By Leslie Tan, Colin Tung, Lim Yong Teck, Jasmine Goh

MCCY Minister Lawrence Wong

Minister Lawrence Wong at the launch of the Para-Canoeing development programme with Nuriyah Sim Liwan, 11, who suffers from dyspraxia, a disorder affecting motor coordination. The duo paired up for a 2km paddle during the event in August 2014. (Photo courtesy of MCCY)

Lawrence Wong, 41, was elected to the Singapore Parliament at the 2011 general election. A member of the governing People’s Action Party (PAP), he is currently the Minister, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Second Minister, Ministry of Communications and Information.

Mr Wong studied at Haig Boys’ School, Tanjong Katong Secondary Technical School (the school was renamed Tanjong Katong Secondary School in 1993) and Victoria Junior College, before going on to the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 1993. He subsequently obtained a Master of Arts degree in Economics at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, and also a Master of Public Administration degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In an exclusive interview with Red Sports, he talks about National Service, foreign sports talent, the S.League, the Sports Hub, sports funding, ActiveSG, sports trends, and his personal best times for running.

Leslie Tan, Red Sports: The welcome and the response to Aleksandar Duric is very positive. Tao Li too, as an athlete, has found a place in people’s hearts. So I think, on the issue of foreign talent, it’s nuanced. The table tennis players, we have seen from 2008, have attracted a lot of vitriol. The negativity with that case has continued unabated since ’08. The issue of players like that, coming to Singapore, in return for a passport as part of a package, will we continue to do that or are we going to say, ‘That kind of situation, let’s cast it aside?’

Minister Wong: As far as I’m concerned, I will not support any athlete coming in to get citizenship just because of him saying, ‘I want to play’, or because ‘I’m a good player and, so, give me a citizenship on that basis’.

My criteria for granting citizenship to somebody who is foreign-born is not just about the person’s sporting talent but, ultimately, it hinges on that person wanting to be a Singaporean, prepared to take up the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, and being prepared to adapt to our norms, and integrate into our society. So that must be the case.

On that basis, we keep an open mind, we continue to welcome people to come to our shores as we have done so in the past and should continue to do so in the future.

We have been a nation of immigrants, our first generation of sportsmen and women, many of them were foreign-born. Tan Howe Liang was born in China and, so, we continue to keep that approach, but we should have that very clear understanding of why we bring in a foreign athlete and have strict criteria for it.

Leslie Tan: Tao Li came here to study at a young age. I doubt she was thinking of a passport.

Minister Wong: They may not necessarily come in at a very young age. They can come in, are professional athletes and really want to play but, as I said, the criteria is not just about your talent in sports. It’s really about your heart for Singapore.

Leslie Tan: Which also could be quite subjective, hard to assess.

Minister Wong: Of course. It’s subjective, clearly. But it’s not impossible to make some assessments or set some criteria to make sure that whoever that person is, he or she makes the effort to integrate and adapt to our norms and convinces us that they they’re making that effort before we grant citizenship.

Leslie Tan: Aleksandar Duric – he didn’t get citizenship at the first time of asking. He had to ask two times and then the third time, someone at ICA (Immigration and Checkpoints Authority) had read his story and said, ‘Come on in for an interview’, and that’s how he eventually got the citizenship.

Minister Wong: Duric’s case is a good example – it’s not necessarily the case that you have to come in young. You can be like Duric, a professional, wants to play, and then eventually says he wants to play for Singapore and then we will assess.

It’s not perfect, and I accept that. It’s not easy too. But we will place a lot of emphasis on this part on what is the motivation of the person and how they’re making an effort to integrate and adapt into Singapore’s society before we grant the citizenship.

On National Service and sporting heroes – an interview with Lawrence Wong (Part 1)

On S. League and racial lines in sports – an interview with Lawrence Wong (Part 3)

Singaporeans will have access to a sporting facility within 10 minutes of their home” – an interview with Lawrence Wong (Part 4)

“So that’s one thing that ActiveSG hopes to address: programmes that you can participate in and sports that you can enjoy” – an interview with Lawrence Wong (Part 5)