Singapore must stay open to talent to keep discovering its future

WITHOUT meaning to do so, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) provided a glimpse at what the current focus on curbing the number of foreigners in Singapore really means when it commented on the big retrenchment exercise at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) last month.

Besides noting that RWS had made every effort to conduct its staff lay-offs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic responsibly, the MOM observed in a statement on Aug 6: "Overall, after the retrenchment exercise, RWS has a stronger Singaporean Core. Its share of local workers has increased from 66 per cent to 75 per cent."

Singaporeans should expect Singapore to be governed for their benefit. Yet, this island city-state would not be able to keep discovering its future without drawing people to its shores. We are all travellers here, our journeys buffeted by the ebb and flow of great global powers.