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To: sangkancil@malaysia.net
Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 19:20:00
Subject: [sangkancil] SG DAILY: Washington Post: The (Open) Road to Singapore (fwd)
From: pillai@mgg.pc.my (M.G.G. Pillai)
Reply-to: pillai@mgg.pc.my (M.G.G. Pillai)
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From: forum@sintercom.org (Wynthia Goh)
Date: 20 Oct 97
Originally To: sgdaily@list.sintercom.org
The Washington Post <www.washingtonpost.com>
The (Open) Road to Singapore
By Nora Boustany
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, October 17, 1997; Page A32
The Washington Post=20
While issues of immigration are becoming a flash point between conservative
and liberal ideologues here, other countries have decided to take a leaf
out of the book of the American immigrant experience. Singapore's
ambassador here, Heng-Chee Chan, has unveiled an enterprising national
initiative to attract immigrants, urging young and adventurous
professionals seeking a bright future to "go west" -- farther, farther and
farther west until they hit Asia, a region she described as "full of
opportunities".
Singapore's post-colonial educational system is growing stronger and more
productive every year, she said in an interview, but "we recognize that we
need more people to contribute to our vision for an intelligent city, a
city of the future." The idea of seeking immigrants stemmed from a survey
of thriving societies, such as those of the United States and Britain,
which prosper because of their openness and diversity, she said. "We
discovered that societies that are open remain innovative and move on."
Such demographic engineering, she said, is aimed at keeping Singapore's
economy dynamic and in perpetual renewal through "cross-fertilization" in
the fields of information technology, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and
research and development, as well as banking. "You will continue to see
growth in these [diverse] countries," she said. "That is why Singapore is
quite confident in recruiting talent."
Singapore, one of Asia's four "economic tigers," is fighting the notion
that recent glitches in Southeast Asian economies indicate that the much
talked about miracle of regional growth is a myth. She insists that
although there may have been some hype about the economic miracle all
along, no one can deny the last 30 years of steady growth took some
countries from the developing stage to the advanced developing stage, with
growth rates of 7 percent and beyond into double digits.
"It did not come out of nothing but because of sheer hard work and the
right package of policies, so maybe the word miracle was a misnomer," she
added. No country can sustain such growth forever, she said. "Now there is
a correction that is needed, and there will be a period of painful but
necessary adjustment," Chan said of her government's response to a recent
bout of currency fluctuations that led the Singapore dollar to slip vis a
vis the U.S. dollar.
Before globalization, she said, weaknesses in the economy remained hidden;
now they are more accessible and subject to pressure. The "Contact
Singapore" labor strategy to lure professionals there was launched in
Boston on Oct. 2 but applies nationwide, Chan said. Elsewhere around the
world, the program has attracted many young Australians and Europeans, but
it is open to all nationalities, she said. However, it also is drawing a
lot of mid-career professionals who would like to spend some time in Asia.
Chan said salaries being offered are high and competitive with Silicon
Valley standards.
"Economies today are borderless; people go wherever their life phase takes
them," Chan said, noting that English is the main language in Singapore
and, yes, it does have Brooklyn Bagels.
=20
=A9 Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company
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