I was heartened to learn about the changes and initiatives outlined by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament last week.
One of the key policy issues he identified was the need to reduce Singapore's dependence on foreign workers.
Although Mr Lee acknowledged that Singapore could not do without foreign workers, he stressed that it would have to study how the country could still grow its economy without growing foreign-worker numbers indefinitely.
I applaud his vision and could not agree with him more. In recent years, many businesses and industries have come to be overly dependent on foreign workers.
As many Members of Parliament have rightly pointed out, this over-reliance makes Singapore vulnerable and can prove detrimental if, for some reason, these foreign workers decide to relocate en masse.
Many companies have adopted a strategy of employing foreign workers in large numbers, principally because of cost, as labour from developing countries is often cheaper.
These workers may also perform better than Singaporeans.
However, in order for growth to be sustainable, it is important that companies do not become over-reliant on foreign labour. Unlike foreign labour, Singaporean labour is less transient.
Perhaps it is time for companies to start thinking about how they can reduce their reliance on foreign labour.
One way is for businesses to rethink their production-input mix.
By investing more in technology and cutting-edge equipment, companies may be able to reduce their dependence on manpower.
Another way would be for companies to hire more Singaporeans to do the job.
This, however, requires Singaporeans to be less picky about the work they are willing to do.
They should also be keen to constantly upgrade themselves. Theymust also be realistic, especially in times like these, and accept lower pay if need be.
Having said this, reducing Singapore's dependence on foreign workers is not going to be easy.
Changes will not take place overnight. Just as growing the population too fast has its demerits, reducing the number of foreign workers overnight is similarly not a viable solution.
It is important that any effort to reduce Singapore's reliance on foreign workers be done at a strategic and reasonable pace. This would go far in lessening the impact of the strategy on the economy.
