Will influx of immigrants affect our sense of rootedness?
Mon, Oct 20, 2008
AsiaOne
ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE
(FIRST SESSION)
_________________
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
Assoc Prof Kalyani K Mehta: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in view of the need for a rooted local populace in Singapore, whether the future immigration policies will be tightened since our recent population statistics reveal that citizens comprise only 65% of the total population.
Mr Wong Kan Seng: As of June 2008, Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) account for 75% of our total population, with Citizens making up 65%. The balance, our non-resident population, comprises transient foreigners working, studying and living in Singapore.
By far, foreign manpower accounts for the largest proportion of our non-resident population. These are foreigners who are here on a transient basis to take up jobs in sectors which our local manpower is not able to fill. The size of our foreign workforce is not fixed. It depends on the state of our economy, and also on other global factors.
Over the last few years, there has been a strong demand for manpower in sectors such as construction and marine. Hence, the size of our foreign workforce has increased. Without them, our industries would have been handicapped and we would not have been able to achieve robust levels of growth. Overall, our flexible foreign workforce policies have enabled us to maintain a critical competitive edge over competing economies by allowing companies to expand their workforce quickly to capitalise on opportunities, at the same time creating more and better jobs for our citizens.
To survive and prosper as a nation, we need to maintain a core group of Singaporeans committed to our long term future. The main challenge is our low fertility rate. Over the last decade, we have introduced measures to encourage Singaporeans to get married and have children. These measures have helped to facilitate a more pro-family environment, but despite this, we do not expect our total fertility rate to reach the replacement rate of 2.1.
Our resident population and workforce would decline rapidly if we close our doors to immigrants or substantially reduce inflows. This would have serious repercussions on our ability to maintain our standard of living. Encouraging immigration is therefore a key strategy which we must continue to pursue. Beyond population imperatives, immigrants inject new ideas and dynamism into society. Many countries, such as the United States and Australia, have benefited greatly from having absorbed a diverse group of immigrants. Singapore itself is an immigrant society and we would not be where we are today if not for the contributions of our immigrants over the years.
In today’s globalised world, human capital is extremely mobile, particularly the talented and driven. Our current economic and social conditions make us an attractive immigration destination for many nationalities around the world. It is important that we leverage on our strengths and continue to attract talented people to settle here, as we drive towards building a knowledge economy. To restrict the number of foreign talents who are prepared to immigrate would be counter-productive and not in our long term interests.
At the same time, we recognize that some Singaporeans may feel threatened by the number of immigrants that Singapore is absorbing. This is a natural human response. However, Singaporeans should be assured that this Government will always consider the interests of Singaporeans first. This is reflected in the way our policies are crafted, from healthcare and housing to education and other social policies. While we welcome immigrants to our shores, our own people are always closest to our hearts. We will ensure that there remains a sizeable group of Singaporeans which will form the core of our society - people who are here for the long haul, who will stand fast in times of difficulty, but who will also be first to enjoy the fruits of our success.
Mon, Oct 20, 2008
AsiaOne
ELEVENTH PARLIAMENT OF SINGAPORE
(FIRST SESSION)
_________________
QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
Assoc Prof Kalyani K Mehta: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs in view of the need for a rooted local populace in Singapore, whether the future immigration policies will be tightened since our recent population statistics reveal that citizens comprise only 65% of the total population.
Mr Wong Kan Seng: As of June 2008, Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) account for 75% of our total population, with Citizens making up 65%. The balance, our non-resident population, comprises transient foreigners working, studying and living in Singapore.
By far, foreign manpower accounts for the largest proportion of our non-resident population. These are foreigners who are here on a transient basis to take up jobs in sectors which our local manpower is not able to fill. The size of our foreign workforce is not fixed. It depends on the state of our economy, and also on other global factors.
Over the last few years, there has been a strong demand for manpower in sectors such as construction and marine. Hence, the size of our foreign workforce has increased. Without them, our industries would have been handicapped and we would not have been able to achieve robust levels of growth. Overall, our flexible foreign workforce policies have enabled us to maintain a critical competitive edge over competing economies by allowing companies to expand their workforce quickly to capitalise on opportunities, at the same time creating more and better jobs for our citizens.
To survive and prosper as a nation, we need to maintain a core group of Singaporeans committed to our long term future. The main challenge is our low fertility rate. Over the last decade, we have introduced measures to encourage Singaporeans to get married and have children. These measures have helped to facilitate a more pro-family environment, but despite this, we do not expect our total fertility rate to reach the replacement rate of 2.1.
Our resident population and workforce would decline rapidly if we close our doors to immigrants or substantially reduce inflows. This would have serious repercussions on our ability to maintain our standard of living. Encouraging immigration is therefore a key strategy which we must continue to pursue. Beyond population imperatives, immigrants inject new ideas and dynamism into society. Many countries, such as the United States and Australia, have benefited greatly from having absorbed a diverse group of immigrants. Singapore itself is an immigrant society and we would not be where we are today if not for the contributions of our immigrants over the years.
In today’s globalised world, human capital is extremely mobile, particularly the talented and driven. Our current economic and social conditions make us an attractive immigration destination for many nationalities around the world. It is important that we leverage on our strengths and continue to attract talented people to settle here, as we drive towards building a knowledge economy. To restrict the number of foreign talents who are prepared to immigrate would be counter-productive and not in our long term interests.
At the same time, we recognize that some Singaporeans may feel threatened by the number of immigrants that Singapore is absorbing. This is a natural human response. However, Singaporeans should be assured that this Government will always consider the interests of Singaporeans first. This is reflected in the way our policies are crafted, from healthcare and housing to education and other social policies. While we welcome immigrants to our shores, our own people are always closest to our hearts. We will ensure that there remains a sizeable group of Singaporeans which will form the core of our society - people who are here for the long haul, who will stand fast in times of difficulty, but who will also be first to enjoy the fruits of our success.
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