Could the opposition party capitalize on the foreign talent issue against PAP in the next GE?

SINGAPORE: After the Singapore Democratic Party placed foreign workforce and immigration policies front and centre last month during its campaign launch for the next election, some analysts are saying that these are among the main issues the opposition will use to criticize the ruling People’s Action Party, the South China Morning Post reported on June 11.

SDP’s secretary-general Chee Soon Juan said that immigration policies have contributed to widened income inequality and eroded the nation’s sense of identity, urging the government to commit to a detailed roadmap and timeline for reducing Singapore’s dependence on foreign workers.

“We are going to tell the incoming Prime Minister, Mr Lawrence Wong, to tell Singaporeans that the PAP must keep to its promise to significantly reduce the inflow of foreign workers,” he said on May 11, shortly before Mr Wong took office.

He added, “The PAP must tell Singaporeans very specifically how much it will reduce the inflow of foreign workers and by when. Give us figures. When is your end goal? Tell us.”

People’s Voice chief Lim Tean, meanwhile, asked in a recent social media post, “With Job Insecurity, Super High Cost Of Living And Immigration, Amongst Others, Are You Surprised That Singaporeans Are The Most Stressed People in South East Asia?”

And for the Progress Singapore Party, the only other opposition group with seats in Parliament aside from the Workers’ Party, manpower and foreign workers have been chief among the policy issues the PSP has long talked about.

PSP Non-constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai said in an interview last year that while Singapore needs foreign manpower, “we believe that the government’s current policies around foreign labour are overall causing harm to Singaporeans.

Therefore, we have called for a recalibration of our current foreign labour policies to create a win-win situation for both Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans.”

The SCMP piece quoted observers as saying that it’s unsurprising that opposition parties have zeroed in on immigration as a hot topic.

It quoted Singapore University of Social Sciences lecturer Kasthuri Prameswarenas saying that the cost of living and inflation, the “influx of foreigners that burden an already stressed infrastructure,” and “employment in better-paying jobs for Singaporeans” are among the issues the opposition would focus on and “hold the incumbent party to task in its management of these challenges.”

The piece also cited a survey from the Institute of Policy Studies in 2021 showing that 70 per cent of 2,000 Singaporeans polled believed stringent limits should be placed on the number of foreign workers coming into Singapore.

However, it pointed out that the issue is not a uniquely Singaporean one but echoes a growing anti-immigrant sentiment found elsewhere across the globe. /TISG

Read also: SDP to spotlight foreign workforce and immigration policies at upcoming General Election