SBQ Is the foreign talent policy necessary?

You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources which you are told to use. In answering the questions you should use your knowledge of the topic to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 a. Study Source A.What is the message of the cartoon? Explain your answer. [5] b. Study sources B and C.The two sources disagree with one another. Does it mean that one of them is wrong? Explain your answer. [7] c. Study Source D.How helpful is the source in telling you whether the foreign talent policy is necessary? Explain your answer. [7] d. Study Source E.Why did the Minister Mentor make this speech? Explain your answer [6] BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you answer some of the questions. Modern Singapore has always had relied on immigrants to grow and prosper since its earliest days. Between 1970 and 1980, the size of the non-resident population in Singapore doubled. The trend continued in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1990s, the government started what have become known as the foreign talent policy. The policy aims to attract and retain foreigners with professional skills to work and stay in Singapore. Public debates on whether foreign talent is indeed necessary for Singapores continued success have intensified in the past decade. Read the following sources to find out whether the foreign talent policy is necessary. Source A A cartoon on the issue of the foreign talent policy in Singapore.

SBQ Is the foreign talent policy necessary?

Source B View expressed online by a Singaporean I totally disagree with this Foreign Talent policy. As a result of the so called foreign talents in Singapore, we have low salaries. If you dont do the work, then the job goes to foreign talents. Thus, we are pressured into accepting low salaries. Guess what. We got shoved into our throats that foreign talent are saving our jobs. What a joke! Having to accept low salary and now we even have to kowtow to them for saving our jobs. Source C View expressed by a Public Service Commission (PSC) Overseas Scholar Foreign talent is critical for Singapores economic growth. The issue then becomes not a question of whether we need foreign talent but rather a question of how we can facilitate the transfer of knowledge from foreign talents to Singaporeans. In the short term, foreign talent alleviates our problems of manpower shortage; in the long run, this transfer of knowledge can help Singapore to become more self-sufficient. * PSC Scholarship aims to attract and groom talent for the Singapore Civil Service by sponsoring scholars tertiary education Source D View from an Indian expatriate living in Singapore for the past 11 years It is no wonder that Singaporeans have been expressing their displeasure and they have every reason to do so. Their earnings have steadily diminished, competition has steadily risen, the cost of living has risen, they dont have a place to fall back on unlike us foreigners and they have a certain lifestyle to maintain. The Singapore governments foreign talent policy is a brave and proactive one. But unless the influx is accompanied by a proportional increase in the jobs, I am afraid the policy will do more harm than good and could seriously undermine the social harmony in Singapore. * expatriate a foreigner living and / or working in the country Source E Except from a speech by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at a National Day Dinner attended by 700 grassroots leaders and residents Without educated foreign residents, Singapore faces the threat of a declining economy with a shrinking labour force. Immigrants make up for the children Singaporeans are not having. To shut them out is to risk an unwelcome scenario similar to that confronting Japans greying population: They refuse to accept immigrants, so their economy is feeble and lacks vitality. However, the Government is very conscious of protecting your interests. The number of foreign residents would be carefully controlled to preserve the character and values of Singapore society.

SBQ Is the foreign talent policy necessary?

Suggested Answers 1a. Study Source A. What is the message of the cartoon? Explain your answer. [5] L3 Inference, supported by source content (4m) Either E.g. The message of the cartoon is that the foreign talent policy is beneficial to Singapores economic development (inference). This can be seen in the cartoon where the man who looks very pleased with the poster which he has just put up that says HDB Room for Rent is probably looking to rent his HDB room to rent his room to a foreigner. This is further confirmed by caption at the top reads How foreign talent can help Singaporeans reap economic benefits(evidence) which explains how the foreign talent policy contributes towards Singapores economy through the rent collect from foreign talents. OR E.g. The message is that Singaporeans are money-minded or self-interested when it comes to how the foreign talent policy can benefit them (nference). This is apparent in the cartoon where the caption at the top reads How foreign talent can help Singaporeans reap economic benefits but the man is only concerned about how he can rent his HDB flat to the foreigners. This is seen in his action of putting up the poster which he has just put up that says HDB Room for Rent (evidence). Better Answer L5 Overall message of cartoon, taking into account the issue and / or contextual knowledge (5m) (Is the foreign talent policy necessary?) E.g. The main message of the cartoon is to question the benefits or necessity of the foreign talent policy through humour. (main message). In the cartoon, the caption at the top reads How foreign talent can help Singaporeans reap economic benefits while the man depicted looks very pleased with the poster which he has just put up that says HDB Room for Rent. He is probably looking to rent his HDB room to a foreigner but the benefits envisaged by the government are probably about boosting the manpower supply / population or the economy (evidence). E.g. The main message is that while it appears that the foreign talent policy is beneficial to some Singaporeans, but the benefit portrayed in the cartoon would hardly be the type of benefits from the foreign talent policy envisaged by the government (main message). In the cartoon, the man who looks very pleased with the poster which he has just put up that says HDB Room for Rent is probably looking to rent his HDB room to rent his room to a foreigner but this is only possible for those who can do so. There is no mention of other benefits to Singaporeans such as boosting the manpower supply / population or the economy(evidence).

SBQ Is the foreign talent policy necessary?

1b. Study sources B and C.The two sources disagree with one another. Does it mean that one of them is wrong? Explain your answer. (7) E.g. Source E agrees with Source C that the foreign talent policy is necessary (supports or disagrees). This is apparent in Source E where it is stated that Without educated foreign residents, Singapore faces the threat of a declining economy and Immigrants make up for the children Singaporeans are not having (evidence). These two sentences imply that Singapore needs to welcome foreign talents to boost its economy and the birth rate (explanation). Source E, in supporting Source C that foreign talent is necessary (supports or disagrees), has showed Source C is right and therefore that Source B is likely to be wrong as Source B states that foreign talent is not necessary (stand). E.g. Source D proves that Source C is more likely to be wrong (stand) as it contradicts Source C (supports or disagrees). Source C states that foreign talent policy is necessary but Source D is of the opinion that the policy is more harm than good (explanation) as its states that the policy will do more harm than good and could seriously undermine the social harmony in Singapore (evidence), which suggests that the author thinks that the policy is not necessary (explanation). Better Answer Answers based on bias / tone E.g. Source C is more likely to be wrong in stating that the foreign talent policy is critical to Singapore (stand). This is due to the questionable motive of the author, who is a scholar (author). As a government scholar, she would be aware that her words and actions would be monitored by the PSC and would have an impact on her scholarship (context). And since the foreign talent policy is one promoted by the government, she would very likely be stating only the positive reasons for having the policy, as opposed to Source B, which points out that the policy has the undesirable consequence of resulting in low salaries for Singaporeans (bias). Therefore, Source C is more likely to be wrong due to the questionable motive of the author (stand). E.g. Source B, in stating that it disagrees with the foreign talent policy is more likely to be wrong (stand) because the tone used by the author shows exaggeration and even frustration, which suggests a sort of bias (bias from tone used). For example, the author uses phrases such as Guess what and What a joke! which shows his frustration and others such as shoved into our throats and kowtow which shows the exaggeration in his language. Source C on the other hand, uses a neutral tone throughout, which makes it more believable (evidences). Therefore, Source B is more likely to be wrong due to the exaggerated tone used (stand).

Study Source D.How helpful is the source in telling you whether the foreign talent policy is necessary? Explain your answer. E.g. Source D seems more helpful in telling me (stand) about the foreign talent policy being unnecessary (issue) when we cross-refer it with Source B (state source cross-referred to). Source B states that Singaporeans are pressured into accepting low salaries due to the presence of foreign talent (evidence with explanation). This supports what Source D suggests about the foreign talent

SBQ Is the foreign talent policy necessary?

policy being unnecessary (state whether sources agrees or disagree). Hence, Source D is more useful upon cross-reference with Source B (stand). Not so helpful E.g. However, Source D might not be that helpful in telling me (stand) about the foreign talent policy being unnecessary (issue) when we cross-refer it with sources A / C / E (source cross-referred to). Source A / C / E states that the foreign talent policy is necessary as - How foreign talent can help Singaporeans reap economic benefits (evidence from Source A) - Foreign talent is critical for Singapores economic growth (evidence from Source C) - Without educated foreign residents, Singapore faces the threat of a declining economy with a shrinking labour force (evidence from Source E) Thus Source A / C / E disagrees with Source D about the foreign talent policy being unnecessary (state whether sources agrees or disagree). Hence, Source D becomes less useful upon crossreference with sources A / C / E (stand). L5 Both aspects of L4 Useful AND not so useful, based on cross-reference 6m Better answer L5 + Explains balanced view of author (7m) E.g. Source D is rather helpful in telling me about the foreign talent policy being unnecessary (stand) because the author is an Indian expatriate (author) who is speaking out against the very policy which has allowed him to come to Singapore in the first place (context). He also presents a balanced view when acknowledges the foreign policy being brave and proactive but he still thinks that the cost could outweighs the gains (explanation through balanced view). Hence, the source is rather useful (stand). 1d.Study Source E. Why did the Minister Mentor make this speech? Explain your answer.[6] L3 Message, supported Award up to 5m for additional inferences of the message 4 5m E.g. The Minister Mentor made this speech because he wanted to explain the necessity of the foreign talent policy (message). He does so by explaining that Without educated foreign residents, Singapore faces the threat of a declining economy with a shrinking labour force (evidence from source content).

SBQ Is the foreign talent policy necessary?

E.g. It is also possible that the Minister Mentor made this speech because he wanted to explain that government will still look after the interests of citizens first despite the necessity of the foreign talent policy (message). He does so by explaining that the Government is very conscious of protecting your interests. The number of foreign residents would be carefully controlled to preserve the character and values of Singapore society (evidence from source content). L4 Purpose based on both provenance and message 6m E.g. The main message of the speech by the Minister Mentor is that the foreign talent policy is necessary although citizens interests still came first (message). Considering that the speech was made by an important member of the government (author) to grassroots leaders and residents who are mostly locals (intended audience) and it was made during National Day Dinner which is a celebratory event (context), his purpose could either be to justify the governments foreign talent policy and reassure them that they will not be disadvantaged by the policy (purpose).