Associated Press
August  8, 2010
SINGAPORE
BY  Alex Kennedy

SINGAPORE'S Prime minister sought Sunday, Aug 8, to ease concerns that the city-state is allowing in too many foreign workers who will undermine national unity.

The surge of foreigners living in Singapore has become a hot topic in the lead-up to the next general election, which the government must call by February 2012. Many of the newcomers are from China, India and other Asian countries.

"We will control the inflow, to ensure that it is not too fast and not too large," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during a speech ahead of Monday's National Day. "And we will make clear that citizens come first."

About 150,000 foreign workers have entered Singapore per year since 2007, and they now make up about a third of the island's 3 million work force and about a fourth of the total population of 5 million, up from 10 per cent in 1990.

Local media have reported growing complaints by Singaporeans about poor quality costumer service at restaurants and retail stores, crowded subways and occasional violent crimes by foreigners. Many foreign workers may not speak fluent English, which is the most commonly spoken of Singapore's four official languages.

"It's no secret that a record influx of foreigners in recent years has led to discontent among Singaporeans, who feel crowded out of their own country," wrote Straits Times reporter Radha Basu in a recent editorial. "New immigrants are being blamed for a host of ills, from the squeeze in trains to the tussle for jobs."

Lee reiterated that foreign workers were necessary for economic growth, which the government expects to be as much as 15 per cent this year. Lee said last month the government would allow more than 100,000 foreigners into Singapore this year to help keep the economy from "overheating" and inflation in check.

Singapore's decades-long boom, which has made it one of the world's wealthiest countries, has been fueled in part by foreign labourers who are willing to do jobs in areas such as construction and hospitality for lower wages than locals.

Policymakers are eyeing the inflation rate, which the government expects to rise to about 3 per cent this year from 0 per cent last year. The central bank in April shifted its exchange rate target from a zero per cent appreciation of the Singapore dollar to a "modest and gradual" appreciation in a bid to dampen price increases.

"We cannot do without a proportion of foreign workers," Lee said Sunday. "With new arrivals living and working harmoniously with those born here, we will keep Singapore dynamic, cosmopolitan, and successful."

Singapore is seeking to diversify its economy away from manufacturing toward tourism, and foreign workers are playing a key role in building and staffing projects such as the casino resorts opened this year by Las Vegas Sands and Malaysia's Genting, which have helped attract record visitors.

"There are a lot of jobs Singaporeans wouldn't do anyway," said Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies.

Koh helped conduct a poll last year that found 63 per cent Singaporeans surveyed believed the government's immigration policy was weakening national unity.

However, two-thirds of respondents also said they supported bringing in more foreigners if it helped the economy.

Singapore also tries to attract what is known locally as "foreign talent" — educated professionals from abroad to work in the finance industry and other high-paying sectors.

Singapore's ruling People's Action Party has been in power continuously since full independence in 1965.

Goh Chok Tong, the country's prime minister from 1990 to 2004, urged Singaporeans to stop complaining about issues such as several instances of flooding this summer, soaring property prices and crowded subway trains.

"I encourage you to look at the bright side of things," Goh said in a speech late Saturday.

Goh, who is now a senior adviser to the prime minister, said Singaporeans should seek a "meaningful, more fulfilling life" rather than only the pursuit of material wealth.

"By the 90's, the Singapore Dream had been elevated to the 5 Cs cash, credit cards, car, condominium, and country club membership," Goh said. Now, Singaporeans should strive to "have a good career, live in comfort, surrounded by children, and be considerate and charitable."

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