S'pore can't ease up on foreign worker limits, says PM Lee

By Maryam Mokhtar, The Straits Times, 8 May 2014

SOME bosses of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have had to turn away business or rope in family members to help, as they deal with the curbs on foreign worker inflow and the lack of locals for hire.

But the Government cannot ease up on the limits, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, even as he acknowledged the tight situation and calls for a loosening of the limits.

"We have to manage the inflow, we have to manage what we can accommodate in Singapore," he said yesterday at a conference attended by about 400 Malay/Muslim entrepreneurs and delegates from Singapore and the region.

Singapore has been tightening the foreign worker tap for a few years to help ease the strain on infrastructure.

The measures, PM Lee said, have caused pain to all SMEs, not just Malay/Muslim businesses, whose plight was highlighted last week in a Berita Harian article on their difficulty in hiring Singaporeans with the right attitude and skill sets.

But he pledged to help SMEs lift their productivity and make jobs more attractive to locals.

For instance, a new SME talent programme, started last year, will see the Government paying the course fees of talented polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education students.

It will also work with SMEs to give the students jobs and sign-on bonuses after graduation.

The Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI), which organised yesterday's event, will partner trade associations and Mendaki to promote the programme by matching the relevant Malay/Muslim SMEs with the suitable talents.

Meanwhile, the Government is doing its utmost to raise SMEs' productivity, said Mr Lee.

For instance, the Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme gives companies tax deductions for investing in equipment that boosts productivity.

The twin thrusts of hiring better workers and raising productivity will put SMEs in a stronger position to venture overseas, Mr Lee added.

Government grants which offset upfront costs of market research and setting up overseas businesses are available.

One overseas option he highlighted is Johor's Iskandar zone.

"You can take advantage of lower costs there, you can take advantage of more space there... and at the same time stay close to Singapore," he said.

Mr Mohd Fazuly Mohd Yunos, a participant at the conference, has set his sights farther afield.

The managing director of a construction engineering company did a recce trip to the Middle East last year.

"Since there is support for us and demand for services in the Middle East, I intend to expand into that region after more planning," the 40-year-old said.

More Malay Muslim firms going overseas
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 8 May 2014

MORE Malay Muslim businesses are venturing overseas, even as they are crimped by constraints at home such as high rent and labour costs, a new survey shows.

The survey, conducted by the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI) and DP Information Group, found that 36 per cent of the companies surveyed have revenue sources abroad.

This is up from 15 per cent in a similar survey done in 2007.

Among those with ventures abroad, a third are generating the bulk of their revenue overseas, the latest survey showed.

Conducted in the first quarter, the survey polled about 500 companies in the Malay Muslim business community. The results were disclosed to about 400 participants at yesterday's Malay Muslim Business Conference, held at Orchard Hotel.

High rental and labour costs, domestic competition, and a labour shortage were major business concerns, the poll showed.

Of the respondents who have not used the slew of government funding schemes available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), one-third said they did not know how to apply.

Another 22 per cent said they were unable to meet the qualifying criteria for these schemes.

The popular Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme, for instance, requires companies to have a minimum of three local employees in order to qualify for a cash payout. Small businesses unable to meet that criteria need extra help, said SMCCI president Zahidi Abdul Rahman. He added that the chamber is working with government agencies to look into aid for micro-SMEs.

Malay Muslim businesses are increasingly looking outside the community - and beyond Singapore - to grow, said Mr Zahidi.

While a few more years are needed to reach a "critical mass" of companies venturing abroad, "more important than keeping costs down is the opportunity to be in a market that is much bigger than Singapore's", he added.

Ms Samsiah Suliman, managing director of satay manufacturer Jumain Sataysfaction, said the firm is looking into Asean markets such as Myanmar. It already has a presence in Macau, Hong Kong and the Middle East, including in Dubai, Oman and Abu Dhabi.

"In the past, products from Singapore were perceived as more expensive... Now as Asean markets become more open, we are exploring the possibilities," said Ms Samsiah, who added that all of the company's products are manufactured in Singapore.

She was one of the speakers at yesterday's conference, which also featured other prominent members of the Malay Muslim business community such as fashion designer Ashley Isham, chief executive of Cathay Organisation Suhaimi Rafdi, and wedding boutique owner Fatimah Mohsin.

Good business but not enough hands
By Maryam Mokhtar, The Straits Times, 8 May 2014

SIX days a week and for more than 12 hours a day, Madam Siti Rodziah Pauzan is cook, cashier and even cleaner at the food stall she runs in a Yishun coffee shop.

She is on her feet from 6am, when the stall opens for breakfast, to about 9pm, with hardly a moment's rest as she dishes out nasi padang, mee rebus, satay and curry puffs at different times of the day.

She has four workers on shift but the work requires more hands, said the 49-year-old, who has been running the Mak Itam food stall for two years.

The curbs on foreign workers, however, have dashed her hopes of getting any quick relief. "It's not easy to hire Singaporeans to work at a coffee shop. The young ones think it's not glamorous and the older workers want to do only part-time, not full-time."

Madam Siti's labour woes were echoed by many Malays in business yesterday. She was among 400 people from Singapore and the region attending a conference on how to grow their business.

The labour crunch was cited as an obstacle to growth but it did not hold back Madam Siti.

Three months ago, she opened a second stall to serve workers at the Changi Airfreight Centre. She roped in her 27-year-old daughter Nor Syaza who, with two workers, runs the 24-hour stall.

Business is brisk but the work is daunting. "My daughter, the eldest of five children, works from 10 in the morning to 2am every day. It's very tiring work."

Her technician husband helps with grocery shopping and some relatives lend a hand when she has to cater for events.

With seven Singaporean workers, she hopes to succeed in her application to employ at least one foreign worker.

"If we could get full-time foreign workers, it would be less tiring," she said.

But despite the long hours, Madam Siti is determined to keep her businesses going.

"When it's your own business, you have to stay passionate and struggle first before you succeed. It's never been easy but I'm so used to the hours now, I think I'd feel uneasy if I had less work to do," she said with a laugh.