THERE is no running away from it.

Whether Singapore chooses to have more or fewer foreign workers, there is a price to pay, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

With more of them, growth is faster but there is the social impact of their presence. On the other hand, fewer of them will reduce this impact but it will mean slower growth.

Flexible policies on immigrants give us an edge

By Tessa Wong

RESTRICTING the number of talented foreigners prepared to come here would be counter-productive and not in Singapore's long-term interests, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said.

In reaffirming the Government's pro-immigration stand, he reminded Nominated MP Kalyani K. Mehta that in today's globalised world, human capital was extremely mobile.

'Our current economic and social conditions make us an attractive immigration destination for many nationalities around the world,' he said in a written response yesterday.

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