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A question posed by non-constituent MP Leong Mun Wai sparked a lengthy debate in Parliament yesterday, with several opposition MPs questioning Human Resources Minister Josephine Teo about the government’s efforts to protect local PMETs from being displaced by foreigners.
In her speech, Ms Teo said that the number of locals in professional, managerial, executive and technical jobs (PMET) has grown by approximately 35,000 a year on average between 2014 and last year.
In the same period, the number of Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders grew by less than 9,000 a year, it added.
Mr. Leong, who is from Singapore’s Progress Party, asked how many people became permanent residents (PRs) and new citizens during that period.
He added that previously reported data put the figure at around 50,000 a year.
Ms. Teo acknowledged that around 20,000 people become citizens each year, while another 30,000 become PRs.
“I think what Mr Leong is trying to suggest is that all his profits are meaningless because they are all occupied by PRs and citizens,” he said.
But this is not the case, added the minister. A significant number of new citizens and PRs are children who are not part of the workforce, while others are married to citizens.
One in three marriages is now between citizens and non-citizens, he noted.
She suggested that Singaporeans should instead look at the bigger picture of the larger proportion of locals in PMET jobs and decide if this is an “astonishing achievement” not easily achieved elsewhere.
He also asked Mr. Leong whether Singapore should begin to distinguish between new citizens and “real” citizens and, if so, how many years of citizenship would qualify a person as a “real” citizen.
Responding, Leong said, “Whether it’s the original Singaporeans or the new Singaporeans, we don’t really make that distinction.”
He added that his problem was the impact of each year’s harvest of new citizens and public relations on the existing population.
If there are 50,000 new citizens and PRs each year, but the number of locals in PMET jobs increases by just 35,000, then there is undeniable pressure on the PMET job market, he said.
Ms Teo acknowledged his point of view, but reiterated her earlier points that many new citizens and PRs are not in the workforce or are not married to Singaporeans.
“They have a family connection. Are we going to say, ‘Please don’t work. Please stay out of the workforce,'” he asked.
“I don’t think Mr. Leong is saying that at all. However, this constant obsession, if I can put it that way, to draw the lines, I’m not sure it’s good for us as a society.”
MISLEADING
Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) then asked whether the government believes that slowing the growth of EP and S pass holders is enough to prevent local PMETs from being displaced.
He added that comparing the two numbers is misleading, since the overall base numbers in both groups are different. This means that the slowdown in the rate of EP and S pass holders is “less dramatic” than Ms Teo said.
Many PMET positions may have already been filled by foreigners, Dr. Lim added, so it is not surprising that the required number of EP and S pass holders has decreased.
Ms. Teo replied, “I just laid out the facts, I didn’t say one contributed to the other. I said the facts; this is what they were.”
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