http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/20/sim-ann-on-fts-we-always-put-sgs-front-and-centre/
[h=2]Sim Ann on FTs: We always put SGs front and centre[/h]
August 20th, 2015 |
Author: Editorial
Ms Sim Ann
Yesterday (18 Aug), representatives from 9 opposition parties and PAP were
invited by the National University of Singapore Society to participate in a
political dialogue, which was attended by some 450 people.
Sim Ann, Minister of State for Ministry of Education & Ministry of
Communications and Information, represented PAP.
The participants spent about two-and-a-half-hours debating various topics
with immigration being the major issue at the dialogue. Several opposition party
members flagged the government’s 6.9 million Population White Paper, to much
applause from the audience.
SingFirst secretary-general Tan Jee Say said that topics which had surfaced
in the last GE, such as transport, housing, hospitals and foreign workers, were
linked by a common issue – the “massive” influx of foreign workers.
“That problem remains. You may say that the Prime Minister is moderating the
growth. But growth there is. It is only a tactical withdrawal of this foreign
policy. Employers are unhappy but they live with it, the election is coming.
Once this election is over, and the economy doesn’t slow down drastically, the
supply of foreign workers will continue to increase,” Mr Tan warned.
“And that is the political agenda of the government, of the PAP. They have
not forgotten the Population White Paper. They are still talking of 6.9 million
[people] by 2030. And they will do it. They will go all out to achieve it
because there is a political agenda behind all these population issues.
Politically, new citizens tend to vote for the Government of the day.”
Sim Ann: It doesn’t make sense for the government to import FTs for
political allegiance
In response, Ms Sim said it did not make sense for the government to try and
import foreigners simply for political allegiance.
“If you look at the numbers, it doesn’t work out at all. It doesn’t work out
at all. Singaporeans – born and bred Singaporeans – remain the majority of the
electorate. And if we are not doing all these things for the betterment of
Singaporeans … what are we doing it for?” she said.
=> New citizen swing votes will easily help the FAP in 50:50 situation lah! Mai act blur lah! Using foreigners to marginalize own citizens = HIGH TREASON!
But with the government planning to give citizenship to between 15,000 and
25,000 foreigners each year [Link],
this will work out to be 75,000 to 125,000 in 5 years. Taking an average of
100,000 new citizens per GE cycle, that’s about 4% out of the current 2.5
million voters [Link].
Ms Sim did not disclose that when the percentage of votes between PAP and the
oppositions is similar, say, 50-50, 4% becomes critical.
Ms Sim also said that she joined the then-National Population Secretariat in
the middle of 2009. “By the end of 2009, we had already begun to reduce the
number of new PRs and new citizens, as well as begun the tightening of foreign
manpower very, very significantly.”
And she emphasised that a 6.9-million population has never been a target.
Ms Sim then brought up Lee Kuan Yew in her arguments, “I know with my heart
that this is a Government that has staked everything on serving Singaporeans. We
have just seen off Mr Lee Kuan Yew a few months ago and I think many of us have
gone back and reviewed the journey that he has brought us on ever since 1965
when we were forced to become independent. And we have to find our own way in
life. This Government has always put Singaporeans front and centre.”
With respect to Ms Sim’s claim that the government has already reduced the
number of new PRs, new citizens and tightened foreign manpower “very, very
significantly”, readers can decide for themselves about what Ms Sim has said
with the following statistics from DOS:
Whether the 6.9 million population is a target or not, this was what the
Population White Paper, published by the National Population and Talent Division
(NPTD) under the Prime Minister’s Office, said [Link]:
“By 2030, Singapore’s total population could range between 6.5 and 6.9
million. There is a wider band of uncertainty, and the actual population will
again depend on factors such as our fertility trends and life expectancy, the
global and regional environment, our economic structure and social needs. The
resident population (comprising citizens and PRs) is projected to be 4.2 to 4.4
million, of which citizens alone will make up 3.6 to 3.8
million.”
People’s Power Party chief Goh Meng Seng also described population as the
“mother of all problems for Singaporeans”.
Mr Goh asked, “Did they (foreign labour) contribute to Medishield Life, CPF
Life? No. What do they contribute to? Workers’ levy. And who benefited? GLCs
(Government-linked companies), MNCs (multinational corporations), but the
elderly aren’t benefiting. That is the key problem of the whole structure.”
Ms Sim responded, “Mr Goh Meng Seng talked about the ’mother of all
problems’. I don’t quite like to use that term because I think that if you want
to look at the sources of our worries – I think that’s a better term – what we
are being faced with is the fact that none of us is getting any younger. We are
a very rapidly ageing population.”
“Like many East Asian societies, we do have a very worrying long-term trend
of fertility rates. So the question then is how do we continue the kind of
economic activity that’s going to support a lot of the services and amenities
that Singaporeans have come to enjoy and expect, and in fact hope to see more
of,” she added.
[h=2]Sim Ann on FTs: We always put SGs front and centre[/h]
August 20th, 2015 |
Author: Editorial
Ms Sim Ann
Yesterday (18 Aug), representatives from 9 opposition parties and PAP were
invited by the National University of Singapore Society to participate in a
political dialogue, which was attended by some 450 people.
Sim Ann, Minister of State for Ministry of Education & Ministry of
Communications and Information, represented PAP.
The participants spent about two-and-a-half-hours debating various topics
with immigration being the major issue at the dialogue. Several opposition party
members flagged the government’s 6.9 million Population White Paper, to much
applause from the audience.
SingFirst secretary-general Tan Jee Say said that topics which had surfaced
in the last GE, such as transport, housing, hospitals and foreign workers, were
linked by a common issue – the “massive” influx of foreign workers.
“That problem remains. You may say that the Prime Minister is moderating the
growth. But growth there is. It is only a tactical withdrawal of this foreign
policy. Employers are unhappy but they live with it, the election is coming.
Once this election is over, and the economy doesn’t slow down drastically, the
supply of foreign workers will continue to increase,” Mr Tan warned.
“And that is the political agenda of the government, of the PAP. They have
not forgotten the Population White Paper. They are still talking of 6.9 million
[people] by 2030. And they will do it. They will go all out to achieve it
because there is a political agenda behind all these population issues.
Politically, new citizens tend to vote for the Government of the day.”
Sim Ann: It doesn’t make sense for the government to import FTs for
political allegiance
In response, Ms Sim said it did not make sense for the government to try and
import foreigners simply for political allegiance.
“If you look at the numbers, it doesn’t work out at all. It doesn’t work out
at all. Singaporeans – born and bred Singaporeans – remain the majority of the
electorate. And if we are not doing all these things for the betterment of
Singaporeans … what are we doing it for?” she said.
=> New citizen swing votes will easily help the FAP in 50:50 situation lah! Mai act blur lah! Using foreigners to marginalize own citizens = HIGH TREASON!
But with the government planning to give citizenship to between 15,000 and
25,000 foreigners each year [Link],
this will work out to be 75,000 to 125,000 in 5 years. Taking an average of
100,000 new citizens per GE cycle, that’s about 4% out of the current 2.5
million voters [Link].
Ms Sim did not disclose that when the percentage of votes between PAP and the
oppositions is similar, say, 50-50, 4% becomes critical.
Ms Sim also said that she joined the then-National Population Secretariat in
the middle of 2009. “By the end of 2009, we had already begun to reduce the
number of new PRs and new citizens, as well as begun the tightening of foreign
manpower very, very significantly.”
And she emphasised that a 6.9-million population has never been a target.
Ms Sim then brought up Lee Kuan Yew in her arguments, “I know with my heart
that this is a Government that has staked everything on serving Singaporeans. We
have just seen off Mr Lee Kuan Yew a few months ago and I think many of us have
gone back and reviewed the journey that he has brought us on ever since 1965
when we were forced to become independent. And we have to find our own way in
life. This Government has always put Singaporeans front and centre.”
With respect to Ms Sim’s claim that the government has already reduced the
number of new PRs, new citizens and tightened foreign manpower “very, very
significantly”, readers can decide for themselves about what Ms Sim has said
with the following statistics from DOS:
| (figures at mid-year from DOS) | SG | PR | FT | (PR+FT) | Total SG Pop | % of (PR+FT) in pop | Inc in no. of Foreigner |
| 2004 | 3,057,100 | 356,200 | 753,400 | 1,109,600 | 4,166,700 | 26.6% | |
| 2005 | 3,081,000 | 386,800 | 798,000 | 1,184,800 | 4,265,800 | 27.8% | 75,200 |
| 2006 | 3,107,900 | 418,000 | 875,500 | 1,293,500 | 4,401,400 | 29.4% | 108,700 |
| 2007 | 3,133,800 | 449,200 | 1,005,500 | 1,454,700 | 4,588,500 | 31.7% | 161,200 |
| 2008 | 3,164,400 | 478,200 | 1,196,700 | 1,674,900 | 4,839,300 | 34.6% | 220,200 |
| 2009 | 3,200,700 | 533,200 | 1,253,700 | 1,786,900 | 4,987,600 | 35.8% | 112,000 |
| 2010 | 3,230,700 | 541,000 | 1,305,000 | 1,846,000 | 5,076,700 | 36.4% | 59,100 |
| 2011 | 3,257,200 | 532,000 | 1,394,400 | 1,926,400 | 5,183,600 | 37.2% | 80,400 |
| 2012 | 3,285,100 | 533,100 | 1,494,200 | 2,027,300 | 5,312,400 | 38.2% | 100,900 |
| 2013 | 3,313,500 | 531,200 | 1,554,400 | 2,085,600 | 5,399,100 | 38.6% | 58,300 |
| 2014 | 3,343,000 | 527,700 | 1,599,000 | 2,126,700 | 5,469,700 | 38.9% | 41,100 |
Whether the 6.9 million population is a target or not, this was what the
Population White Paper, published by the National Population and Talent Division
(NPTD) under the Prime Minister’s Office, said [Link]:
“By 2030, Singapore’s total population could range between 6.5 and 6.9
million. There is a wider band of uncertainty, and the actual population will
again depend on factors such as our fertility trends and life expectancy, the
global and regional environment, our economic structure and social needs. The
resident population (comprising citizens and PRs) is projected to be 4.2 to 4.4
million, of which citizens alone will make up 3.6 to 3.8
million.”
“mother of all problems for Singaporeans”.
Mr Goh asked, “Did they (foreign labour) contribute to Medishield Life, CPF
Life? No. What do they contribute to? Workers’ levy. And who benefited? GLCs
(Government-linked companies), MNCs (multinational corporations), but the
elderly aren’t benefiting. That is the key problem of the whole structure.”
Ms Sim responded, “Mr Goh Meng Seng talked about the ’mother of all
problems’. I don’t quite like to use that term because I think that if you want
to look at the sources of our worries – I think that’s a better term – what we
are being faced with is the fact that none of us is getting any younger. We are
a very rapidly ageing population.”
“Like many East Asian societies, we do have a very worrying long-term trend
of fertility rates. So the question then is how do we continue the kind of
economic activity that’s going to support a lot of the services and amenities
that Singaporeans have come to enjoy and expect, and in fact hope to see more
of,” she added.
