Don’t pigeonhole foreigners: Chan Chun Sing

People living in Singapore should relate to one another as human beings first instead of trying to “pigeonhole” one another according to nationality, said Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing.

“When we look at an issue, let's try not to pigeonhole each other as a Singaporean or a foreigner, which can complicate the problem,” said the Minister, who was speaking to an audience of about 600 community leaders at the annual National Community Engagement Programme Dialogue on Saturday, reported the Straits Times.

The hot-button issue of foreign talent dominated the dialogue at the Regent Hotel, which was chaired by Chan, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Swee Say, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Yaacob Ibrahim and Minister of State for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin.

Teo, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, also said more should be done to help new immigrants settle down into Singaporean society, reported ST.

“We expect that over time, they and their children will pick up Singaporean ways and become more like us. After all, many have come here because they value what we value -- the well-integrated, harmonious, multi-racial society in Singapore,” he said.

The issue of foreign talent and immigration policies in Singapore has become a heated topic of discussion among Singaporeans, who have voiced increasing concerns over competition in jobs, public housing, education and even public transport.

“When we live close together on a sustained basis, it is so much easier to dwell on the differences, rather than build up upon the commonalities,” cautioned Minister Teo.

“Those differences can easily develop into fissures in our society, and weaken our unity as a country,” he added.

However, people Yahoo! Singapore spoke to also feel the integration of foreign talent goes both ways.

Said administration executive Evelyn Chan: “There’s a lot of push from the government for Singaporeans to be more accepting [of foreign talent], but it would be nice if we can see some initiative by them to try to integrate.”

The 27-year-old added that there is a wider divide between white collar foreign talents and local-born Singaporeans due to the “higher standard of living” of the former.

Housewife Koh Huai Eng echoed Chan’s views, saying: “They [foreign talent] should make an effort to fit into our society. They shouldn’t keep within their own circle of friends.”

“Integration won’t work if it’s only a one-sided effort,” the 35-year-old added.

India-born Niharika Bal, who works as an administrative officer in Singapore, said: “Honestly I don’t know what the government can do, so it’s up to the individual [to fit into society].”

The 22-year-old permanent resident (PR) added that the language barrier had hindered her from fitting into the Chinese-dominated workplace at first. As such, she made an effort to learn a few basic Chinese words.

“As a foreigner I think it’s important to eat local and learn Chinese! Even though I can barely speak [the language], I feel a little better that I can understand a couple of basic words,” she said.