Should we engage foreign talent, and what role does such foreign talent occupy and play in our society? After reading these thought-provoking articles, particularly Goh Chin Lian’s insightful “Foreign talent = disposable labour?” these are some of the essential questions that spring to mind. Foreign talent has long been a sticking point and also a hotly contested and widely debated one. In recent times, the foreign talent debate has been heating up, especially in the light of issues such as the authenticity of the silver medal “our” Olympic paddlers have won us, and the forecast that Singapore’s population will rise to 6.5 million, mostly as a result of foreigners.

In his article entitled “Success of foreign talent discourages locals”, reader Ryan Huang holds the view that in our performance-obsessed country, we are now merely turning to foreign talent as a means of obtaining accolades and “dressing our trophy cabinet”, rather than performing the more important task of nurturing our own talent. He feels, along with many other Singaporeans, that foreign talent will in general, create an adverse impact on our society. In his words, we should not “open the floodgates” of foreign talent as a short term means of securing accolades and allow them to represent the Singaporean identity, but rather, we should spend more time focusing on our locals. Goh Chin Lian’s article further highlights the roles that foreigners play in our society – that of mere foreign workers and labourers. Personally, I am of the opinion that foreign talent does indeed constitute a vital part of our society and will increase in importance over the coming years, and that indeed we should, instead of ostracizing such foreigners, invite them into our society and help them integrate.

Firstly, one of the main arguments against even having foreign talent in Singapore, would be that of the cultural dilution and ensuing lack of Singaporean identity that such an influx of foreign talent would conceivably cause. Many Singaporeans are of the opinion that having such a number of foreigners come into Singapore, would irreversibly dilute our culture and cause our Singaporean identity to erode. However, if we look objectively at Singaporean society as it stands, it is rather evident that our current society already is a multiracial and multi-religious melting pot of cultures, and injecting further foreigners into this mix will not result in any identity or culture being eroded, but will rather ensure that Singapore is a vibrant, exciting and even more diverse place. In the case of a truly Singaporean identity, we will have to help the foreigners integrate and assimilate into our society, forging a unique identity that all of us can share, and treating these “foreign talent” as one of us, particularly since they are not so different, and merely add to the diversity of cultures and races in the melting pot that is Singapore.

Next, foreign talent is and will further become a vital part of Singapore in coming years. Another point that most do not take into account, is the fact that foreigners and foreign talent is increasingly required and necessary for Singapore. In this increasingly globalised world, in order to perform well and excel in all areas, it has become increasingly necessary to tap on the aid and expertise that foreign talent can provide, in order to reach greater heights. Our population size is fairly limited, and not all kinds of expertise can thus be found in our country, increasing the need for foreign talent, especially in the light of growing specialization of fields. Sports is no different, and foreign talent too may be needed, in order to help develop and establish Singapore as a viable sports hub. Furthermore, Singapore’s birth rate is decreasing, and in order to maintain a healthy population, foreign talent and foreigners are needed and encouraged to settle in Singapore, to help make up for the potential dearth of manpower we may conceivably face. Hence, it is more than evident that foreign talent is indeed a very necessary and vital part in Singapore, and we should not merely treat them as “labourers or workers”, but help them assimilate into our society and treat them as our own.

Integrating these people into our society is not merely “substituting them for home-grown options” as Ryan Huang puts it. In the first place, the concept of a native Singaporean cannot be fully defined, particularly since anyone who has studied Singapore’s history will realize that our ancestors too, were immigrants in the first place, coming from the same Asian countries most foreigners now migrate from. Who is to say then, who is more Singaporean? In any case, these people will eventually constitute a large part of our society and be essential to our economy, and using foreign talent cannot be seen as a substitute for home grown talent. Furthermore, the presence of foreigners further helps to create competition and prevent any stagnation on the part of Singaporeans, creating a culture of constant improvement.

In essence, I feel that we should indeed engage foreign talent and in fact, should actively encourage foreign talent to settle in Singapore, especially in the light of the growing necessity of having foreign talent in Singapore. We should rather, instead of segregating ourselves from them and using more “local” talent, if such a term can be defined, be integrating them into our society and developing our unique identity from there. Li Jiawei and the other Olympic paddlers from Singapore may be from mainland China, but after their stay in Singapore, they are now surely no less Singaporean than the rest of us; this is encapsulated neatly in Jiawei’s speech after winning the silver medal at the Olympics, that she was proud to have done well for her fellow Singaporeans.

Integrating foreign talent into our society and accepting it is vital for our country. I hope all of us will think objectively and logically and eventually accept this for a fact and act to ensure our country's continued good performance on the worldwide arena.