Foreign Worker Issues
Sir, I congratulate the Minister and his team for their stellar performance in the creation of new jobs. I also support the Ministry's policy of liberalising foreign worker quotas to address labour shortages, especially in the construction and manufacturing industries. More and more foreign workers are landing on our shores. I wish to urge the Ministry to avoid the ostrich syndrome and ignore the problems related to the influx of the many thousands of foreign workers in Singapore. Sir, not everyone who has grievances in this area is an ugly Singaporean, intolerant of foreign workers. Neither are Singaporeans unappreciative of the Ministry's good work or contributions made by foreign labour to our economy. Many know that foreign workers are also human beings and they need leisure time and place.
In my weekly house visit last week at an HDB estate, which is nicknamed "Little Thailand", one lady resident pleaded with me to ask Government for an explanation on why citizens like her are penalised for throwing a piece of paper and yet the scores of foreign workers in her void deck can get away with blatantly drinking, partying noisily, littering, and sometimes urinating, exposing themselves openly. I assure Minister that this is not anecdotal and similar problems are also surfacing in other parts of Singapore.
Sir, I urge the Ministry to take proactive leadership in addressing these issues before the social costs escalate further. Half-hearted multi-agency efforts have failed in the past and more teeth and resolve are required to assure more results. MOM should make a serious effort in assembling and leading relevant agencies such as HDB, commercial sector, town councils, NEA, Police, URA, LTA and SLA, where relevant. We cannot simply rely on volunteer patrol teams or grassroots leaders to solve these problems. The problems are not insurmountable and the appreciation for MOM will be further elevated if we can lead in removing the valid angst caused by the liberal foreign worker policy the Ministry has embarked on.