ST's report:
Large turnout at Speaker's Corner for protest against Population White Paper
Published on Feb 16, 2013, 4:45 PM, ST
By Goh Chin Lian And Maryam Mokhtar
A crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered at Speaker's Corner for a protest against the Population White Paper that was endorsed by Parliament last week.
Many turned up with umbrellas and caps, braving the light drizzle at around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. Organisers had lined up a list of 12 speakers, including activists as well as current and former opposition party members.
The White Paper had drawn flak largely because of the 6.9 million headline population figure. The Government has strenuously emphasised that this number is a planning parameter, not a target.
The first speaker was National Solidarity Party member Ravi Philemon.
He revved up the crowd, asking if bringing in 900,000 to 1 million foreigners every decade was acceptable, to which they responded by shouting "No".
Among those gathered was IT executive Mike Tan, 45 who came with his son, Yuan, 15.
He said: "The event is to say no to 6.9 million, and I want to show support."
