In ‘dangerous’ world, Singapore’s attractiveness to talent can be key advantage: Chan Chun Sing
But here, the Republic will have to balance integration needs with competitiveness, he adds
[SINGAPORE] As the world becomes more “dangerous”, Singapore's attractiveness to global talent can give it an edge, said Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing in Parliament on Friday (Sep 26).
In the global economy, “no one deals with Singapore out of charity or sympathy”, and the country must create its own value propositions, he said. “This means understanding market needs and identifying what I call ‘acupuncture points’ that make it harder for others to bypass us.”
Singapore must diversify for greater economic resilience, but this requires both resources and the ability to attract and work with foreign talent – even as it continues to develop home-grown talent.
“As the world becomes a more dangerous place, our attractiveness to talent can actually reinforce our competitiveness,” said Chan. “This is an opportunity for us.”
“But we will need to carefully balance our needs of integration with competitiveness,” he added.
Economic resilience was one of four topics that he covered on the final day of debate on the President’s Address, alongside securing Singapore’s global position, social cohesion and governance. A total of 80 MPs and office holders spoke during the five-day debate.
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Where longstanding platforms or networks no longer work, Singapore will set up alternative networks to uphold a “more integrated global trading and investment system”. These include free-trade agreements and digital economy partnership agreements.
In the face of fraying support for globalisation, Singapore will work with like-minded partners to create new plurilateral and multilateral networks to support open and fair trade.
Amid tariffs and retaliatory tariffs, there is also an opportunity for Singapore if it can position itself as a reliable, resilient partner, said Chan. “As companies seek their +1 strategy, we aim to be their +1.”
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To achieve this, Singapore will double down on its “man-made competitive advantages” of lifelong education and workforce development, rule of law for investor confidence, and stable governance with long-term thinking.
Building consortiums
Earlier in the debate, Workers’ Party (WP) MP Kenneth Tiong suggested that Singapore build consortiums with its South-east Asian neighbours, to grow rooted companies.
Dependence on foreign investment is “a vulnerability”, he warned. “High-value work, hosted on our shores, can be repatriated at any time, leaving our workers exposed.”
He gave the example of European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, formed in 1970 by Germany, France and the UK to compete against dominant US aviation giants.
He argued that Singapore should champion similar regional partnerships, with small “coalitions of the willing”. Once such a model proves successful, the private sector can increasingly take over to replicate it.
Such partnerships could allow local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to thrive, said Tiong, noting that Airbus now sustains thousands of European SMEs.
The state should be “the greatest enabler of our local enterprises – not their competitor”, he said. “A government that acts as a market-shaper internationally but knows when to retreat domestically, creates a fairer playing field for our and our children’s ventures to succeed.”
Defence and governance
On defence, Chan noted that rapid global change means Singapore has to prepare for a wider range of scenarios than before.
The country will continue to “spend wisely and consistently” on defence, making careful decisions on defence procurement and partnerships, where “timeliness, rather than perfection, matters more”.
“By strengthening indigenous capacities and developing unique value propositions, we will position ourselves as a partner of choice in capability building, technology innovation and supply chain resilience.”
On social cohesion, Singapore must “double and redouble our efforts to break the intergenerational transfer disadvantage” and celebrate diversity.
As for governance, the city-state must strive to do better with finite resources.
In public spending, a “growing pie” has enabled Singapore to avoid making difficult budget cuts, noted Chan. But he cautioned that every expenditure and subsidy has “a long tail” and becomes difficult to remove once committed.
“We must be judicious in how we decide to spend our public funds, and be honest with ourselves about the trade-offs,” he said. Singapore must maintain fiscal discipline and preserve future spending capacity for unforeseen circumstances such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ultimately, the country must focus on growing the overall economic pie “for us to have options and the luxury to make easier decisions”, he added.
Effective oversight
Governance was also a focus for WP MP Sylvia Lim, who called for stronger checks and balances through Parliament.
She cited the Singapore Parliament’s poor ranking of 104th out of 142 countries on the World Justice Project – “second-last” among high-income nations – despite the country ranking 16th overall, and its judiciary ranking 17th.
While the government agenda is set by ruling party leaders, and party discipline demands their MPs vote in support, “our overriding duty is not to our parties, but to Singaporeans”, she said.
“Regardless of our affiliation, we have a duty to speak for our constituents and ensure that this Chamber works for them. This means questioning the government and holding it to account, rigorously if necessary.”
This is what voters expect opposition MPs to do, she added.
The Aljunied MP also called for greater trust and collegiality in Parliament, urging MPs to remember that all colleagues “are fellow Singaporeans who have made a choice to leave their comfort zones to take up national office”.
She urged MPs to presume good intentions from fellow members, despite policy disagreements.
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