The debate on immigration and foreign workers needs to move away from quantity to quality.
In terms of foreign workers/employees, more onus should be placed on employers to prove that a) at the high end the foreign hire is exceptional. E.g. Skills that locals may not have and b) at the low end take jobs that locals do not want at a sustainable wage.
Where immigration is concerned, the Government made a mistake in the past by bringing in too many working and middle-class immigrants that added to the public housing and transportation squeeze.
I see new immigrants working at coffeshops, retail stores etc. They are facing the same cost of living pressures as existing residents. What’s the point of bringing in more stressed residents?
On top of building more infrastructure therefore, we should focus on highly skilled migrants (PRs and New Citizens) and high net worth individuals who can invest in Singapore. One more chap living in Sentosa Cove isn’t going to directly affect the average HDB living Singaporean.
We need foreigners here to top up our workforce. We also need foreigners to top up our citizen population.
But let’s focus more on quality and have higher standards in QC.
We are too obsessed with absolute numbers now.
