Government paper on immigration raises eyebrows
by Elynur Saad
inSing.com - 24 days 20 hrs 58 mins ago
<cite>(Pic / Wikimedia)</cite>
Singapore will need to introduce 20,000 to 25,000 new citizens annually in order to maintain its citizen population, according to the National Talent and Population Division (NTPD).
The NTPD released a report yesterday (25 April) providing demographic characteristics of the country’s citizen population under various scenarios.
The report said that the right mix of immigration numbers and a better Total Fertility Rate (TFR) - will help delay the rate at which the citizen population falls.
If the current TFR persists and if the situation is coupled with a lack of new citizens, the citizen population number will shrink.
And unfortunately, Singapore’s TFR has been on the decline.
In addition, the number of citizen deaths looks likely to surpass the number of births within the next 13 years.
With an aging population, Singapore will see a dip in the number of working-age citizens and experience a shrinking citizen workforce.
By 2030, the number of elderly citizens will triple to about 900,000.
People whom inSing News spoke to provided mixed views on the subject.
“It could be both good and bad. Given the current TFR - introducing 25,000 new citizens would definitely help with slowing down the ageing population,” said polytechnic student Shakeela Yazid. “However, there would be some disagreement with regards to bringing in more immigrants if they are viewed as taking up jobs meant for Singaporeans.”
For some, immigration is something that’s always been part of Singapore’s history.
Self-employed Mike Ngin stressed that Singapore is built from an immigrant population.
“Natural immigration is generally acceptable and good to rejuvenate the nation's natural human resource pool,” he said.
He was quick to add, however, that the introduction of “a huge influx of new citizens on a regular basis to counter declining birth rates seem like the government is seeking for a magic bullet to resolve an issue more complex than addition and subtraction”.
When asked about what measures Singapore should introduce to encourage couples to have more children, the 33-year-old recommended more benefits.
“Policies such as incentives encouraging more births should be explored and reducing the cost of higher education to provide a sustainable long-term outlook for wannabe parents,” he said.
Online commentators mostly gave negative views on the report.
A netizen who goes by the online moniker “Ah Pek Lee” highlighted his concerns on Facebook.
He wrote: “If there are (25,000) new citizens and the native Singaporeans shrink every year due to deaths and migrating out, how many years will it take for native Singaporeans to become a minority?”
Sonny Pereira, another netizen, said: “This country would never have any problems procreating and turning this country into an ants’ nest. It is about the hardship of bringing up a child in this society where everything is expensive, and competition in education. To have children is easy, to maintain them, now, that is a totally different question altogether.”
by Elynur Saad
inSing.com - 24 days 20 hrs 58 mins ago
Singapore will need to introduce 20,000 to 25,000 new citizens annually in order to maintain its citizen population, according to the National Talent and Population Division (NTPD).
The NTPD released a report yesterday (25 April) providing demographic characteristics of the country’s citizen population under various scenarios.
The report said that the right mix of immigration numbers and a better Total Fertility Rate (TFR) - will help delay the rate at which the citizen population falls.
If the current TFR persists and if the situation is coupled with a lack of new citizens, the citizen population number will shrink.
And unfortunately, Singapore’s TFR has been on the decline.
In addition, the number of citizen deaths looks likely to surpass the number of births within the next 13 years.
With an aging population, Singapore will see a dip in the number of working-age citizens and experience a shrinking citizen workforce.
By 2030, the number of elderly citizens will triple to about 900,000.
People whom inSing News spoke to provided mixed views on the subject.
“It could be both good and bad. Given the current TFR - introducing 25,000 new citizens would definitely help with slowing down the ageing population,” said polytechnic student Shakeela Yazid. “However, there would be some disagreement with regards to bringing in more immigrants if they are viewed as taking up jobs meant for Singaporeans.”
For some, immigration is something that’s always been part of Singapore’s history.
Self-employed Mike Ngin stressed that Singapore is built from an immigrant population.
“Natural immigration is generally acceptable and good to rejuvenate the nation's natural human resource pool,” he said.
He was quick to add, however, that the introduction of “a huge influx of new citizens on a regular basis to counter declining birth rates seem like the government is seeking for a magic bullet to resolve an issue more complex than addition and subtraction”.
When asked about what measures Singapore should introduce to encourage couples to have more children, the 33-year-old recommended more benefits.
“Policies such as incentives encouraging more births should be explored and reducing the cost of higher education to provide a sustainable long-term outlook for wannabe parents,” he said.
Online commentators mostly gave negative views on the report.
A netizen who goes by the online moniker “Ah Pek Lee” highlighted his concerns on Facebook.
He wrote: “If there are (25,000) new citizens and the native Singaporeans shrink every year due to deaths and migrating out, how many years will it take for native Singaporeans to become a minority?”
Sonny Pereira, another netizen, said: “This country would never have any problems procreating and turning this country into an ants’ nest. It is about the hardship of bringing up a child in this society where everything is expensive, and competition in education. To have children is easy, to maintain them, now, that is a totally different question altogether.”
