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White Paper all about 'planning ahead'
By Leonard Lim And Goh Chin Lian
The Straits Times
Sunday, Feb 03, 2013
SINGAPORE - The White Paper on population is about planning ahead to avoid the infrastructure bottlenecks that plague Singapore today, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Swee Say said on Thursday night.
Speaking at a Singapore Conversation event where some grassroots activists criticised the policy paper released on Tuesday, Mr Lim acknowledged the current angst surrounding overcrowding on public transport, a tight housing market and an influx of foreigners.
Mr Lim, the deputy chairman of the People's Association (PA), said: "Just imagine if 10 years ago, we had a Singapore Conversation to talk about one day 10 years from then... population may reach 5.4 million, then start to put in place infrastructure, housing, MRT. Today, we will be much better off, isn't it?"
The population was 5.3 million last year, up from 4.1 million a decade ago. The White Paper has projected that it will range between 6.5 million and 6.9 million in 2030.
Mr Lim said the White Paper is a way to "look ahead and ask ourselves what kind of future we like to have and how do we get there, and along the way, what kind of challenges we are going to face". Parliament will debate the White Paper next week, he added, and this is a "good exercise" in planning ahead.
Thursday's event, attended by about 100 grassroots leaders, was held to sum up the views expressed during more than 155 Our Singapore Conversation sessions organised by the PA and grassroots organisations.
Among those who criticised the White Paper was Mr Poon Mun Wai, 60. The Serangoon Citizens Consultative Committee vice-chairman said: "I'm very disappointed with this 6.9 million figure. It's logically and emotionally not acceptable."
Another participant said the Government's intent to allow more foreigners in made her question if it was "really listening" to Singaporeans.
Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, who heads the committee overseeing the national conversation, said the White Paper has been a work in progress for over a year.
The question was whether the national conversation should stop, or continue despite the White Paper, he said. But there was value in having them both in parallel, he added, though he did not elaborate.
Other concerns raised by the 20 grassroots leaders who spoke on Thursday night included the hiring of older workers and the overemphasis placed on academic grades. Some were worried that bosses would not treat older workers fairly. One said he knew of a retired teacher who was rehired but suffered a 30 per cent pay cut.
But there were others like Mr Joseph Chan, 60, a regional director at Beswick Engineering, who said he has had young engineers asking for a starting salary of $4,500, while those above 50 years old were demanding twice as much.
He said seniors should adjust their expectations.
Some grassroots leaders also felt that Singaporean bosses should look not only at academic grades, but also a person's ability.
One said his friend was not offered a teaching job because her degree was from a private university, and not one of the public universities here.
Responding, Mr Heng said that of the 10,000 applicants to be teachers, only 2,000 get accepted each year.
If they were all given a chance to try their hand in class for two weeks, as one person suggested, there would be "a lot of accidents" and parents would not accept it either, he said.
By Leonard Lim And Goh Chin Lian
The Straits Times
Sunday, Feb 03, 2013
SINGAPORE - The White Paper on population is about planning ahead to avoid the infrastructure bottlenecks that plague Singapore today, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Swee Say said on Thursday night.
Speaking at a Singapore Conversation event where some grassroots activists criticised the policy paper released on Tuesday, Mr Lim acknowledged the current angst surrounding overcrowding on public transport, a tight housing market and an influx of foreigners.
Mr Lim, the deputy chairman of the People's Association (PA), said: "Just imagine if 10 years ago, we had a Singapore Conversation to talk about one day 10 years from then... population may reach 5.4 million, then start to put in place infrastructure, housing, MRT. Today, we will be much better off, isn't it?"
The population was 5.3 million last year, up from 4.1 million a decade ago. The White Paper has projected that it will range between 6.5 million and 6.9 million in 2030.
Mr Lim said the White Paper is a way to "look ahead and ask ourselves what kind of future we like to have and how do we get there, and along the way, what kind of challenges we are going to face". Parliament will debate the White Paper next week, he added, and this is a "good exercise" in planning ahead.
Thursday's event, attended by about 100 grassroots leaders, was held to sum up the views expressed during more than 155 Our Singapore Conversation sessions organised by the PA and grassroots organisations.
Among those who criticised the White Paper was Mr Poon Mun Wai, 60. The Serangoon Citizens Consultative Committee vice-chairman said: "I'm very disappointed with this 6.9 million figure. It's logically and emotionally not acceptable."
Another participant said the Government's intent to allow more foreigners in made her question if it was "really listening" to Singaporeans.
Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, who heads the committee overseeing the national conversation, said the White Paper has been a work in progress for over a year.
The question was whether the national conversation should stop, or continue despite the White Paper, he said. But there was value in having them both in parallel, he added, though he did not elaborate.
Other concerns raised by the 20 grassroots leaders who spoke on Thursday night included the hiring of older workers and the overemphasis placed on academic grades. Some were worried that bosses would not treat older workers fairly. One said he knew of a retired teacher who was rehired but suffered a 30 per cent pay cut.
But there were others like Mr Joseph Chan, 60, a regional director at Beswick Engineering, who said he has had young engineers asking for a starting salary of $4,500, while those above 50 years old were demanding twice as much.
He said seniors should adjust their expectations.
Some grassroots leaders also felt that Singaporean bosses should look not only at academic grades, but also a person's ability.
One said his friend was not offered a teaching job because her degree was from a private university, and not one of the public universities here.
Responding, Mr Heng said that of the 10,000 applicants to be teachers, only 2,000 get accepted each year.
If they were all given a chance to try their hand in class for two weeks, as one person suggested, there would be "a lot of accidents" and parents would not accept it either, he said.
