Speaker 1: Now, CNA 938 rewind.
Speaker 2: So manpower shortage is an increasingly urgent issue in Singapore.
Speaker 2: And we're used to seeing foreigners working in certain sectors, right,
Speaker 2: like healthcare, municipal services. Now you'll see more in other sectors.
Speaker 2: So earlier this week, parliament revealed that Singapore is now
Speaker 2: hiring auxiliary police from five more countries, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
Speaker 2: the Philippines, India, and China. And it's not just
Speaker 2: Security, the SCDF is also bringing in foreign paramedics for
Speaker 2: its emergency medical services um this month in order to
Speaker 2: meet surging demand. Now, with manpower shortages constantly growing here
Speaker 2: in Singapore, we are casting a wider net while also
Speaker 2: keeping strict training standards in place, but what does it
Speaker 2: mean for our security and emergency services, especially in the
Speaker 2: long term?
Speaker 2: Let's speak now with Clara Belle Low. She's senior analyst
Speaker 2: for the Social cohesion Research Program at the S Rajaratnam
Speaker 2: School of International Studies at NTU. Clarabelle, good to have
Speaker 2: you on the show. Thanks very much for making the time. So,
Speaker 2: first of all, give us your reaction to the parliamentary announcement.
Speaker 2: Now they will form around 3% of our total auxiliary forces.
Speaker 2: Is it enough, you think, to meet the shortage?
Speaker 2: Uh, thank you so much for having me on the show.
Speaker 2: A very good morning. Um, uh, I think it's because
Speaker 2: it's a relatively new move, uh, we do have to
Speaker 2: kind of, uh, um, you know,
Speaker 2: Look at how, uh, uh, you know, Singaporeans are adapting
Speaker 2: to this, how the situation involves. Um, but, uh, in
Speaker 2: my view, uh, as our, our, our population continues to age,
Speaker 2: as we see a growing demand for these critical services,
Speaker 2: it is likely that, uh, the demand will continue to
Speaker 2: grow and we are likely to uh recruit more, uh,
Speaker 2: auxiliary police officers as well as, uh, you know, um, emergencies,
Speaker 2: medical um service officers, uh, from the region.
Speaker 2: Is the shortage of manpower solely due to the lack
Speaker 2: of locals choosing such vocations, Claib. Why aren't enough Singaporeans
Speaker 2: uh electing to serve in this sector and what will
Speaker 2: it take to inspire them to do so, you think?
Speaker 2: Um, yeah, I suppose a lot of it has to
Speaker 2: perhaps do with, uh, you know, the, the kind of
Speaker 2: challenging and stressful work environment. Um, so, and, and often,
Speaker 2: you know, all these, uh, these jobs, uh, deal with
Speaker 2: security and enhancing crisis, um, and, uh, these are jobs
Speaker 2: that Singaporeans might, uh, um, might not be so comfortable
Speaker 2: dealing with, uh, especially if, uh, salary packages are, are
Speaker 2: not as competitive, uh, and therefore, it's kind of difficult
Speaker 2: to regain Singaporean talent.
Speaker 2: Uh, so, I believe, uh, to kind of address this issue, we,
Speaker 2: we do require certain, uh, institutional, uh, changes and mindset
Speaker 2: changes as well. So, uh, perhaps, uh, salary packages, uh, and,
Speaker 2: and benefits could be reviewed, uh, from time to time, um,
Speaker 2: but also, uh, Singaporeans, um, in general might have to,
Speaker 2: you know, uh, consider their views on these roles and, and, uh,
Speaker 2: whether that uh fits, uh, their.
Speaker 2: Um, their, their view of what a good job or
Speaker 2: position would be. Absolutely, I think that's a very good
Speaker 2: point there, Clarabelle.
Speaker 2: I'm just wondering on the side as well, how important
Speaker 2: is it for locals to take on such roles? Do
Speaker 2: you think that having, and this applies not just to Singapore,
Speaker 2: but in any other country, do you think that the
Speaker 2: local uh citizens must, I I I guess I'm asking,
Speaker 2: is it a must? Is it important and significant that
Speaker 2: locals make up the workforce in these services?
Speaker 2: Uh, I think that, I think that there's several considerations. So, um,
Speaker 2: in the case, for example, of the auxiliary Police, uh,
Speaker 2: force and, and the SCDF, uh, right now, what we're
Speaker 2: seeing is that, uh, these, these roles that we are hiring, uh,
Speaker 2: foreign manpower for often, um, do not involve very critical, uh,
Speaker 2: security or confidentiality uh issues.
Speaker 2: Uh, so, and, and I, I, that's why I suppose, uh,
Speaker 2: parliament are making this move to, to kind of hire
Speaker 2: foreign manpower to meet, uh, the shortage in these areas. Uh,
Speaker 2: but I believe, for example, for our other uniform groups
Speaker 2: where there are uh other security and confidentiality issues to consider,
Speaker 2: then in these cases, uh, uh, it would be our interest, uh,
Speaker 2: to have key leadership decisions, uh, uh, being made by
Speaker 2: those who have a stake in the interest of the nation.
Speaker 2: We're just curious, uh, Clarabel, how does Singapore's approach compare
Speaker 2: to other countries in the region?
Speaker 2: Um,
Speaker 2: I think it, it really uh depends. Um, so, uh,
Speaker 2: Singapore is unique in the, in the, in the region, we,
Speaker 2: we are, we are small, uh, and we have a
Speaker 2: rapidly aging population. Um, so we, we have a different
Speaker 2: set of considerations from, from other countries in the region.
Speaker 2: But if we look at other small states, uh, uh,
Speaker 2: across the world, uh, so, for example, if we, if
Speaker 2: we look at the, uh, case of, um, the United
Speaker 2: Arab Emirates, uh,
Speaker 2: Um, their population, uh, it's a proportion of, um, 1
Speaker 2: MRT to 9 foreigners. Um, so, uh, even in the
Speaker 2: case of the Civil Defense Force, uh, uh, in recent years,
Speaker 2: they have allowed for, uh, expatriates to volunteer for the
Speaker 2: Civil Defense Force during emergency relief. Um, so,
Speaker 2: Uh, I would say that, um, it, it really depends on, on,
Speaker 2: on kind of like the, the demographic composition, uh, the
Speaker 2: cultural norms of the, the, uh, the country as well
Speaker 2: as the kind of like geopolitical considerations. Yeah, and I'm
Speaker 2: glad that you brought that up, Clarabelle, because our next
Speaker 2: question pertains to the long term implications of relying on
Speaker 2: foreign manpower in these critical sectors. What would be considered
Speaker 2: an over-reliance and
Speaker 2: What risks might that bring to the country?
Speaker 2: Um
Speaker 2: So I think there are, there are um several concerns
Speaker 2: that come up when we think about uh reliance on,
Speaker 2: on foreign manpower. I think in, in the minds of Singaporeans,
Speaker 2: for example, uh, uh, a key, a key concern is
Speaker 2: often whether uh foreigners are familiar with our cultural norms
Speaker 2: and sensitivities, um, uh, but to the ministry's credit, uh,
Speaker 2: as they launch, uh, these, um,
Speaker 2: As they kind of uh hire more uh foreign manpower,
Speaker 2: they have also launched initiatives and, and developed initiatives to
Speaker 2: address uh uh this, this, uh, concern. So, uh, auxiliary
Speaker 2: police officers, for example, are given briefings and tours to
Speaker 2: help them better appreciate the norms and, and laws of Singapore. Um,
Speaker 2: and of course, uh, there, there's, uh, the other consideration about, uh,
Speaker 2: you know, uh, the kind of leaking of possibility of
Speaker 2: leaking of critical confidential information, but, uh,
Speaker 2: I, I do believe, uh, because there's a gradation, um, so, uh.
Speaker 2: Critical positions would still, you know, be, be, uh, retained by,
Speaker 2: by Singaporeans. Um, so I think all in all it takes, uh,
Speaker 2: this move might need to, uh, might take a bit
Speaker 2: of getting used to, uh, and, and I believe that the, uh,
Speaker 2: the decision makers, um, uh, as they make these moves would,
Speaker 2: would consider, uh, all the, the issues that might occur, yeah.
Speaker 2: How likely do you think this would open up the
Speaker 2: door for other uniformed services to do the same?
Speaker 2: Um, I
Speaker 2: I do think as our population continues to age, uh,
Speaker 2: there is a possibility that uh the other uniform groups
Speaker 2: might have to follow, uh, but of course, uh, um, it, uh,
Speaker 2: Typically, I think we, as I mentioned earlier, because there
Speaker 2: are legitimate kind of security uh considerations as well. So
Speaker 2: it's likely that uh there would be additional kind of
Speaker 2: like requirements, uh, so to really be in certain positions,
Speaker 2: especially the leadership or key decision-making positions, you would have to, uh, have, um,
Speaker 2: citizenship or permanent residency, um, because that's when you have
Speaker 2: a stake in, in the interests of the nation. So,
Speaker 2: Um, yeah, it remains to be seen, I suppose, uh, as, uh,
Speaker 2: As the country continues to develop. Right. Could the private
Speaker 2: sector do more perhaps to support the SCDF in these
Speaker 2: emergency services, auxiliary police and should the government expand the
Speaker 2: private sector's, I suppose capabilities support the private sector perhaps
Speaker 2: uh to expand foreign hires rather than having the foreign
Speaker 2: hires directly under the government's purview. Does that question make
Speaker 2: sense to you?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it does. Uh, I, I think that's, uh, definitely, uh, uh,
Speaker 2: a possible means as well to, to address this gap. Uh,
Speaker 2: in the case of, um, emergency medical services, uh, this
Speaker 2: has been, uh, done, so, uh, we, we do see
Speaker 2: that there are private, uh,
Speaker 2: Uh, emergency medical services, um, you know, companies meeting this need, uh, in, in,
Speaker 2: in recent years to kind of cope with, uh, the
Speaker 2: significant increase in the number of emergency calls. Uh, so definitely,
Speaker 2: I think that's also, um, having the private sector kind
Speaker 2: of step in to, to meet this need is also
Speaker 2: a possibility, and I think that, uh, uh, could perhaps
Speaker 2: alleviate some of the uh security concerns that uh Singaporeans
Speaker 2: might have over such moves.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Uh, uh, as you said, this is something that
Speaker 2: is constantly developing and certainly an urgent matter for us
Speaker 2: to consider as well as we age, you're going to
Speaker 2: hear more emergency calls. You're gonna need it very similar
Speaker 2: to our healthcare industry, you're gonna need just more people
Speaker 2: to support this rapidly aging society. Once again, 1 in
Speaker 2: 4 people by the by the year 2030 is going
Speaker 2: to be aged above.
Speaker 2: 60. Uh, Clarabelle, uh, a timely reminder, uh, for that
Speaker 2: as well. Thank you so much for walking us through
Speaker 2: your thoughts, your analysis on the matter. Uh, we hope
Speaker 2: to speak with you again in the future. Thank you
Speaker 2: so much for having me. The pleasure. You too. The
Speaker 2: pleasure is all ours, Clarabelle. That's Clarabelle Lowe. She's a
Speaker 2: senior analyst for the Social cohesion Research Program at the
Speaker 2: Erajaratnam School of International Studies over at NTU.