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How am I to feel patriotic defending a Singapore that is not Singaporean?
Discussion"Singapore expects to take in between 25,000 and 30,000 new citizens a year over the next 5 years," said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.
If the people around me don't share my roots or my sacrifice, what exactly am I defending? How am I to feel patriotic defending them?
While we are outfield, new citizens are already entering the workforce, gaining a 2 year career head start. 2 years of promotions, 2 years of experience. How am I to feel patriotic when it feels like a disadvantage for being born local?
Citizens make up about 60% of our 6.1 million population. The rest are PRs and work pass holders. Less than 20% of the people currently living in Singapore have ever carried the physical burden of defending it.
Look at South Korea for comparison. South Korea is facing a worse TFR, hitting a record low of 0.72 but is rebounding to 0.80 due to supportive policies. Unlike us, they haven't leaned as heavily on immigration to take the easy way out.
When I’m in the jungle, I’m not defending a GDP figure. I’m defending my family and my loved ones who grew up with me.
So when will it be enough? 6.9m? 8m? 10m? When the Singapore population drops to 40%? 20%? When each minister has 2 cars and 1 GCB?
How am I to feel patriotic?
