquired.

Myself having long experience overseas can’t feel “foreign talent” dealing with foreigners – most of them are pretty naive and green of foreign turf – INSULAR except those who travel widely in their jobs or business. So if they are foreign “talent” here in Singapore, they are equally “moronic” of local context needing to adjust their lifestyles, habits and culture – SOME DON’T MAKE AT AT ALL. Only informed mind local at expatriate blogs would see clearly that many “foreign talents” are misfits here – they can’t adjust and long to go home to “white christmas”, beach surfing, big wide social space and a uniquely “sanitized” political culture of mental detox they are unaccustomed to in their media read.

In PRC, I face the same dealing with locals who don’t relate very well to foreigners there and ex-pats there too in the same boat. For many ex-pats, they find it hard to soak in Chinese culture, mostly like to congregate with the likes of their own or foreign culture – drinking and associating in little water-holes.

My point is that foreign “talent” is a misnomer because I too face same difficulty sometimes – although much lesser for me in Australia. There is an adjustment costs, attrition rate and organisational dislocation. Singapore is already a cosmopolitan city for decades and most PMET with international experiences are well adjusted compared to fresh graduates or graduates with limited foreign experience. For employers – there is a risks trade-off BUT ULTIMATELY COSTS OVERRIDE. So local got supplanted by loose migration influx.

The kind of foreign talent I spoke of in my post are the quality measure of “Chip Goodyear” material. The problem is this country cannot even “integrate” one top notch foreign talent but instead integrate much lower quality immigrants that SUPPLANTED LOCALS AT OPERATING LEVELS WAY DOWN BELOW CEO right down to shop floor of production. Foreigner engineers ARE LIKELY TO HAVE LESS EXPERIENCE THAN LOCALS BECAUSE WE GOT A LONGER PERIOD OF INDUSTRIALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT. That alone is ample proof that foreign “talent” is unable to match local talent by experience. A lot of good experience foreigners – be it mine design, desalination plant, high tech and high end research are NOT SUITABLE for Singapore because we have no such industries.

We could start or develop further such industry oil exploration – WHICH DRIVES ME CRAZY SEEING HOW STUPID THIS COUNTRY IS SELLING SPC TO PETROCHINA – when we definitely need foreign talent in oil exploration. WE HAVE NO SUCH SKILLS AND NEEDING TO LEARN FROM FOREIGNERS. We might want to develop clean energy business in “rare earth” sector – Malaysia stole one of the great Aussie opportunity which China dominates. Imagine if we are as “smart” as Malaysians, we would need foreign talent in the rare earth industry the skills sets currently available only in Australia, Canada, USA and China only. I am sure a lot of PRC’s expert in rare earth sector would be keen to work in this sector in Singapore at much higher pay and WE WILL NEED THEIR EXPERTISE TO SET IT UP AND WORK IT FOR PROLONGED PERIOD TO LEARN THEIR TECHNICAL SKILLS. Deep sea off-shore oil development skills in support industries is another chapter Singapore will need foreign expertise and true foreign talent.

THE SADNESS OF THE SO-CALLED ‘FOREIGN TALENT’ STRATEGY IS ITS DECEPTION EMPLOYED TO COVER AND CONCEAL A POLITICAL AGENDA OF MASS MIGRATION. NO REAL QUALITY OF TALENT CAME IN TO SET UP NEW INDUSTRIES – JUST A DELIBERATE GOVERNMENT’S POLITICAL AGENDA TWINNING TO DRIVE DOWN COSTS FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN SINGAPORE.

WHAT WE NEED IS ONLY A VERY LIMITED HIGH QUALITY FOREIGN TALENT TO SET UP NEW BUSINESS SECTOR OR OPENING UP NEW BUSINESS SECTOR – not anything that comes with a piece of “toilet” paper because universities globally is big business these days – foreign students’ fees for degrees in exchange. The rigour of real learning in universities are gone forever, except for a few good universities.

OF COURSE, OUR GLCs ARE COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT OF DRIVING SINGAPORE OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD AND HIRING SINGAPOREANS WITH EXTENSIVE REAL TECHNICAL SKILLS TO HEAD UP FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND LOCAL SUPPORT SERVICES TO EMPLOY SINGAPOREAN TALENTS OF DIFFERENT GRADES.

In a few words, our foreign talent drive – ONE SIDED – failed badly and was a concealment there there is no Singaporean “foreign talent” to be placed abroad because we got no external sector.

THE MIW FARKED UP THE ECONOMY AND CLAIMED GENIUS OF THEMSELVES.

ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN AROUND CAN SEE THIS LOAD OF BULLSHIT very clearly.

Rather than insisting on getting more foreign workers to bring in more profits from many locations, may make more sense to re-strategitize/ reduce business cost by focusing on few promising locations

On point on employee taking many MCs, not so much whether Singaporean/ PR, but more on self discipline/ work attitude/ job satisfaction

To be fair, it is also quite hard to come across good employer, who will put in extra effort to show concern, or appreciate good job done by worker

how many modern mothers are cooking regularly for her family instead of da-baoing or having a maid? do we even know what is nature? camping? how bout going to museums instead? no, our parents didnt have the time to spend with us. they were working the whole time…the idea of a weekend treat is to GO OUT and have a dinner at a fancy restaurant with the family.

whats the point of fighting so hard to get a HDB flat when it never feels homely enough for singaporeans to want to stay at home and just chill??

look at all the megamalls we have.. malls situated at nearly every mrt station. we are taught to consume and because we never feel full, we will never ever curb our appetite and so, foreign low-wage workers are here to stay for the sake of our pastime.

The new generation of Singaporeans are only interested in higher salaries & good working conditions before they can perform.

They change jobs like they would change their underwears. Perhaps another recession will knock some commonsense & humility into them.

“But I really don’t want to be lured by your red herring as I am here to raise my immediate concerns.”

I am NOT offend by this comment but I want to elaborate that it is definitely NOT red herring.

Whilst I do understand your immediate concerns, the ugly picture of a regime of higher taxation rate I paint forward is INESCAPABLE. Let me offer you some compelling reasons.

- aging population (worldwide post-war boom) must necessarily smaller tax base and to sustain the same tax revenue base, the individual GST along with income tax and corporate tax rate must go up by definition to compensate smaller number of taxpayer

- the good times of burst corporate tax and consumption tax base DISAPPEARED forever. Fat tax revenue from corporate were inflated by big consumer spending “deceived” by property bubble boom of “wealth effect”, and when mortgage bubble burst globally, consumption fell into a “ravine” which means also less GST collection. With lower GST in an environment of smaller consumer spending and a reduced corporate profits ( because of shrinkage in consumer demand) – both GST and corporate tax must go up

- Government around the world spent money like changing underwear after a shower last year – huge fiscal deficits in US, Europe, Japan and depleted reserves in Singapore and PRCs and Australia. They need to be strengthen to fight any sudden adversity in global economy. Tax rate must go up with GST to compensate

- Singapore Government gave PRs to cleaner, massuese, suspected of even prostitutes for foreigners. Subsidies to health, education ignored but how about infrastructure spending given the sardine-like cramps on public transports, sewerage platns construction, power stations and a bloated public service to keep services like Police, immigration watch etc etc – ALL THESE MEANS A LOT OF SPENDING TO COME.

- carbon tax from climate change – no prisoner taken on this warfare.

They will come from your corporate tax, Mr. Henry Lee and my GST

Whilst a higher immigration influx may solve your labour supply needs within your budgetary constraints, it is a moving feast of musical chair. You earn your bread but the tax on that bread may be even bigger than your earnings. It is like a cocaine consumption – very shiok, shiok now but bigger nightmare and pain to come later because of this stupid cocaine addiction in Government. The medicine is worse than the illness suffered now because of economic mismanagement.

This country is in SHIT-HOLE and I AM NOT EXTREMELY HAPPY with such indecently highly paid “spur in the hide artiste” of no feelings nor awareness of what best to do next running this country and economy.

So sad for my beloved country and future generation.

I certainly am one SINGAPOREAN who agrees completely with you.
However,I think that there are even enough ‘TOP TALENTS’ in singapore as far as most of the positions that are being filled by foreigners are concerned.
Yes,I have no qualms when iy comes to talents like scientists,researchers of wolrd standards,but in positions in banking and financial sectors and others,I think our people are in fact more experienced and better than those foreign imports who are mostly able to compete on salaries basiclly.
So,it’s a question of ‘COST’ not necessarily of talent or qualifications for the jobs concerned.
Those of us who professed that foreign workers are more talented on the average are just being hypocritical.
They,for some strange or subjective bias,insist that these foreign workers are mostly,if not always,better.This is pure nonsense and I think we must never try to ignore the fact that most of these foreign workers used to trained under our own experts who who later made redundant because these foreigners are willing to go along with the epmployers and accept much lower salaries,that’s all!
As for the claim that they are more talented or have more expertise than our own slightly more expensive workers,I must certainly disagree without being hypocriical!

If you say anything that helps their opponents, they will not listen to any of it. Even if your concerns are very valid, they will say you are talking nonsense. They will do that, as long as what you say helps their opponents in any small tiny little ways. The only way to avoid that is to agree with what they want.

So, good luck. Gong xi gong xi!