Policy Face-off: Immigration policies – how many is enough?

By Alex Tan

During a Q-and-A session of a recent Political Forum held on 26 January 2010 at NUS, students lobbied tough questions at a PAP MP Mr Alvin Yeo.

The forum called the “Political Face-off” features Workers’ Party Chairman Sylvia Lim, PAP MP Lawyer Alvin Yeo and Dr Leong Chan Hoong (Institute of Policy Studies).

The topic was “Immigration” and Researcher Dr Leong kicked off the event with slides and presentation of his views on “Immigration”. He highlighted that it is the lower income Singaporeans who are the most bitter of foreigners’ presence because they have no financial security while the rich and affluent class of Singaporeans do not share such animosity towards foreigners. He said that the Immigration Policy is a balancing act that require due considerations to both foreigners and Singaporeans, however, he did not comment on the performance of PAP’s “balancing act”.

PAP MP Alvin Yeo of the Hong Kah GRC Team started his talk unprepared – no powerpoint presentation, no statistics and no scripts. His “pure” talk gave NUS students a regurgitation of secondary school’s social studies about a migrant society with no resources and how foreigners have added value to Singapore over the past century. He justified PAP’s pro-foreigners policies and even called the sacrifices of Singaporeans, like National Service and “competitive” wages, are for the “collective good of society” during the Question-and-Answer session.

Workers’ Party Chairman Sylvia Lim started her talk with a Statistic Table – showing the net number and percentage change of Foreigners Population, Singaporean Population and Permanent Resident Population in 1990, 1999 and 2009. She highlighted that the shocking growth of both the Permanent Residents(increased 3 fold) and Foreigners in total Population, while Singaporeans numbers in total Population has dropped 17+% over the past 20 years.

She raised the following during the presentation:

1) Singapore’s growth have skewed towards PRs and non-residents, and how Singaporeans have been left out of progress.

2) Importation of Foreigners to support our Aging Population is an “aggravation” and not a Solution. Her witted words “These people grow old too one day. They dont just…go away” were responded by roaring laughter from the students who were clearly made bored by PAP MP Alvin Yeo’s dry talk.

3) Lack of Clarity and Transparency in Immigration Policy has resulted from the PAP “panic” reaction in opening the floodgate to solve low birth rate and a slowing economy.

4) “We are not anti-immigration” is her stance but she emphasized on the quality and rate of Immigrants.

5) Criterias for Citizenship and Permanent Residency must be transparency.

6) Increase in Foreigners has resulted in Lower Productivity since 1995.

6) “Waste” of current population – elderly workers and the low income are effectively displaced by cheaper labor.

7) Foreigners depress Singaporean Wages. She also pointed out that the S-Pass Holders of $1800 are not necessarily foreign talents but cheaper labor for Employers.

Sylvia Lim’s presentation was cut due to restriction of time.

The Question-and-Answer session turned into a “Question-the-PAP” session where all questions raised by NUS students are directed at PAP MP Alvin Yeo.

Below are the excerpts of some hard questions that PAP MP Alvin Yeo faced:

“Why are the Malays not given equal opportunities as the other races in the Army? MM Lee also said “will your Malay neighbour give you the last few grains of rice or will she share it with her family or fellow Muslim or vice versa?” I as a Malay feel deeply insulted by the Government for our race.”

“How is the PAP going to address the “injustice” feelings of Singaporeans towards Foreigners?”

“Foreign Workers here are housed in dormitories and rented housing with inhumane conditions: like sharing a room with 10 others. What is the Government’s take on this?”

“The PAP has recently started the Basic English Test for Foreign workers. As I know, the Immigration Policy started many years before that. Why did the Government only thought of this now?”

PAP MP Alvin Yeo used much rhetoric in his answers to the questions, here are some quotes:

“I am a lawyer and not an economist.”

“I don’t think we should protect Singaporeans from global competition because this is what happens in the outside world. Global competition is good for Singaporeans because it makes them work harder and think harder to succeed.”

“They are here to work and contribute economically, and if we make foreigners serve 2.5 years of National Service, who would want to come here? they will leave”

“If the property prices drop, another group of Singaporeans will complain.”

“I have only been a MP since 2006, I wasn’t involved with the Policy Makings before that”

About the Author:

Mr Alex Tan is a Project Engineer by training. He blogs here