Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong assured Singaporeans that the government will “redouble” its efforts to develop and support workers while keeping the economy open, reports Channel News Asia. Wong noted that in recent years, there has been ‘very ugly’ anti-foreigner sentiment surfacing in some quarters, with some arguing that Singapore wants to stay open ‘in principle’, but should ‘get rid of more foreigners’ to reclaim jobs for Singaporeans. But that thinking is ‘fatally flawed’ as those jobs will not automatically go to Singaporeans, he said. “On the contrary, if our policies become overly restrictive, global companies based here will simply find other places to operate in - places with larger markets or larger pools of expertise,” Wong said.

“For Singapore to continue to thrive, it must continue to attract the best companies and top talent to Singapore, while developing its people,” Wong added.