check ‏Michael Barr on Singapore’s impotent immigration policy @east_asia_forum

Dr Michael Barr has written a analysis on Singapore immigration policy in Singapore which is very worth to read:

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Singapore’s impotent immigration policy by Michael Barr http://t.co/U02bHilqhJ

— East Asia Forum (@east_asia_forum) April 1, 2014

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The obvious solution for the Singaporean government, which has at its fingertips many levers of social, economic and political power, would be to drastically decrease the number of foreign workers. But here there is a problem: its development model relies on the exploitation of these foreign workers.

If we go beyond the immediate problem to more remote causes, we come to matters of national identity. Singapore’s state-constructed national identity rests on a firm foundation of racial stereotypes and smug confidence in the superiority of Singapore as a ‘success’ that ‘punches above its weight’ and is a ‘model’ to the world. The smug confidence may be slipping a bit in the wake of a litany of government failures, but it still has life in it; and the racial stereotyping is stronger than ever.

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