Globalisation concerns deserve serious attention but must not be exploited politically: Ong Ye Kung
CONCERNS about the effect of globalisation on nations and communities "are genuine, and deserve serious and proper attention", Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has said.
"We are a small country, and an unrestricted flow of workers from a large country can change the lived experience of Singaporeans, alter the character of our society, and even overwhelm us," he told Parliament on Tuesday.
"But we need to be careful that these valid concerns are not exploited by political groups and, intentionally or not, end up sowing division, stoking fear and fanning hatred."
Mr Ong's remarks came in a ministerial statement on free trade agreements (FTAs) such as the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) - a hot-button issue that the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) plans to debate in the House.
Mr Ong, a former trade negotiator, said that his statement was "so that we can approach the debate on the PSP's subsequent motion with the right perspective and motivation".
"This House should continue to debate robustly the pros and cons of various policies to help Singapore navigate the balance between global and local.
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"But we must not inadvertently shake the bedrock that has enabled Singapore to succeed. We cannot survive - we cannot earn a living - without being connected to the world, without being welcoming to the world, without the House unanimously supporting the FTA strategy," he said.
Mr Ong noted that, despite its opportunities, globalisation can also bring about more competition, displace jobs and create immigrant inflows.
Such changes can go beyond the economic sphere and make people "unsure if they are on the whole better off with globalisation", he acknowledged.
Still, he said that "we want to welcome diverse talent from all over the world" who respect local norms and appreciate multiculturalism - just as some 200,000 overseas Singaporeans are expected to do in their host countries.
Mr Ong warned of claims that CECA has allowed unchecked entry to professionals from India, who displace Singaporean workers and cause "social ills".
"This is a seductively simplistic argument that workers facing challenges at their workplaces can identify with, and has stirred up a lot of emotions," he said. The minister added that "quite disturbing xenophobic views about Indian immigrants" in online rhetoric have spilled over into verbal and physical assaults - on both Indian nationals, as well as Singaporean Indian citizens.
"It is sad that serious issues concerning the economic well-being of our country and workers have descended to this," said Mr Ong.
He also flagged PSP Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai's controversial comment last year that Singapore-listed bank DBS "is still without a home-grown CEO". DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta was born in India and became a Singapore citizen in 2009.
Mr Ong expressed support for Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations S Iswaran's response to Mr Leong, and welcomed Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh's statement unequivocally rejecting racism and xenophobia.
Said Mr Ong: "Members of the House should be very careful about what we say on such matters, if we are not to give credence to very negative, even ugly, minority views."
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