Health Minister Ong Ye Kung is absolutely right to say that Singapore is too small a country to survive on its own, and needs to tap into global markets to earn a living and be self-reliant.

Past leaders have made good use of Singapore's geographical location to develop PSA to become the largest container transhipment port in the world.

Multinational corporations were encouraged to set up manufacturing facilities to provide jobs for our people.

All these were accomplished with the foresight, grit and determination of past generations of leaders and people.

The initial waves of foreign talents were from Malaysia, followed by the Chinese. As Malaysia and China develop their economy, Singapore is no longer that attractive to them.

With more high-quality jobs available, Singapore faces a shortage of labour. I view this as a good concern rather than an unpleasant one. Do we restrict the import of foreign talents and let companies shift their operations overseas? Would this not be a loss to Singapore?

Yes, the Government must strive to ensure job security for all Singaporeans.

But as a small country with 3.5 million Singapore citizens, the stark reality is that our talent pool is limited, no matter how hard we train.

The flow of foreign talents is never static. Singapore may no longer attract the talents we want as the global economy evolves and develops. Some countries are replicating our methods of attracting talents and are very successful.

I hope all political leaders face up to the reality of Singapore's limitations. We must ensure the livelihood of all Singaporeans, and we need real and hard solutions.

Foo Sing Kheng