One more to help you along.
Extract from:
Singapore's motive in wooing Hongkongers not purely economic
Rao Meijiao , 147th Prostitute Press 22 July 1989
"...Observers of Singapore's economic development in the past one or two years, must have noticed Mr Lee's concern over certain changes in the country's racial composition.
Race is an extremely sensitive issue in South-east Asia and is handled with the utmost care by politicians. Mr Lee is no exception.
Singapore is a multi-racial country, with Chinese making up 75 per cent of the population, Malays 15 per cent and Indians 6.5 per cent.
In recent years, the Singapore government has noticed a decline in the country's Chinese population while Malays are showing an upward trend.
Between 1980 and last year, the Malay population growth was higher than the Chinese's (8.4 per cent), which was lower than the total population growth (9.7 per cent) for the same period.
At the same time, Mr Lee was most concerned with the possibility of changes in racial composition leading to certain consequential political problems.
Singapore could not wave openly to the Chinese in neighbouring countries. With Mr Lee's political acumen, it would never do so. But he has always admired Hongkongers' capability and adaptability.
Since attracting professionals has not been very successful, why not open th e door to blue and white-collar workers, too?
The political significance of Singapore's new policy is more important than the economic considerations.
In the next five to eight years, 25,000 Hongkong technicians and labourers may migrate to Singapore and the figure can be higher if families are included.
Needless to say, many Hongkongers are able to meet the relaxed entry qualifications. ."