Singapore and its scholars who leave

Acidflask writes a thought provoking piece about why Singaporeans shouldn't harass and mock scholars who break their bonds if they want Singapore to grow ahead of other economies. From Acidflask:

Why would people want to get stuck with staid, stolid government careers when they think other people can offer them more challenging, more exciting, better-paid jobs? The proletariat classes have found job security to be based on nothing more than empty promises. Six years of indentured labor is not an asset, it is a fatal liability, a sign that they don’t trust their recipients to do the right thing. Is it any surprise that the recipients chafe under this paternalistic, supercilious arrogance?

The government agencies handing out scholarships have the power to tilt the balance. They set the rates, they set the agenda. They can make better deals than the ones that have served our country so well in the twentieth century. The government makes a big deal about maintaining Singapore’s competitiveness, and not being complacent. Yet it seems to turn its blind spot on its immense complacence regarding Singapore’s competitiveness in the top-echelon labor markets.