Singapore begins hiring foreigners as auxiliary cops

the Philippines, India, and China. And it's not just Security, the SCDF is also bringing in foreign paramedics for its emergency medical services um this month in order to meet surging demand. Now, with manpower shortages constantly growing here in Singapore, we are casting a wider net while also keeping strict training standards in place, but what does it mean for our security and emergency services, especially in the long term?

Let's speak now with Clara Belle Low. She's senior analyst for the Social cohesion Research Program at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at NTU. Clarabelle, good to have you on the show. Thanks very much for making the time. So, first of all, give us your reaction to the parliamentary announcement. Now they will form around 3% of our total auxiliary forces. Is it enough, you think, to meet the shortage? Uh, thank you so much for having me on the show.

A very good morning. Um, uh, I think it's because it's a relatively new move, uh, we do have to kind of, uh, um, you know, Look at how, uh, uh, you know, Singaporeans are adapting

to this, how the situation involves. Um, but, uh, in my view, uh, as our, our, our population continues to age, as we see a growing demand for these critical services, it is likely that, uh, the demand will continue to grow and we are likely to uh recruit more, uh, auxiliary police officers as well as, uh, you know, um, emergencies, medical um service officers, uh, from the region. Is the shortage of manpower solely due to the lack

of locals choosing such vocations, Claib. Why aren't enough Singaporeans uh electing to serve in this sector and what will it take to inspire them to do so, you think? Um, yeah, I suppose a lot of it has to perhaps do with, uh, you know, the, the kind of

challenging and stressful work environment. Um, so, and, and often, you know, all these, uh, these jobs, uh, deal with security and enhancing crisis, um, and, uh, these are jobs that Singaporeans might, uh, um, might not be so comfortable dealing with, uh, especially if, uh, salary packages are, are not as competitive, uh, and therefore, it's kind of difficult to regain Singaporean talent.

Uh, so, I believe, uh, to kind of address this issue, we, we do require certain, uh, institutional, uh, changes and mindset changes as well. So, uh, perhaps, uh, salary packages, uh, and, and benefits could be reviewed, uh, from time to time, um, but also, uh, Singaporeans, um, in general might have to, you know, uh, consider their views on these roles and, and, uh, whether that uh fits, uh, their. Um, their, their view of what a good job or

position would be. Absolutely, I think that's a very good point there, Clarabelle. I'm just wondering on the side as well, how important is it for locals to take on such roles? Do you think that having, and this applies not just to Singapore, but in any other country, do you think that the local uh citizens must, I I I guess I'm asking, is it a must? Is it important and significant that locals make up the workforce in these services?

Uh, I think that, I think that there's several considerations. So, um, in the case, for example, of the auxiliary Police, uh, force and, and the SCDF, uh, right now, what we're seeing is that, uh, these, these roles that we are hiring, uh, foreign manpower for often, um, do not involve very critical, uh, security or confidentiality uh issues. Uh, so, and, and I, I, that's why I suppose, uh, parliament are making this move to, to kind of hire

foreign manpower to meet, uh, the shortage in these areas. Uh, but I believe, for example, for our other uniform groups where there are uh other security and confidentiality issues to consider, then in these cases, uh, uh, it would be our interest, uh, to have key leadership decisions, uh, uh, being made by those who have a stake in the interest of the nation. We're just curious, uh, Clarabel, how does Singapore's approach compare to other countries in the region? Um,

I think it, it really uh depends. Um, so, uh, Singapore is unique in the, in the, in the region, we, we are, we are small, uh, and we have a rapidly aging population. Um, so we, we have a different set of considerations from, from other countries in the region. But if we look at other small states, uh, uh, across the world, uh, so, for example, if we, if we look at the, uh, case of, um, the United Arab Emirates, uh, Um, their population, uh, it's a proportion of, um, 1

MRT to 9 foreigners. Um, so, uh, even in the case of the Civil Defense Force, uh, uh, in recent years, they have allowed for, uh, expatriates to volunteer for the Civil Defense Force during emergency relief. Um, so, Uh, I would say that, um, it, it really depends on, on, on kind of like the, the demographic composition, uh, the cultural norms of the, the, uh, the country as well

as the kind of like geopolitical considerations. Yeah, and I'm glad that you brought that up, Clarabelle, because our next question pertains to the long term implications of relying on foreign manpower in these critical sectors. What would be considered an over-reliance and What risks might that bring to the country? Um So I think there are, there are um several concerns that come up when we think about uh reliance on,

on foreign manpower. I think in, in the minds of Singaporeans, for example, uh, uh, a key, a key concern is often whether uh foreigners are familiar with our cultural norms and sensitivities, um, uh, but to the ministry's credit, uh, as they launch, uh, these, um, As they kind of uh hire more uh foreign manpower, they have also launched initiatives and, and developed initiatives to

address uh uh this, this, uh, concern. So, uh, auxiliary police officers, for example, are given briefings and tours to help them better appreciate the norms and, and laws of Singapore. Um, and of course, uh, there, there's, uh, the other consideration about, uh, you know, uh, the kind of leaking of possibility of leaking of critical confidential information, but, uh, I, I do believe, uh, because there's a gradation, um, so, uh. Critical positions would still, you know, be, be, uh, retained by,

by Singaporeans. Um, so I think all in all it takes, uh, this move might need to, uh, might take a bit of getting used to, uh, and, and I believe that the, uh, the decision makers, um, uh, as they make these moves would, would consider, uh, all the, the issues that might occur, yeah. How likely do you think this would open up the door for other uniformed services to do the same?

Um, I I do think as our population continues to age, uh, there is a possibility that uh the other uniform groups might have to follow, uh, but of course, uh, um, it, uh, Typically, I think we, as I mentioned earlier, because there

are legitimate kind of security uh considerations as well. So it's likely that uh there would be additional kind of like requirements, uh, so to really be in certain positions, especially the leadership or key decision-making positions, you would have to, uh, have, um, citizenship or permanent residency, um, because that's when you have a stake in, in the interests of the nation. So, Um, yeah, it remains to be seen, I suppose, uh, as, uh,

As the country continues to develop. Right. Could the private sector do more perhaps to support the SCDF in these emergency services, auxiliary police and should the government expand the private sector's, I suppose capabilities support the private sector perhaps uh to expand foreign hires rather than having the foreign hires directly under the government's purview. Does that question make sense to you? Yeah, yeah, it does. Uh, I, I think that's, uh, definitely, uh, uh,

a possible means as well to, to address this gap. Uh, in the case of, um, emergency medical services, uh, this has been, uh, done, so, uh, we, we do see that there are private, uh, Uh, emergency medical services, um, you know, companies meeting this need, uh, in, in, in recent years to kind of cope with, uh, the

significant increase in the number of emergency calls. Uh, so definitely, I think that's also, um, having the private sector kind of step in to, to meet this need is also a possibility, and I think that, uh, uh, could perhaps alleviate some of the uh security concerns that uh Singaporeans might have over such moves. Absolutely. Uh, uh, as you said, this is something that is constantly developing and certainly an urgent matter for us to consider as well as we age, you're going to

hear more emergency calls. You're gonna need it very similar to our healthcare industry, you're gonna need just more people to support this rapidly aging society. Once again, 1 in 4 people by the by the year 2030 is going to be aged above. 60. Uh, Clarabelle, uh, a timely reminder, uh, for that as well. Thank you so much for walking us through your thoughts, your analysis on the matter. Uh, we hope to speak with you again in the future. Thank you so much for having me. The pleasure. You too. The

pleasure is all ours, Clarabelle. That's Clarabelle Lowe. She's a senior analyst for the Social cohesion Research Program at the Erajaratnam School of International Studies over at NTU.