Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is telling it like it is. He says over the last three years Singapore economy grew by an average of 5 per cent a year. It's not spectacular, he says. So we should be realistic in our wage expectations.
PM takes a cheap shot. We know the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was made in South Korea.
Singapore can't do without foreign workers, says PM Lee.
There are many countries that host significant numbers of foreign workers, he says.
It has become a hot issue in many countries, including America, he adds. But he goes on to mention the benefits.
Texas is benefiting from the presence of foreigners, he says, recalling his visit to Houston.
PM says he met Bill Gates, who told him about Microsoft research centres in Redmond, Washington state; Silicon Valley in California; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Cambridge, England; and Bangalore, India.
Microsoft also has a centre in Vancouver because America restricts H1 visas. And Canada gains from the talent working there.
One-third of the Microsoft researchers are Indians and one- third Chinese, Gates told PM.
The foreign workers supplement our ranks and help us build successful companies, says PM.
We need foreigners also because not enough babies are being born in Singapore, he adds.
He cracks a joke about babies: Please work harder for this kind of productivity.
He draws a distinction between foreign workers and immigrants.
Foreign workers are transients who will be in Singapore while they have jobs.
We are careful about whom we accept as immigrants, says PM.
Citizens come first, he adds.
Foreign worker levies will go up, he says.
PM Lee makes a major announcement about a new initiative giving due recognition to NSmen.
PM also says Singapore is getting new trains to ease overcrowding.
The government is aware of congestion at Boon Lay and between Novena and Toa Payoh.
New MRT lines will be inaugurated: the Downtown Line, Thomson Line and Eastern Region Line.
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