Singapore — Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party head Pritam Singh gave a speech at the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) on Thursday (Jul 8) on the issues of xenophobia and nativism and how the government and businesses may respond to these forces.
He summarised his views on the matter succinctly with the following statement.
“Singapore should be a place where: Xenophobia is rejected; Nativism is addressed through progressive legislation; Foreigners feel welcome; Businesses can hire the talent they need; and Locals are treated fairly.”
He began his speech by saying that “no issue brings Singaporeans together more readily today than the perception of Singaporeans being unfairly treated or bypassed at the workplace,” and added that the country’s position “at the crossroads of trade and globalization are a double-edged sword for Singaporeans.”
This is because while many jobs are created, it also makes Singaporeans “more susceptible to the reality of job discrimination.”
In this light, the WP leader called on Singaporeans, the government, and the business sector to work together.
“Singapore’s reality as a relatively new nation and the need for immigration to top up our population make nativist emotions a reality we have to engage and address,” he added.
He then touched on the tendency toward nativism, which he defined as the desire to protect the interests of those native-born to a country over those who were not.
However, he warned, “If nativism is not understood properly and managed, it can easily spill over into xenophobia.”
Admitting that there are indeed xenophobes or people who are prejudiced against those from other countries, in Singapore, he added that “the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans are not” xenophobic.
The Leader of the Opposition (LO) argued that nativism is understandably more prevalent in Singapore.
Mr Singh then went on to reiterate the support of the Workers’ Party for the government policy of being open and welcoming of foreign nationals but added that “as always the devil is in the details.”
He urged there to be more legislation when it comes to employers that do not give fair consideration to Singaporeans.
“My view is that the Government needs to seriously consider anti-discrimination legislation with statutory penalties. Such a law would send a powerful signal for business to change how it recruits manpower,” the LO said, adding that he hoped the members of SICC would consider lobbying the government to pass this type of law.
As for businesses, he said that “companies should be able to recruit foreign nationals if they are unable to find Singaporeans to fill those jobs after having made best efforts to do so,” acknowledging that most companies have fair hiring practices.
However, he warned that some employers “have an exceptionally high share of foreign professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs)” in comparison to others.
“When things get out of hand, as they have on occasion in Singapore, xenophobia rears its ugly head. COVID has exacerbated matters. Beyond law and government policy, business can play an important role in holding the line. HR policy must consider Singaporeans fairly and promote the skills retraining and upgrading of Singaporeans,” he said.
Urging businesses to do even more, he added that populist politicians’ methods “would have no cachet if there wasn’t a genuine emotive on the ground for them to tap into in the first place.”
He then bought up free trade agreements, which were discussed earlier this week in Parliament, and said that these are questioned by some Singaporeans “because they struggle to see how their lives and those of their compatriots have actually improved because of them.”
The LO underlined the need for give-and-take between foreign companies and Singaporeans.
“Foreign companies who make profits here must take the effort to be one of us and also understand their responsibilities to Singaporeans. Many do. They must understand that being good, fair, responsible long-term guests here means sometimes making decisions that favour Singaporeans. In turn, Singaporeans must accept that foreign companies are essential to Singapore, not only as a means to the end of wealth and prosperity but also because they bring jobs, vibrancy, new ideas, new people and yes, even discomfort, to keep us on our toes.”
Mr Singh’s speech may be read in full here.