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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - PRs won't be forced to become citizens </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>8:32 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 7) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>38622.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Sep 9, 2010
PRs won't be forced to become citizens
<!-- by line -->By Rachel Chang
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
SENIOR Minister Goh Chok Tong has clarified remarks he made suggesting that the Government will not renew the permanent resident (PR) status of some PRs who decline to take up citizenship.
The comment, made at a Marine Parade dialogue on Monday, was a 'general observation to illustrate the point that the Government would be managing the inflow of PRs and would encourage some of those who are already here to become Singapore citizens', his press secretary Ho Tong Yen said yesterday in a statement following media queries.
Mr Goh's remarks, in response to a grassroots leader who had suggested offering citizenship to foreigners on an employment pass in order to 'bind them to us', caused a buzz, especially online, in the following days.
The Senior Minister had said: 'In the past, we could just give you permanent residence without taking up Singapore citizenship. Moving forward, we are going to approach some of them to take up Singapore citizenship. If they don't, then their PR will be not renewed. That's a better way.'
He added that of the 500,000 PRs in Singapore, 'maybe 50,000 can be selected to become Singapore citizens, the rest can be PRs contributing to the economy.'
The reaction from foreigners was swift. A comment thread on expatriate website ExpatSingapore was started the following day with the header: 'Singapore to expel 10 per cent of permanent residents'.
But, Mr Ho said, 'the figure of 10 per cent which SM gave was only for illustrative purposes. It is not a target, nor is it the case that all PRs who turn down the offer of Singapore citizenship would not have their PR status renewed.'
(Kojakbt: So, SM Goh likes to lie then?)
The news came as a relief to PRs, who were left feeling uncertain about their future in Singapore after Mr Goh's original comments.
'I'm very happy to hear this,' said businessman Arumai Chandran, 35, an Indian national. 'It's not correct to force PRs to become citizens because we are still contributing to Singapore.'
Mr Chandran, who has been in Singapore for 16 years and a PR since 2004, said he might want to take up citizenship when his family is more settled here. 'But I'm glad the Government is not putting pressure on me to do so.'
Political observers noted that Mr Goh's remarks sparked a controversy because they were a departure from the Government's previously stated policy of letting PRs decide for themselves whether to become citizens.
Although policies have been changed in the past year to give citizens more benefits over PRs, especially in health care, education and housing subsidies, Mr Goh's proposal would appear to cross the line from dangling a carrot to brandishing a stick.
'It's very out of character for the Government to give PRs an ultimatum,' said Dr Terence Chong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
'If you want to compete for talent, you must have the ethos of an open-door policy,' he said. 'You have to accept that people come and go. That's part and parcel of being a global city and the Government has always taken that line.'
The laissez-faire stance was in fact reiterated by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng a few months ago. Mr Wong is also Minister for Home Affairs and the Government's man in charge of population issues.
In April, in response to a parliamentary question from Nominated MP Paulin Straughan, Mr Wong said the decision to take up citizenship 'is very much left to the PRs'.
Yesterday, Mr Goh's clarification was welcomed by Associate Professor Straughan. She said she favoured persuading PRs to take up citizenship in a way that emphasises incentives rather than 'punishment', which the threat to revoke their PR status could be seen as.
'The PRs we have are people with options. They are talented people wanted elsewhere. If we push them away, they will leave... (and) we end up shooting ourselves in the foot,' she said.
She added that the furore surrounding Mr Goh's original comments can, on hindsight, be seen as beneficial: It sparked 'a challenging intellectual discussion on the difficulties the state faces when it comes to issues on population'.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
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PRs won't be forced to become citizens
<!-- by line -->By Rachel Chang
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
SENIOR Minister Goh Chok Tong has clarified remarks he made suggesting that the Government will not renew the permanent resident (PR) status of some PRs who decline to take up citizenship.
The comment, made at a Marine Parade dialogue on Monday, was a 'general observation to illustrate the point that the Government would be managing the inflow of PRs and would encourage some of those who are already here to become Singapore citizens', his press secretary Ho Tong Yen said yesterday in a statement following media queries.
Mr Goh's remarks, in response to a grassroots leader who had suggested offering citizenship to foreigners on an employment pass in order to 'bind them to us', caused a buzz, especially online, in the following days.
The Senior Minister had said: 'In the past, we could just give you permanent residence without taking up Singapore citizenship. Moving forward, we are going to approach some of them to take up Singapore citizenship. If they don't, then their PR will be not renewed. That's a better way.'
He added that of the 500,000 PRs in Singapore, 'maybe 50,000 can be selected to become Singapore citizens, the rest can be PRs contributing to the economy.'
The reaction from foreigners was swift. A comment thread on expatriate website ExpatSingapore was started the following day with the header: 'Singapore to expel 10 per cent of permanent residents'.
But, Mr Ho said, 'the figure of 10 per cent which SM gave was only for illustrative purposes. It is not a target, nor is it the case that all PRs who turn down the offer of Singapore citizenship would not have their PR status renewed.'
(Kojakbt: So, SM Goh likes to lie then?)
The news came as a relief to PRs, who were left feeling uncertain about their future in Singapore after Mr Goh's original comments.
'I'm very happy to hear this,' said businessman Arumai Chandran, 35, an Indian national. 'It's not correct to force PRs to become citizens because we are still contributing to Singapore.'
Mr Chandran, who has been in Singapore for 16 years and a PR since 2004, said he might want to take up citizenship when his family is more settled here. 'But I'm glad the Government is not putting pressure on me to do so.'
Political observers noted that Mr Goh's remarks sparked a controversy because they were a departure from the Government's previously stated policy of letting PRs decide for themselves whether to become citizens.
Although policies have been changed in the past year to give citizens more benefits over PRs, especially in health care, education and housing subsidies, Mr Goh's proposal would appear to cross the line from dangling a carrot to brandishing a stick.
'It's very out of character for the Government to give PRs an ultimatum,' said Dr Terence Chong of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
'If you want to compete for talent, you must have the ethos of an open-door policy,' he said. 'You have to accept that people come and go. That's part and parcel of being a global city and the Government has always taken that line.'
The laissez-faire stance was in fact reiterated by Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng a few months ago. Mr Wong is also Minister for Home Affairs and the Government's man in charge of population issues.
In April, in response to a parliamentary question from Nominated MP Paulin Straughan, Mr Wong said the decision to take up citizenship 'is very much left to the PRs'.
Yesterday, Mr Goh's clarification was welcomed by Associate Professor Straughan. She said she favoured persuading PRs to take up citizenship in a way that emphasises incentives rather than 'punishment', which the threat to revoke their PR status could be seen as.
'The PRs we have are people with options. They are talented people wanted elsewhere. If we push them away, they will leave... (and) we end up shooting ourselves in the foot,' she said.
She added that the furore surrounding Mr Goh's original comments can, on hindsight, be seen as beneficial: It sparked 'a challenging intellectual discussion on the difficulties the state faces when it comes to issues on population'.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
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