SINGAPORE: A Reddit user has recounted a recent encounter with Manpower Minister Tan See Leng during a People’s Action Party (PAP) election walkabout at Keat Hong Shopping Centre, where he raised concerns about the growing presence of foreigners in Singapore’s engineering sector.
In a post published on Sunday (27 April), the user, 30, said the conversation occurred over breakfast, where he asked Tan about the “ever-pressing issue” of foreigners in the field.
Tan reportedly gave a short reply, stating that few Singaporeans are entering engineering, and invited him to follow up via email.
“I Feel Like a Minority at Work”
The user then publicly shared the text of the email he had sent to Tan, in which he introduced himself as a former Republic of Singapore Navy regular who served seven years as an Electrical Control Systems Engineer.
He now works in the private sector on extra-high-voltage systems like Gas Insulated Switchgears (GIS) and Transformers, with Singapore Power Grid as the main client.
He expressed concern over the lack of local representation in his workplace. Of the 14 staff in his department, only four are Singaporeans—two of whom are first-generation citizens.
“While I understand and accept that once someone becomes a Singaporean citizen, they are one of us, I cannot help but feel like a minority at work,” he wrote, adding that even among subcontractors, foreigners outnumber locals.
He also described a sense of being undervalued as a Singaporean employee.
He cited a troubling remark from his Head of Department: “I am going to hire someone from China and show you how hardworking they are compared to Singaporeans.”
He said the same supervisor, a first-generation Singaporean, frequently dismissed the significance of National Service and praised systems in China, comparing them favourably to Singapore’s.
Concerns Over PR Policy
The user also questioned the intent behind Singapore’s Permanent Residency (PR) system.
He highlighted a colleague who holds PR status yet lives outside of Singapore and owns multiple properties and luxury cars in Malaysia—all by age 32.
“What does it really mean to be a Singapore PR?” he asked, contrasting that situation with his Malaysian-born mother, who spent her adult life contributing to Singapore as a worker and parent.
He felt it was unfair that individuals with little visible commitment are granted PR status, while genuine contributors like his mother were overlooked.
“Where Did Policy Lapse?”
In response to Tan’s suggestion that Singaporeans are turning away from engineering careers, the user argued that earlier generations of locals were successfully trained by foreign firms from Germany and Japan, eventually running operations themselves.
He viewed the influx of foreign workers from the 2010s as a turning point, noting it led to wage suppression and an unhealthy work culture that fostered comparisons between local and foreign employees.
He reflected on how Electrical & Electronic Engineering used to be one of the most popular courses at Singapore Polytechnic, filled with Singaporean students.
“What happened along the way?” he asked. “Where did policy lapse that made Singaporeans feel that working in engineering was no longer rewarding?”
A Plea for Change
In closing, the user expressed deep disillusionment.
“To be honest, I feel small as a Singaporean,” he wrote. “Everywhere I go, I hear Chinese and Indian accents more than local voices.”
He ended with a call for policy reform: “Singaporeans First. Right now, many of us feel like second-class citizens in our own country. I sincerely hope for positive change in the coming years.”
According to data from the Ministry of Manpower, there were 456,800 work permit holders in the construction, marine shipyard, and process (CMP) sectors as of December 2024 — part of a total foreign workforce of 1.58 million.
Tan Responds
In an update to his original Reddit post, the user noted that Tan had responded to the email he sent following their brief exchange at the election walkabout.
However, the user dismissed the reply as unhelpful, saying it “basically answered nothing.”
In his email, Tan addressed several of the user’s concerns.
He clarified that for Employment Pass (EP) holders working in PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) roles, the COMPASS framework is used to assess applications.
“If your company has over-concentrations [of foreign workers], please let us know and we will investigate,” Tan wrote.
In his earlier comment, Tan clarified that he did not mean that there were few Singaporeans interested in engineering.
“I said that there are more engineers looking beyond engineering as a career—not that there are few Singaporeans wanting to be engineers.”
He added that given the varied nature of engineering, it is not feasible to fill all roles with locals alone.
Regarding the user’s allegation about his Head of Department’s discriminatory remarks, Tan encouraged him to provide more details so that MOM could investigate the matter.
Tan also cautioned against framing the debate in terms of locally born versus foreign-born Singaporeans.
“We should not second guess all intentions. Many PRs are also married to Singaporeans and we should not have a binary view of an ‘us versus them’ mentality,” he wrote.
He concluded by reaffirming the importance of openness in Singapore’s economy.
“As a small country without natural resources, human resource is our only resource. We have been able to punch above our weight because we are an open and connected economy.”
He added that he would be happy to discuss further and assist the user in navigating schemes available to citizens.
Tan See Leng: Foreign Workers Still Vital for Economic Survival
Tan had previously addressed Singapore’s reliance on foreign workers during a radio interview in January 2025.
He argued that the country’s small population and limited resources made foreign investment and talent essential for job creation.
Tan explained that multinational companies (MNCs) help build networks of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which generate jobs for locals.
Without this ecosystem, he warned, the tax burden would increasingly fall on a shrinking pool of local-born citizens, especially as the population ages and birth rates remain low.
He noted that the ratio of adult residents supporting one elderly person had dropped from six to 3.5 in the past decade, but improves to five with foreign workers included.
To address public concerns, Tan highlighted safeguards such as the net increase of 380,000 PMET jobs for residents between 2013 and 2023, compared to just 38,000 new EP and S Pass holders.
He also pointed to policy tools like the COMPASS framework, the Fair Consideration Framework, and new workplace fairness legislation expected to take effect by 2026 or 2027.
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