Political analysts say the decline suggests recent government remedies may have assuaged some anger.
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-347067/
Singapore Immigration Protest Fizzles
A protest against Singapore's immigration policies drew its smallest crowd at a weekend demonstration since starting this year, suggesting momentum for what had been one of the city-state's largest shows of public dissent is fizzling out.
By Chun Han Wong
A protest against Singapore’s immigration policies drew its smallest crowd at a weekend demonstration since starting this year, suggesting momentum for what had been one of the city-state’s largest shows of public dissent is fizzling out.
Saturday’s protest, the third organized by unemployment counselor Gilbert Goh, drew at its peak about 500 people who cheered half a dozen speakers who criticized government plans to keep importing foreigners—a contentious policy in a country where workers hired from overseas already make up a third of the labor force.
The turnout at Hong Lim Park—the only place in Singapore where demonstrations are allowed—paled in comparison with two previous demonstrations which each drew more than 3,000 people. Political analysts say the decline suggests recent government remedies may have assuaged some anger.
The two earlier protests, in February and May, were among the biggest seen in tightly regulated Singapore where the ruling People’s Action Party has seen its parliamentary dominance eroded in recent years partly as a result of past policies that boosted the number of foreign residents here.
“Maybe Singaporeans forget and forgive easily,” Mr. Goh wrote on his Facebook page after the event. “Perhaps the government has provided enough sweeteners to soften the impact of the policy and it has pacified many people out there.”
“Some have also commented the movement has gone xenophobic and some do not want to go on a hate campaign against foreigners living in our midst,” said the 51-year-old activist who denies allegations of xenophobia.
Mr. Goh said Saturday’s event is his last public protest against the PAP platform—endorsed by lawmakers in February—that mandates authorities to prepare policies and infrastructure for Singapore’s 5.4 million population to grow to as large as 6.9 million by 2030, an increase of up to 28%, to mitigate low birthrates and an aging society.
Announced in January the policy has stirred debate because it means Singaporeans could form little more than half the population on an island already described by citizens as overcrowded. It also prompting concerns over the dilution of national identity and a fraying social fabric.
Singapore, with land area of just 714 square kilometers (276 square miles), has used liberal immigration policies to bring in much of the skills and muscle that helped fuel its rapid economic growth over the past decade—boosting its population by 34% since 2000. As of June close to 39% of Singapore’s population were foreign-born permanent or temporary residents—compared with 26% in 2000, government data show.
While the influx of foreign labor—now numbering 1.3 million, or a third of the total workforce—has helped cement the country’s status among the world’s wealthiest nations many citizens blamed immigration for soaring home prices, infrastructure failings and a widening gap between rich and poor. The PAP, which has held power since 1959, has seen its public support hurt by the issue—losing two by-elections since its vote share fell to a low in the 2011 general election.
Policy makers responded by trying to strike a balance between keeping Singapore a top destination for foreign investors and new immigrants and containing antiforeigner sentiment.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other government leaders have defended the population plan assuring citizens the government will protect their welfare and saying the 6.9 million figure wasn’t a target but a “worst-case scenario” to be used for infrastructure planning. The government also tightened immigration controls including raising financial barriers for foreign workers seeking entry and handing citizens more benefits in areas like education and health care.
The Manpower Ministry announced last month new rules—to be implemented in stages next year—that will require most employers to consider citizens for skilled-labor openings before recruiting from overseas.
While public anxiety remains over immigration pressures, recent policy interventions “have gone some distance in reassuring Singaporeans that the PAP government has listened and is effectively, not just rhetorically, responding to their concerns,” said Devadas Krishnadas, a political-risk consultant and former civil servant.
Even so “the anxieties and concerns [over immigration and other socioeconomic pressures] are sufficiently visceral and widespread that, though now at low key, they will be reignited to fuel electoral passions at the next general election” which must be called by 2016, Mr. Devadas said.
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-347067/
Singapore Immigration Protest Fizzles
A protest against Singapore's immigration policies drew its smallest crowd at a weekend demonstration since starting this year, suggesting momentum for what had been one of the city-state's largest shows of public dissent is fizzling out.
By Chun Han Wong
A protest against Singapore’s immigration policies drew its smallest crowd at a weekend demonstration since starting this year, suggesting momentum for what had been one of the city-state’s largest shows of public dissent is fizzling out.
Saturday’s protest, the third organized by unemployment counselor Gilbert Goh, drew at its peak about 500 people who cheered half a dozen speakers who criticized government plans to keep importing foreigners—a contentious policy in a country where workers hired from overseas already make up a third of the labor force.
The turnout at Hong Lim Park—the only place in Singapore where demonstrations are allowed—paled in comparison with two previous demonstrations which each drew more than 3,000 people. Political analysts say the decline suggests recent government remedies may have assuaged some anger.
The two earlier protests, in February and May, were among the biggest seen in tightly regulated Singapore where the ruling People’s Action Party has seen its parliamentary dominance eroded in recent years partly as a result of past policies that boosted the number of foreign residents here.
“Maybe Singaporeans forget and forgive easily,” Mr. Goh wrote on his Facebook page after the event. “Perhaps the government has provided enough sweeteners to soften the impact of the policy and it has pacified many people out there.”
“Some have also commented the movement has gone xenophobic and some do not want to go on a hate campaign against foreigners living in our midst,” said the 51-year-old activist who denies allegations of xenophobia.
Mr. Goh said Saturday’s event is his last public protest against the PAP platform—endorsed by lawmakers in February—that mandates authorities to prepare policies and infrastructure for Singapore’s 5.4 million population to grow to as large as 6.9 million by 2030, an increase of up to 28%, to mitigate low birthrates and an aging society.
Announced in January the policy has stirred debate because it means Singaporeans could form little more than half the population on an island already described by citizens as overcrowded. It also prompting concerns over the dilution of national identity and a fraying social fabric.
Singapore, with land area of just 714 square kilometers (276 square miles), has used liberal immigration policies to bring in much of the skills and muscle that helped fuel its rapid economic growth over the past decade—boosting its population by 34% since 2000. As of June close to 39% of Singapore’s population were foreign-born permanent or temporary residents—compared with 26% in 2000, government data show.
While the influx of foreign labor—now numbering 1.3 million, or a third of the total workforce—has helped cement the country’s status among the world’s wealthiest nations many citizens blamed immigration for soaring home prices, infrastructure failings and a widening gap between rich and poor. The PAP, which has held power since 1959, has seen its public support hurt by the issue—losing two by-elections since its vote share fell to a low in the 2011 general election.
Policy makers responded by trying to strike a balance between keeping Singapore a top destination for foreign investors and new immigrants and containing antiforeigner sentiment.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other government leaders have defended the population plan assuring citizens the government will protect their welfare and saying the 6.9 million figure wasn’t a target but a “worst-case scenario” to be used for infrastructure planning. The government also tightened immigration controls including raising financial barriers for foreign workers seeking entry and handing citizens more benefits in areas like education and health care.
The Manpower Ministry announced last month new rules—to be implemented in stages next year—that will require most employers to consider citizens for skilled-labor openings before recruiting from overseas.
While public anxiety remains over immigration pressures, recent policy interventions “have gone some distance in reassuring Singaporeans that the PAP government has listened and is effectively, not just rhetorically, responding to their concerns,” said Devadas Krishnadas, a political-risk consultant and former civil servant.
Even so “the anxieties and concerns [over immigration and other socioeconomic pressures] are sufficiently visceral and widespread that, though now at low key, they will be reignited to fuel electoral passions at the next general election” which must be called by 2016, Mr. Devadas said.
