foreign err.. talent?

Stepped into the lift in my faculty today, and along with me came in 3 PRCs. Boy did I feel like I was doing a second SEP, this time in China!

Now don't get me wrong. I am pretty vocal about this whole issue of foreign talent, and most of the time I do get misunderstood as being racist or nationalist. But wait, hear me out: my issue with foreign talent is with our loose identification of talent, and not with the talents themselves.

Take for example, our national ladies ping pong team. I am sure by now the entire issue of the China vs Singapore (or China vs pseudo-China if you choose to look at it though another angle) match has been flogged to death. I shall refrain from adding my views into the mayhem, but I must say that I was very proud of our girls' victory.

Feng Tianwei leading us to the Silver medal

Before you guys shoot me for jumping ship, let me elaborate:

Were they really talented? Yes.
Did we have any better option (read: Singaporeans) to offer at that point in time? No.
Will the Olympic medal have an impact on Singapore? Possibly, it might change Singaporeans' mindset of sports as a leisure pastime, and start a sporting revolution.

Voilà. In this case where Singapore, as a small and relatively young nation, does not have the necessary resources or talent pool to compete meaningfully on the international arena, foreign talent is necessary to bring us up to that level in the short term. In the long term, it is hoped that there will be "technology transfer" from the foreigners to us locals, and that we will be able to stand on our own two feet then. For many countries, such wholesale import of foreign talent is often used in order to quickly bring local athletes up to pace.

Therefore, the idea of bringing in foreign talent inherently is a good thing.

Slippery slope
However, what happens if the talent does not turn out to be that talented afterall? Or what if we relax our criteria of what it takes to be a talent, and extend our arms to every Tom, Dick, and Harry (and also Ah Mao and Ah Gou)?

If we have the spare capacity, fine. But if we continue to take in these people at the expense of our own people's welfare and chances, we will only get anarchy.

Remember the saga of the failed imports Du Xianhui and Zhang Guirong? Feel the segregation between local and foreign students (like I do) at your university? Feel threatened that your favourite prata stall may be taken over by some Chinese eatery?

Citizenship is a marvellous thing. It can unite, yet it can divide. It makes people resort to underhand means to obtain it; it can even make people die because of it. So let's not cheapen our citizenship. If we expect loyalty and sacrifice from our fellow countrymen, it is only natural that we enforce strict regulations on those wishing to come in.

As one reporter who put it succinctly on the papers the other day (but in another context), "The fourth placed athlete, i.e. the best loser, does not get to stand on the podium". Similarly, we should only allow the very best to come in, to contribute to our progress and prosperity. Sure, continue to woo global talent, but we should also seek to improve ourselves, our locals, so that one day, it will be the foreigners who woo us, who want to emigrate to Singapore, who, in spite of our Singaporean First policy, want to buy into the Singaporean Dream.

Singaporeans First
For each foreigner accepted into Singapore, it must be proven/justified that he/she fills a niche role in the labour market and there is no Singaporean who can perform this job at a similar wage/expertise. If there is, the Singaporean should be given priority. This is a right, and not a privilege. It is a right of every Singaporean who has gone through NS, who pays his taxes, and who contributes to the falling birth rate. It is precisely why we defend this land; because it is only in this tiny red dot that we are favoured over others as its prodigal sons and daughters.

Therefore, we have to tighten the mechanisms of talent identification here in Singapore, and make sure that we attract only the right kind of talent at the right level. Not your third-world-cheap-labour kind of white collar talent. Neither your wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am stepping stone scholar. There are many other Singaporeans with similar abilities and the right hearts just waiting for these opportunities, so why are we indirectly discriminating against our own?

The problem is real, the crisis is imminent, and we have to do something about it now. Because it is the only thing we owe ourselves and our children. Because we cannot turn a blind eye to it anymore.

Because if Singapore doesn't do it for us, no one else will.