Monday, July 02, 2007 at 1:52 PM
YAY. FORUM POSTING ROCKS!!
and anzio gathering FUN.
I shot people who doesn't have strong stand. wahaha.
nvr try arguing with me. I am sure winner.
Winston:
Foreign talent: bane or boon?
Stand: I personally do not welcome the migration of foreign talents onto our home soil.
In my opinion, foreign talents are talented foreign who are above the ordinary people. Foreign talent is different from foreigners. Foreigners are just here for vacation, the government would definitely welcome that as it gives an economic boost to our tourism industry, but foreign talents are permanent residents.
Being already an economic successful country, does Singapore still needs to attract foreign talents? On the other hand, should it just nurture younger generation that will possibly take over the posts of the current leaders when they are in the golden years?
The increase in population of 2 million on an area that is 700km square within a span of 13 years is simply ridiculous. That simply equates to about 423 persons entering Singapore and staying here permanently every day. How are we going to ensure that they are all talents beneficial to our economy and are we going to enter into the days of the early 20th century where overcrowding, poor public heath and high crime rates are going to repeat itself?
I believe that instead of “attracting” foreign talent, the government should emphasise on the importance of having babies. The replacement rate of the population is falling uncontrollably almost in every country. In the past, the government restricts families to having too many babies but presently, the government is trying to pull the population up not by the natural way but by the migration of foreigners.Bryan to winston:
In response to Winston’s post, I would like to point out that Singapore has emphasized the importance of having babies and it isn’t their fault that it received low response from the locals. I agree that foreign talents are talented foreign who are above the ordinary people, and they are different from normal foreigners. However you mentioned that foreigners are just here for vacation which is where I disagree. Blue collared workers and helpers working in our society are also foreigners and does their work seem to you a vacation? I prefer to regard foreigners who come to Singapore for vacation, as tourists. And such foreigners are definitely welcomed by the government as it gives an economic boost to our tourism industry. Foreign talents are permanent residents? That isn’t really a good statement to describe them as they have every right to leave the country whenever they wish to, like the freedom they had when they chose to come to Singapore.
Singapore is indeed an economic successful country, but it still needs to attract foreign talent. For what I believe, introducing foreign talent NOW might actually help reduce (FT’s) in the long run. This is so as FT’s nurture our students and locals, equipping them with knowledge to deal with difficulties faced in the modern society. This is a basic in helping Singaporeans be independent learners without the need for competition. This might also answer Qiya’s remarks that Singaporeans needs to be under the influence of stress to improve. That is absolutely untrue as if Foreign Talents were to work along side with the locals, we Singaporeans would not have to undergo the stress of facing competitions to improve. Instead, as extracted from the article (Foreign Talent: A bane or a boon?) “Foreign talent alleviates our problems of shortage; in the long run, this transfer of knowledge can help Singapore to become more self-sufficient. This supports my argument that Singaporeans need not have to undergo stress to improve, but can improve while working alongside with Foreign Talents.
In time to come when Foreign Talents have transferred their knowledge to us, Singapore would then have more capable and talented youths ready to take over the positions of the Foreigners and probably the need for Foreign Talents would be decrease. Though I personally feel that there is no reason to object to foreign talent, this point raised my actually help those who feel foreign talent is a bane reconsider their thoughts. Some find it unfair that while the males from Singapore have to undergo NS training, etc. Why do the foreigners get to enjoy the benefits of a secure environment without the effort? This is so as the FTs also have their part to play. As mentioned, it is under the influence of them that created an impact on us Singaporeans, not by competition, but by working along side with one another. After all, these foreign talents have quicker reaction to fast changing economic and technological trends. Welcoming foreign talent would then help the Singapore grow to be independent and therefore it is a boon to the progress of our country.
Caleb:
Foreign talents: a bane or a boon. I would say that foreign talents are a boon. There are many important impacts these FTs have made while they are living here. Furthermore, Singapore was what it is today because of foreigners as years back when this island was colonized; many of our forefathers came from different parts of the world to come and settle here. Thus out of them, Singapore progressively became a modernized society. Even though Singapore had many great accomplishments already, the world is ever changing and as the years goes by, competition between countries get tougher as many countries get industrialized and thus boosting their economy. For Singapore to maintain its competitiveness in the global stage, it has to constantly recruit new talents not only locally but also globally.
These foreign talents bring with them a whole wreath of knowledge which would not only help boost Singapore’s economy but also can help locals improve themselves further. Firstly, these foreign talents bring with them creative ideas from their countries as well as how their country functions as a whole. As quoted in Chinese, knowing how our opponents work will give us a better edge in the global economic stage. We as Singaporeans can learn from them and also in the meantime improve ourselves in order to remain competitive at our workplace. Foreign talents are also invited to multi-national companies to help bring the company to greater heights, generating more income annually. With this positive result, the economy would surely improve and with this, it will lead to the increase in job availabilities. In our modernized 21st century, biotechnology, medical sciences and even accountancy are the hottest fields and are highlighted in Singapore’s growth. In the recent years, Singapore has actively pumped in finances to finance ongoing projects in these respective fields. I truly agree with this sentence “Among the reasons for facilitating the import of foreign talent into Singapore is the quicker reaction to fast changing economic and technological trends” which is stated in the article- Foreign yes, but all talent?. Countries like USA and Britain are much more experienced in this more tech savvy field such as biotechnology. For Singapore to train up its own local experts would mean precious time and money, and by the time Singapore have produced its first expert, it would have already lost most of its competitiveness. To save time, Singapore has to opt for foreign talents to pioneer these projects and in the meantime locals working side by side can learn more by their observations.
To bring it much closer to home, foreign talents also help to increase the birth rate as well as the population. Recently, the government announced their aim to hit a total population of 6.5million people by the year 2030. In this case, the need to attract foreigners as well as foreign talents has doubled its importance. As stated in the article, (Foreign yes, but all talent?), the great leap in the population of Singapore from 3.05million people to 4.02million is all because of the influx of foreigners. Right now, the % of foreigners has gone up since the last 10 years which proves to show that for Singapore to have increase the most important method is to attract more foreigners.
In conclusion, I would say that these foreign talents are indeed essential for Singapore to continue advancing in the 21st century. They not only aid in boosting the local economic but also help greatly in social affairs. Even though the foreigners may pose as a threat to some of our rice bowls, but we should take things positively and treat them as our constant reminder that we must never be complacent and must actively sought to improve oneself.Bryan to Caleb:
In response to Caleb’s views on Foreign Talent: a bane or a boon, I would agree with his stand with no doubts. However I would like to introduce new points to those he mentioned. “Foreign talents are indeed essential for Singapore to continue advancing in the 21st century. They not only aid in boosting the local economy but also help them greatly in social affairs. Even though the foreigners may pose as a threat to some of our rice bowls, we should take things positively and treat them as our constant reminder that we must never be complacent and must actively sought to improve oneself”.
This point being mentioned agrees with my idea that we locals should be independent learners and not depend on others for competition. However, I do not agree with him mentioning that we ought to treat them as a constant reminder so as not to be so complacent. To me, this isn’t totally true. I believe Singaporeans can improve independently, and not just for the sake of competing. Being competent only creates stress and unhappiness amongst one another. Though achieving your goals would bring satisfaction, the focus isn’t really on winning the most number of people you can, but instead to improve for the sake of yourself.
I would also like to make a point that the competition introduced by foreign talent could be compared to the food imports in Singapore. Different brands of a particular food sold in supermarkets encourage competition amongst companies and they would seek to improve themselves. Such is a way to survive in the economy but isn’t practical. Imagine pushing oneself for the sake of beating people in the society and not improving for the sake of their principle. To me, principle is the utmost important. One should improve to provide for their consumers needs and make satisfaction guaranteed by them. Hence, they would in term receive respect by their consumers for taking into consideration their requirements and suggestions. If a company only improved to prevent falling behind from other overseas brands, the needs of customers might not have been taken into first priority. Though some might argue that when a company/brand improves their product, it is based on consumer’s views and comments, the company had only improved when they felt the need to compete with others. Such isn’t approved in my view and instead disgusts me.
In supermarkets, most consumers make their choices based on packaging and quality of the product; hence many different brands are in the industry for their purchase. Consumers have every right to make their choice on whichever they might buy and the companies have no one to blame for if they incur a loss. Such have been the cause of over focus in competency which results in failure in the long run. Therefore, I agree with Caleb’s stand that Foreign talent is indeed a boon, but do not agree the fact that foreign talent should be encouraged to act as Singapore’s constant reminder to improve.
-Bryan(:
AFTER TWO REPLIES.
I let you people read my OWN POST.
Foreign Talent: A bane or a boon?
"Foreign yes, but all talent?” the article’s stand of foreign talent is to accord foreign talent
Statuses only to foreigners who hold an employment pass and above, while work permit holders, into,
which category fall construction workers and domestic maids are excluded. I think likewise to the definition of foreign talent, which I prefer to refer as Foreigners who made good use of their talent to make a place in the local economy. There’s no denying that each individual has their own talents, and it’s how they put it into good use to boost themselves.
The main line of argument in the article seems to be the importance of foreign talent, to boost Singapore’s economy, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s competitiveness. I take into consideration the views of our government, students and ordinary people. Senior Pm, Lee Kwan Yew, mentioned that foreign talent is ‘the key to Singapore’s future’, as our small population is unable to produce enough talents. While some seem totally in for the idea of foreign talents introduced to Singapore. To them, it encourages income and benefits them, but are all these foreigners considered as foreign talents? As stated from the article’s heading, they are indeed foreign, but not all of them are talented. Most students might find foreign talent a boon as if affects their position in class and there’s much competition involved. Being in such a fast-developing and competitive society, students are highly under stress which may evoke unhappiness in them. Some foreigners are also treated unfairly due to racism. I myself have had friends who were of other races and I found no problem in adapting with them. It’s a matter of a willing party, and do colors really make a difference? Some argue on the fact that people from other races are not as worthy as compared to some of certain races which are more highly thought of. My view greatly differs: talents are within each and every individual and there certainly shouldn’t be biasness amongst different races. The idea is on how we project ourselves as an individual.
The question of why is there a need for us to import foreign talents has evoked a major debate and many have different reasons to support their stand. It’s how we project ourselves that is important and even some foreigners think too highly of themselves, while others are here because they can’t do well in their own country. Out of the few whom though highly of themselves, most that were foreigners emerged successful. Thinking highly of oneself boosts one’s self confidence, though not being overconfident is utmost important. Confidence is lacked in most Singaporeans for they have fear in expressing their ideas as they do not want to face any rejection. Some Singaporeans, as judged by others are said to overprice themselves, asking for unrealistic salaries. Such is an example of being too confident and proud of oneself. Probably if they would mind being humble, no doubt it would take them further into the society and most of us locals would have been accomplished.
People stressed the point that foreign talent has made life competitive and stressful for them, as they try to cope and improve. But do we really need foreigners to push us further? No! It’s the decision we make that makes us who we are and where we stand. Singapore’s brightest students and overseas scholars see the importance and the need to encourage more foreign talent into the island state. As extracted from the article, they are more concern over how Singapore can help the foreigners to integrate into society and encourage the newcomers to sink their roots and set up homes here, and ultimately become citizens themselves. It might be ridiculous to state that if locals can’t accept foreign talent, isn’t that an act of discrimination? If one might argue otherwise, why aren’t foreigners treated like our locals who just came to settle down, and get far in life because they are independent learners? If us locals were to accept foreign talent, there wouldn’t be a need to stress oneself for competition and instead be independent learners.
I therefore make my stand that foreign talents’ are a boon. It introduces competition (though not necessary) and also helps raise the awareness of our citizens to improve themselves. After all, these foreign talents made Singapore's recent push into the area of the life sciences possible, and should be accepted by us, or otherwise it wouldn’t be of any different from that of discrimination.
CHIM?? dun shoot me ar
-bryn
