S'pore cannot make do without foreign talent: Ex-MM Lee
By S Ramesh
SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said
Singapore would not be able to punch above its own weight if it
were to depend on talent from its own population.
He was speaking at a dialogue to wrap up the two-day South Asian
Diaspora convention in Singapore on Friday.
DBS Bank's CEO Piyush Gupta posted a question to Mr Lee, asking
just how big the issue of attracting foreign talent in Singapore
is, having noted that it was a hot topic during the recent General
Election.
Mr Lee felt it was an issue among Singaporeans even before the
election.
Mr Lee said: "For some time, the Singaporean has felt the
competition from talented foreigners. But these are people who have
come here to become our citizens and I am a firm believer that the
more talent that you have in a society, the better the society will
grow.
"If Singapore depends on the talent it can produce out of three
million people, it's not going to punch above its weight.
"It's because we have been drawing talent from across the globe -
South Asia, Northeast Asia, China, India and beyond that - you have
a vibrant economy which is way beyond what three million
Singaporeans with the talent they can produce can do.
"So you've got to accept the discomfort, which the local citizens
fear that they are competing unequally for jobs. (It) cannot be
helped.
"But without them, the jobs will not be there to begin with. So
welcome talent and we'll continue to welcome talent."
When asked how the political problem associated with the foreign
talent issue could be managed, Mr Lee said: "You just have to
assuage it.
"What is the choice - slow growth with no input of talent or faster
growth with input of talent and the feeling that some of the top
jobs are going to the foreigners? You may get no jobs at all if
there were no growth."
Several participants at the convention also took the opportunity to
tap Mr Lee's views on the importance of governance and meritocracy
for the success of a country. One common question raised during the
dialogue was how Mr Lee would have governed India, if the country
was handed to him.
Mr Lee replied: "First, what sort of Indian would I be? A northern
Indian? A southern Indian? That identifies you with the interest of
a particular group.
"Or a Bombay Indian, which is the most cosmopolitan of all. But it
may well be that a Bombay Indian doesn't represent Indians at all,
so it's a problem India has to face.
"It is important whoever leads India should find acceptance with
the widest group of Indians possible. But I think it is very
difficult for any Indian leader to find more than 40 per cent of
Indians believing he represents them."
Mr Lee also noted that Indians speak nearly 300 different
languages, but in China, 90 per cent of the people speak the same
language and that makes it a much easier country to lead than
India.
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