Passing a law

The laws and regulations that are passed are intended to tell people what is right and what is wrong, in law. They may deter most law abiding people, although there will be crooks that will continue to run foul of the law. The possibilities of these crooks should not discourage us from passing the laws.

Recently, I suggested that foreigners who intend to work in Singapore should be required to apply directly for a work pass and be responsible personally for the authenticity of the degrees that they submit. If the degrees are found to be faked, they can be sent to jail or be repatriated immediately.

Currently, the Ministry of Manpower require the employer to submit the papers, so the responsibility is not clear.

Someone replied that the requirement will not work. He quoted the death penalty for drug traffickers, which still does not deter some people from engaging in it.

This is an example of the type of thinking that is quite prevalent in Singapore. He expects the law to work in every case, if not, do not pass the law. I have described this as "thinking only in black and white".

We need to pass the law to make it clear that giving false information is an crime, that comes with severe penalties. We do not expect the law to stop all the abuses. Let the court decide on how to deal with the abuse, when a person is charged.