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White Paper is Govt's plan to 'keep S'pore ship afloat'
By Jacqueline Woo
My Paper
Thursday, Feb 07, 2013
SINGAPORE - Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday applauded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his team for their courage and leadership in tabling the Population White Paper.
He said: "The politically expedient alternative would have been to leave the issue to his successor to tackle."
Speaking in Parliament for the first time since he stepped down from Cabinet in 2011, Mr Goh said: "PM and his team did the right thing by laying out the problems, the trade-offs, and our options in a transparent manner.
"So that all Singaporeans can become more aware of our demographic destiny, debate it and build consensus on the way forward."
He added that the difficulty for Mr Lee and his team is that they have to think long term, and act on the "fear (that) the Singapore ship will sink".
"The White Paper is the Government's plan to forestall an impending crisis," he explained, saying that there is urgency in deciding "how to act now to right the ship".
Mr Goh acknowledged that he, too, was uncertain about the idea of having a population of 6.9 million by 2030. But he said it was good that Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has reassured the country that the figure was "only a planning parameter, and not a policy target".
Rather than be fixated on the population figure, he urged Singaporeans to decide if they agree with the broad approach laid out in the Paper.
He added that the Government cannot resolve the challenges without help from Singaporeans. Mr Goh said: "This means sharing our views and ideas with them (Singaporeans), and forging a consensus on the way forward."
By Jacqueline Woo
My Paper
Thursday, Feb 07, 2013
SINGAPORE - Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday applauded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his team for their courage and leadership in tabling the Population White Paper.
He said: "The politically expedient alternative would have been to leave the issue to his successor to tackle."
Speaking in Parliament for the first time since he stepped down from Cabinet in 2011, Mr Goh said: "PM and his team did the right thing by laying out the problems, the trade-offs, and our options in a transparent manner.
"So that all Singaporeans can become more aware of our demographic destiny, debate it and build consensus on the way forward."
He added that the difficulty for Mr Lee and his team is that they have to think long term, and act on the "fear (that) the Singapore ship will sink".
"The White Paper is the Government's plan to forestall an impending crisis," he explained, saying that there is urgency in deciding "how to act now to right the ship".
Mr Goh acknowledged that he, too, was uncertain about the idea of having a population of 6.9 million by 2030. But he said it was good that Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has reassured the country that the figure was "only a planning parameter, and not a policy target".
Rather than be fixated on the population figure, he urged Singaporeans to decide if they agree with the broad approach laid out in the Paper.
He added that the Government cannot resolve the challenges without help from Singaporeans. Mr Goh said: "This means sharing our views and ideas with them (Singaporeans), and forging a consensus on the way forward."
