Don't worry about tiny Singapore. We're doing okay with our
foreign talent policy, much better in many areas than many countries, not just in badminton and other sports where they contributed to putting Singapore's name in the international sports map, including the Olympics. And because of our interest, even China's most famous sports company, Li Ning, made its first overseas venture to Singapore and sponsored our national badminton team and an international tournament at year-end. Li Ning can be considered a
foreign talented company and we are very happy with their contribution.
We are so overwhelmed by our
foreign talents' contributions of sports success and how it positively influenced our own local talents and sports loving people that we have taken the rare and bold road to bid for and won the right to host the inaugural
Youth Olympic Games next August, 2010. We just reminded ourselves yesterday of such a rare opportunity by having a big party at the City Hall and the Padang with Omega as sponsors of the YOG digital clock to tell the time and number of days remaining to the actual historic date.
Many people from neighbouring countries have joined us to make a contribution to Singapore's success and we welcome their participation. They do make a difference!
Well this is unlike one country which restricted the contributions of even its own citizens and talents because they are not from the dominant race.
And I can see our foreign talent policy is getting better by the day. The best thing is that some of these foreign talents eventually become Singapore citizens like all pioneers of Singapore who came from
foreign shores - China, India, Indonesia, Middle East, even Malaysia and others. It was real nice to see the new citizens taking the
Singapore Pledge and singing the National Anthem during our just concluded and most eventful 44th National Day Parade celebrations at the Marina Bay floating platform. They will help Singapore make up the numbers "
to build a democratic society based on justice and equality".
Some people have
double standards. They criticise Singapore for its foreign imports yet they readily import
foreign coaches to strengthen their sports prowess lest they should decline into oblivion! For this WC they even set an unprecedented standard by sending its WR1 to receive extra coaching by a rival country's coach to try to justify his world #1 ranking. But this move has backfired and the pitiful player crumbled at the crucial moment and was knocked out as early as the QF by none other than an INA player, whose own coach was unfortunately poached by his opponent's country. What a wonderful revenge for
Sony Dwi Kuncoro for having his own coach
Hendrawan taken away from him recently.
What
hypocritical talk about Singapore's foreign talent policy, hah!

We don't boast that our players will take the WC titles. We have no crystal balls. But we just try our best to give both foreign and local talents a chance to develop to their full potential within the limits of our own resources. And the higher standards of the foreign talents have rubbed off to our locals as local standards have generally gone up. A case in point is
Derek Wong's R2 match against
Simon Santoso in this WC which he lost in three games 13-31, 21-19, 16-21. Derek, whose WR was nowhere, was able to take a game off Simon and this is certainly an achievement. Compare his score with JPN's much higher-ranked
Kenichi Tago who lost to Simon in straight games of 10-21, 12-21 in R3. This is despite Derek's limited exposure and inactivity as I believe he had to do time with National (military) Service earlier.
So please stop being a
hypocrite Datuk, oh it should be Dato instead!

