Singapore — In Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 6), Health Minister and former trade negotiator Ong Ye Kung sought to clarify the role free trade agreements (FTA), especially the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), play in Singapore.
However, during the course of his speech, Mr Ong took aim at the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) several times, saying that the PSP has used FTAs as “political scapegoats” to discredit the People’s Action Party government.
The Minister refuted allegations that the inflow of Indian professionals has cost Singaporeans their jobs.
”This is a seductively simplistic argument that workers facing challenges at their workplaces can identify with, and has stirred up a lot of emotions. CECA-themed websites have sprouted, filled with disturbing xenophobic views about Indian immigrants,” Mr Ong said.
But FTAs, and CECA in particular, “are part of the solution.”
”Our FTAs in general, and CECA in particular, are not the cause of the challenges our PMEs face; if anything, they are part of the solution.”
He added that it is the country’s “network of FTAs” that makes it a “major selling point” for investors.
Moreover, Mr Ong said that had it not been for FTAs, the welfare of Singaporeans could not have advanced in the way it did, and added that because of CECA, Singapore was given a “strategic first-mover advantage” as India was transforming into an economic power.
He also said in his speech that Singapore needs to welcome all sorts of talent from different countries around the globe, and that when Singaporeans go to live and work overseas, it is expected that they are hospitably welcomed by their host countries as well.
Mr Ong’s speech was followed by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, who discussed workforce numbers and employment rates.
Dr Tan said that the number of Employment Passes (EPs) handed out to foreign professionals increased by about 112,000 from 2005 to 2020, while in the same period, the number of local professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) grew by over 380,000.
This was to answer questions raised by PSP Non-Constituency MPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa, who asked whether the increase in EP holders has been at the expense of local PMEs.
Dr Tan added that the unemployment rate for Singapore citizens has hovered around 3 per cent over the last decade.
The Manpower Minister also aid that foreign workers are still needed to complement the local workforce in the finance and infocomm sectors.
“The misconception is that if we say ‘no’ to the foreigners coming in… these jobs they would have taken would therefore all go to Singaporeans… Today, even as we speak, we still have about 22,000 PME jobs that are not filled. Companies are desperate to fill these jobs. They would love to take in Singaporeans if they could, because Singaporeans are more productive,” he said.
Toward the end of his speech, the Manpower Minister underlined the aim of the Government to give Singaporeans better jobs and a higher standard of living, a world-class education system, and to remove discriminatory practices, all of which would ensure that Singaporeans would be protected.
Dr Tan asked all stakeholders to work together to create “win-win” outcomes for everyone.
“And I hope members of all parties take their responsibility as representatives of the people seriously and work towards constructive solutions, and avoid exploiting divisive fault lines,” he said, adding, ”We are at a critical inflexion point in our economic development. The pandemic has caused significant economic damage the world over. We face many challenges in the post-pandemic era, but there are also abundant opportunities if we play our cards right.” /TISG