Singapore PM values IIT-IIM alumni as talented pool

SINGAPORE: Singapore has one of the biggest pools of talented graduates from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said, as he praised the contributions of foreign talents in the country’s progress.

The prime minister highlighted the quality of IIT-IIM alumni as he underscored the need for Singapore to continue bringing in foreign talent to meet manpower demands.

The IITs and the IIMs are the top institutions in India and securing a place in them is comparable to getting into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University or Harvard University, Prime Minister Lee told Channel News Asia in a wide-ranging interview before stepping down as head of the government on May 15.

The professionals from there (IIT-IIM Alumni) have formed associations in Singapore and hold functions from time to time. “If I can get such a pool, come here and work here, it is a tremendous plus for us,” he said.

Citing the community of workers from India here now, Lee said Singaporeans notice their influx as the numbers are “not small.”

However, they are talented individuals and are very valuable to Singapore, and “we should welcome them as we manage the flow.”

Singapore scouts talent globally and countries like China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other Southeast Asian nations, especially neighbouring Malaysia, are the main sources.

Lee also pointed out that those arriving from abroad will have to be properly integrated into the city-state’s multi-racial society.

In the interview, he said that managing the “inherent tensions” between wanting social cohesion and bringing in immigrants is the “most difficult” issue he has had to deal with.

Lee addressed the topic in the exhaustive interview taking stock of his 20-year tenure as prime minister, ahead of his handover to his deputy Lawrence Wong next Wednesday.

“Making people feel comfortable and not feel threatened or having social tensions build up, that is something which is going to be very difficult to manage because we do not have a lot of manoeuvring room on the downside. You cannot say I (will) send off all the foreign workers, and then tomorrow we will be okay.”

Singapore needs talent to stand out in the world, he said. “And you can never have enough talent.”

If I can get such a pool, come here and work here, it is a tremendous plus for us

—Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore PM