- Joined
- Jul 15, 2008
- Messages
- 15,744
- Points
- 83
Speech by Mr Inderjit Singh,
MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC
On the White Paper on Population
Madam Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate on the White Paper
on Population.
While the report has some compelling arguments for the 6.9m population figure
projected, we all know it is based mainly on economic considerations. Had we
focused on things like building a cohesive nation with a strong national
identity, the outcome would likely be very different.
I feel the time has come for us to find a better balance between economic growth
and social cohesion and yes there will have to be tradeoffs of economic growth
but I would rather trade some of these for a cohesive, united nation where
people feel taken care of at home and are confident of their future. I am not
saying we go for low or no growth. Instead I am willing to adjust my growth
expectations for a more comfortable life for all Singaporeans. I am confident
we will still be able to pursue respectable economic growth when companies and
Singaporeans are faced with a situation of tightened labour availability by
focusing on improving ourselves through productivity and higher value
capabilities. Finland and other small nations have done, we can do it too.
Our past decade of rapid population growth has already created too many problems
which need to be solved first before we take the next step. I call on the
government to take a breather for five years, solve all the problems created by
the past policies of rapid economic and population growth. We can safely say
that we have failed to achieve the goal set by the then Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong, of a Swiss standard of living for most Singaporeans, except for the
higher income Singaporeans including foreigners who just recently decided to
make Singapore their home. So I call for a breather in this quest of growing
the population and focus on improving the lives of Singaporeans and achieve
that promised Swiss Standard of living for most Singaporeans first before we
plan our next growth trajectory.
Taking Care of the Singaporean Core
I have a big issue with the number of PRs and new citizens we are planning to
add to our population. I don’t see the necessity to be as aggressive when the
key consideration of the population growth is the economy. We have already
added too many new citizens and PRs and need time for integration and social
cohesion to happen. Looking at history, our population grew from around 2.4m in
1980 to 3m in 1990 and then to 4m in 2000, reaching 5.3m last year. Just
looking at the resident population alone, we grew the numbers from 2.3m in 1980
to 2.7m in 1990, 3.3m in the year 2000 and then to 3.8m last year. So in the
last decade we added more than 1m to the resident population, and the in last
25 years, which is close to 1 generation of Singaporeans, we have added another
close to 50% more to our resident population. I believe this must be the
fastest rate of population growth in the world and I feel this is just too much
for us to comfortably go back and build a national identity and social cohesion
which was progressing very well till the 1990s. Adding another 500,000 to
800,000 more PRs and citizens as proposed by the white paper will be disastrous
and add to our already difficult infrastructure and social problems.
If it is economic growth we want then let’s just adopt the Dubai model of a
transient workforce which will give us a lot more flexibility to manage numbers
in the longer term. On PRs, today we already have too many of them and they are
enjoying full citizen privileges without the citizens’ responsibilities. For
example;
Far too many PR boys who skip NS when they turn 18. After enjoying the
privileges they have a choice of not doing NS and then leave the country. I
believe only around 30% of all PR boys do NS today. Well, our Singapore sons
don’t have a choice but to do NS, it is an offense not to do it.
PR children study at their International system schools sticking to their home
cultures.
PRs can buy HDB flats from the open market driving prices of HDB flats too
high.
So I urge the government to reduce the number of projected new PRs and citizens
just to the population replacement levels and be more selective and
differentiate their privileges from citizens. I have a few suggestions for the
government to consider;
• The government in the past couple of years has tried to draw the distinction
between PRs and citizens by increasing school fees and healthcare fees for
them. But I wonder would it not have been better to instead partially subsidize
these same fees for Singapore citizens? So do it the other way round, reduce
fees for Singaporeans not just increase for PRs.
• PR children must be made do national service – it should no longer be a choice
and we should make it an offence if they don’t do it. We should not grant PRs
to families who don’t commit their sons to National Service.
• HDB – if a PR buys a HDB flat from the open market, charge a levy of say $50k
and allow them to sell only to Singaporeans. If the PR takes up citizenship
within 5 years, we can refund the levy.
• Children of PRs should be made to study in our national schools so that we
increase the chance of integrating them at the next generation.
• On the employment front, it is time we implement a Singaporean first hiring
policy like what is done in some developed countries like Canada. Companies
should show proof first that they were not able to fill a position with a
Singaporean before they are allowed to hire a foreigner.
• Reconsider the dependents policy – I have come across a number of cases where
our targeted one child from China brings in 2 parents who then bring 2 parents
each as their dependents – Net is that we gain one young one child who we
brought in for our future but also inherited 6 older people – making our ageing
population issue worse not better.
I feel the differentiated privileges will separate the genuine ones from those
who are here for a ride. We should grant PRs to those who are most likely going
to take up citizenships so these differentiated privileges should not stifle
our plans to attract quality PRs and new citizens.
This brings me to the point of how many Singaporeans are feeling about the
presence of such huge numbers of new citizens, PRs and foreigners amongst our
midst. First for housing – there is no doubt that the influx of foreigners in
Singapore has driven up our property prices. PRs are buying HDB flats from the
open market which drives up prices.
Just last week I had a dialogue session with my private estates residents and
one of my residents complained that a new citizens recently bought a landed
property in this old estate and was building a 3 and a half storey towering
house. Well the, new citizen, the owner of the house was also present and when,
I spoke with him during the tea session I found out that he was a new citizen
formerly from China, just gained his citizenship and bought not 1 but 3 landed
properties in Kebun Baru alone. I was surprised and saddened because many
Singaporeans cannot afford to do the same, and this new citizen, no matter how
he may have made his wealth is able to do so.
Many young Singaporeans I talk to, especially those who have recently graduated
and have just entered the workforce feel demoralized because many of the things
that they grew up aspiring to have are now beyond their reach. Our aggressive
growth strategies, which allowed cheaper foreign workers, including
professionals to easily gain employment passes degraded or depressed wage
levels of many Singaporeans, not just the lower income Singaporeans. I remember
when I started work in 1985, my salary was $1900 as an entry level engineer.
After a few years I could afford a house and a car. Today, 28 years later, an
entry level engineer in Singapore earns $2600, just $700 more than what I
earned when I started. The mathematics is very simple, the cost of living did
not just go up by 1.3% per annum the last 27 years and even more, the cost of
owning a HDB flat is did not just go up by 37% since 1985.
Finally, I am perturbed by the banquet analogy used by Minister Khaw. We are
talking about lives of Singaporeans. Our banquet guests come for one night and
leave when the function is over. There is no turning back when we grant PR and
citizenships. We must be more exact about the numbers we want to add to the
Singapore population and not plan on a basis of ‘hoping we hit some number”.
Because if overdo things and end up with a population of more than 7m, it may
be too late to stop the fast moving train of population growth when we fire up
all the engines of growing the population. We missed the mark the last 10
years, and are already paying a high price for that mistake.
In my speech in this house in 2008 during the committee of supply debate on the
population I urged the government to abandon the “the instant tree mentality”
in trying to grow the population in response to the declining birth rates. At
that time, I did not agree with the rate of growth pursued and we know the
consequences and the hardship Singaporeans faced as a result of the rapid
growth, Instant trees cannot grow strong roots and can be uprooted in difficult
times. I once again urge the government to slow down and plan on reaching their
population target over a longer time horizon. I don’t think we can live with a
6.9m population in 2030. We may be able to handle it in 2050, no one really
knows. Please abandon this ‘instant tree” mentality as we cannot afford to make
Singaporeans lives more difficult as a result. I rather we err on the side of
caution when it comes to growing our population. We cannot keep paying a high
price for planning misjudgements.
In Conclusion, I would like to see us take a breather from re-growing our
population again. We have too many problems as a result of the last breath
taking population growth rate. As a government we need to rebuild the trust and
confidence among Singaporeans that our citizens matter most to us and that we
are willing take a break from our relentless drive for growth to solve their
problems, make their lives more comfortable, give them a better quality of life
and show them that any future growth of population will not create similar
social and cost of living problems. At this stage many Singaporeans from all
walks of life don’t have the confidence that we can handle another steep growth
of the population, so let’s not push it. I would like all of us, including the
government to spend the time creating and environment that gives us confidence
in our future and one where our young can see a sense of hope of opportunity
and if we fail to instil a sense of hope and opportunity for our future
generations, we will not be able to root them here and build a strong national
identity and a strong nation. This is what building a strong Singapore core
should entail. So let’s delay all plans for further population growth for now.
MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC
On the White Paper on Population
Madam Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the debate on the White Paper
on Population.
While the report has some compelling arguments for the 6.9m population figure
projected, we all know it is based mainly on economic considerations. Had we
focused on things like building a cohesive nation with a strong national
identity, the outcome would likely be very different.
I feel the time has come for us to find a better balance between economic growth
and social cohesion and yes there will have to be tradeoffs of economic growth
but I would rather trade some of these for a cohesive, united nation where
people feel taken care of at home and are confident of their future. I am not
saying we go for low or no growth. Instead I am willing to adjust my growth
expectations for a more comfortable life for all Singaporeans. I am confident
we will still be able to pursue respectable economic growth when companies and
Singaporeans are faced with a situation of tightened labour availability by
focusing on improving ourselves through productivity and higher value
capabilities. Finland and other small nations have done, we can do it too.
Our past decade of rapid population growth has already created too many problems
which need to be solved first before we take the next step. I call on the
government to take a breather for five years, solve all the problems created by
the past policies of rapid economic and population growth. We can safely say
that we have failed to achieve the goal set by the then Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong, of a Swiss standard of living for most Singaporeans, except for the
higher income Singaporeans including foreigners who just recently decided to
make Singapore their home. So I call for a breather in this quest of growing
the population and focus on improving the lives of Singaporeans and achieve
that promised Swiss Standard of living for most Singaporeans first before we
plan our next growth trajectory.
Taking Care of the Singaporean Core
I have a big issue with the number of PRs and new citizens we are planning to
add to our population. I don’t see the necessity to be as aggressive when the
key consideration of the population growth is the economy. We have already
added too many new citizens and PRs and need time for integration and social
cohesion to happen. Looking at history, our population grew from around 2.4m in
1980 to 3m in 1990 and then to 4m in 2000, reaching 5.3m last year. Just
looking at the resident population alone, we grew the numbers from 2.3m in 1980
to 2.7m in 1990, 3.3m in the year 2000 and then to 3.8m last year. So in the
last decade we added more than 1m to the resident population, and the in last
25 years, which is close to 1 generation of Singaporeans, we have added another
close to 50% more to our resident population. I believe this must be the
fastest rate of population growth in the world and I feel this is just too much
for us to comfortably go back and build a national identity and social cohesion
which was progressing very well till the 1990s. Adding another 500,000 to
800,000 more PRs and citizens as proposed by the white paper will be disastrous
and add to our already difficult infrastructure and social problems.
If it is economic growth we want then let’s just adopt the Dubai model of a
transient workforce which will give us a lot more flexibility to manage numbers
in the longer term. On PRs, today we already have too many of them and they are
enjoying full citizen privileges without the citizens’ responsibilities. For
example;
Far too many PR boys who skip NS when they turn 18. After enjoying the
privileges they have a choice of not doing NS and then leave the country. I
believe only around 30% of all PR boys do NS today. Well, our Singapore sons
don’t have a choice but to do NS, it is an offense not to do it.
PR children study at their International system schools sticking to their home
cultures.
PRs can buy HDB flats from the open market driving prices of HDB flats too
high.
So I urge the government to reduce the number of projected new PRs and citizens
just to the population replacement levels and be more selective and
differentiate their privileges from citizens. I have a few suggestions for the
government to consider;
• The government in the past couple of years has tried to draw the distinction
between PRs and citizens by increasing school fees and healthcare fees for
them. But I wonder would it not have been better to instead partially subsidize
these same fees for Singapore citizens? So do it the other way round, reduce
fees for Singaporeans not just increase for PRs.
• PR children must be made do national service – it should no longer be a choice
and we should make it an offence if they don’t do it. We should not grant PRs
to families who don’t commit their sons to National Service.
• HDB – if a PR buys a HDB flat from the open market, charge a levy of say $50k
and allow them to sell only to Singaporeans. If the PR takes up citizenship
within 5 years, we can refund the levy.
• Children of PRs should be made to study in our national schools so that we
increase the chance of integrating them at the next generation.
• On the employment front, it is time we implement a Singaporean first hiring
policy like what is done in some developed countries like Canada. Companies
should show proof first that they were not able to fill a position with a
Singaporean before they are allowed to hire a foreigner.
• Reconsider the dependents policy – I have come across a number of cases where
our targeted one child from China brings in 2 parents who then bring 2 parents
each as their dependents – Net is that we gain one young one child who we
brought in for our future but also inherited 6 older people – making our ageing
population issue worse not better.
I feel the differentiated privileges will separate the genuine ones from those
who are here for a ride. We should grant PRs to those who are most likely going
to take up citizenships so these differentiated privileges should not stifle
our plans to attract quality PRs and new citizens.
This brings me to the point of how many Singaporeans are feeling about the
presence of such huge numbers of new citizens, PRs and foreigners amongst our
midst. First for housing – there is no doubt that the influx of foreigners in
Singapore has driven up our property prices. PRs are buying HDB flats from the
open market which drives up prices.
Just last week I had a dialogue session with my private estates residents and
one of my residents complained that a new citizens recently bought a landed
property in this old estate and was building a 3 and a half storey towering
house. Well the, new citizen, the owner of the house was also present and when,
I spoke with him during the tea session I found out that he was a new citizen
formerly from China, just gained his citizenship and bought not 1 but 3 landed
properties in Kebun Baru alone. I was surprised and saddened because many
Singaporeans cannot afford to do the same, and this new citizen, no matter how
he may have made his wealth is able to do so.
Many young Singaporeans I talk to, especially those who have recently graduated
and have just entered the workforce feel demoralized because many of the things
that they grew up aspiring to have are now beyond their reach. Our aggressive
growth strategies, which allowed cheaper foreign workers, including
professionals to easily gain employment passes degraded or depressed wage
levels of many Singaporeans, not just the lower income Singaporeans. I remember
when I started work in 1985, my salary was $1900 as an entry level engineer.
After a few years I could afford a house and a car. Today, 28 years later, an
entry level engineer in Singapore earns $2600, just $700 more than what I
earned when I started. The mathematics is very simple, the cost of living did
not just go up by 1.3% per annum the last 27 years and even more, the cost of
owning a HDB flat is did not just go up by 37% since 1985.
Finally, I am perturbed by the banquet analogy used by Minister Khaw. We are
talking about lives of Singaporeans. Our banquet guests come for one night and
leave when the function is over. There is no turning back when we grant PR and
citizenships. We must be more exact about the numbers we want to add to the
Singapore population and not plan on a basis of ‘hoping we hit some number”.
Because if overdo things and end up with a population of more than 7m, it may
be too late to stop the fast moving train of population growth when we fire up
all the engines of growing the population. We missed the mark the last 10
years, and are already paying a high price for that mistake.
In my speech in this house in 2008 during the committee of supply debate on the
population I urged the government to abandon the “the instant tree mentality”
in trying to grow the population in response to the declining birth rates. At
that time, I did not agree with the rate of growth pursued and we know the
consequences and the hardship Singaporeans faced as a result of the rapid
growth, Instant trees cannot grow strong roots and can be uprooted in difficult
times. I once again urge the government to slow down and plan on reaching their
population target over a longer time horizon. I don’t think we can live with a
6.9m population in 2030. We may be able to handle it in 2050, no one really
knows. Please abandon this ‘instant tree” mentality as we cannot afford to make
Singaporeans lives more difficult as a result. I rather we err on the side of
caution when it comes to growing our population. We cannot keep paying a high
price for planning misjudgements.
In Conclusion, I would like to see us take a breather from re-growing our
population again. We have too many problems as a result of the last breath
taking population growth rate. As a government we need to rebuild the trust and
confidence among Singaporeans that our citizens matter most to us and that we
are willing take a break from our relentless drive for growth to solve their
problems, make their lives more comfortable, give them a better quality of life
and show them that any future growth of population will not create similar
social and cost of living problems. At this stage many Singaporeans from all
walks of life don’t have the confidence that we can handle another steep growth
of the population, so let’s not push it. I would like all of us, including the
government to spend the time creating and environment that gives us confidence
in our future and one where our young can see a sense of hope of opportunity
and if we fail to instil a sense of hope and opportunity for our future
generations, we will not be able to root them here and build a strong national
identity and a strong nation. This is what building a strong Singapore core
should entail. So let’s delay all plans for further population growth for now.
