As much as we are grumbling right now, I do think it will simmer down somewhat. The active generations knew a different Singapore, when the expressways were virtually empty and my mum could take us on leisurely train rides just for fun. So maybe the government is hoping that the younger generation would eventually be on their side. A more forgiving generation of Singaporeans who have accepted overcrowding to be their reality and way of life. And because they have nothing else to compare to, it would seem like a promise delivered. Provided we still maintain our competitiveness and this little red dot still retains its global standing on the world wide map.
http://therealsingapore.com/content/inderjit-singh-government-has-failed-swiss-standard-promise
Speech by Mr Inderjit Singh, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC
On the White Paper on Population
Madam Speaker,
Thank you for allowing me to join the debate on the White Paper on Population.
While
the report has some compelling arguments for the 6.9m population figure
projected, we all know it is based mainly on economic considerations.
Had we focused on things like building a cohesive nation with a strong
national identity, the outcome would likely be very different.
I
feel the time has come for us to find a better balance between economic
growth and social cohesion and yes there will have to be tradeoffs of
economic growth but I would rather trade some of these for a cohesive,
united nation where people feel taken care of at home and are confident
of their future. I am not saying we go for low or no growth. Instead I
am willing to adjust my growth expectations for a more comfortable life
for all Singaporeans. I am confident we will still be able to pursue
respectable economic growth when companies and Singaporeans are faced
with a situation of tightened labour availability by focusing on
improving ourselves through productivity and higher value capabilities.
Finland and other small nations have done, we can do it too.
Our
past decade of rapid population growth has already created too many
problems which need to be solved first before we take the next step. I
call on the government to take a breather for five years, solve all the
problems created by the past policies of rapid economic and population
growth. We can safely say that we have failed to achieve the goal set by
the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, of a Swiss standard of living
for most Singaporeans, except for the higher income Singaporeans
including foreigners who just recently decided to make Singapore their
home. So I call for a breather in this quest of growing the population
and focus on improving the lives of Singaporeans and achieve that
promised Swiss Standard of living for most Singaporeans first before we
plan our next growth trajectory.
Taking Care of the Singaporean Core
I
have a big issue with the number of PRs and new citizens we are
planning to add to our population. I don't see the necessity to be as
aggressive when the key consideration of the population growth is the
economy. We have already added too many new citizens and PRs and need
time for integration and social cohesion to happen. Looking at history,
our population grew from around 2.4m in 1980 to 3m in 1990 and then to
4m in 2000, reaching 5.3m last year. Just looking at the resident
population alone, we grew the numbers from 2.3m in 1980 to 2.7m in 1990,
3.3m in the year 2000 and then to 3.8m last year. So in the last decade
we added more than 1m to the resident population, and the in last 25
years, which is close to 1 generation of Singaporeans, we have added
another close to 50% more to our resident population. I believe this
must be the fastest rate of population growth in the world and I feel
this is just too much for us to comfortably go back and build a national
identity and social cohesion which was progressing very well till the
1990s. Adding another 500,000 to 800,000 more PRs and citizens as
proposed by the white paper will be disastrous and add to our already
difficult infrastructure and social problems.
If
it is economic growth we want then let's just adopt the Dubai model of a
transient workforce which will give us a lot more flexibility to manage
numbers in the longer term. On PRs, today we already have too many of
them and they are enjoying full citizen privileges without the citizens'
responsibilities. For example;
-
Far too many PR boys who skip NS when they turn 18. After enjoying the
privileges they have a choice of not doing NS and then leave the
country. I believe only around 30% of all PR boys do NS today. Well, our
Singapore sons don't have a choice but to do NS, it is an office not to
do it.
- PR children study at their International system schools sticking to their home cultures.
- PRs can buy HDB flats from the open market driving prices of HDB flats too high.
So
I urge the government to reduce the number of projected new PRs and
citizens just to the population replacement levels and be more selective
and differentiate their privileges from citizens. I have a few
suggestions for the government to consider;
•
The government in the past couple of years has tried to draw the
distinction between PRs and citizens by increasing school fees and
healthcare fees for them. But I wonder would it not have been better to
instead partially subsidize these same fees for Singapore citizens? So
do it the other way round, reduce fees for Singaporeans not just
increase for PRs.
•
PR children must be made do national service - it should no longer be a
choice and we should make it an offence if they don’t do it. We should
not grant PRs to families who don’t commit their sons to National
Service.
•
HDB - if a PR buys a HDB flat from the open market, charge a levy of
say $50k and allow them to sell only to Singaporeans. If the PR takes up
citizenship within 5 years, we can refund the levy.
•
Children of PRs should be made to study in our national schools so that
we increase the chance of integrating them at the next generation.
•
On the employment front, it is time we implement a Singaporean first
hiring policy like what is done in some developed countries like Canada.
Companies should show proof first that they were not able to fill a
position with a Singaporean before they are allowed to hire a foreigner.
•
Reconsider the dependents policy - I have come across a number of cases
where our targeted one child from China brings in 2 parents who then
bring 2 parents each as their dependents - Net is that we gain one young
one child who we brought in for our future but also inherited 6 older
people - making our ageing population issue worse not better.
I
feel the differentiated privileges will separate the genuine ones from
those who are here for a ride. We should grant PRs to those who are most
likely going to take up citizenships so these differentiated privileges
should not stifle our plans to attract quality PRs and new citizens.
This
brings me to the point of how many Singaporeans are feeling about the
presence of such huge numbers of new citizens, PRs and foreigners
amongst our midst. First for housing - there is no doubt that the influx
of foreigners in Singapore has driven up our property prices. PRs are
buying HDB flats from the open market which drives up prices.
Just
last week I had a dialogue session with my private estates residents
and one of my residents complained that a new citizens recently bought a
landed property in this old estate and was building a 3 and a half
storey towering house. Well the, new citizen, the owner of the house was
also present and when, I spoke with him during the tea session I found
out that he was a new citizen formerly from China, just gained his
citizenship and bought not 1 but 3 landed properties in Kebun Baru
alone. I was surprised and saddened because many Singaporeans cannot
afford to do the same, and this new citizen, no matter how he may have
made his wealth is able to do so.
Many
young Singaporeans I talk to, especially those who have recently
graduated and have just entered the workforce feel demoralized because
many of the things that they grew up aspiring to have are now beyond
their reach. Our aggressive growth strategies, which allowed cheaper
foreign workers, including professionals to easily gain employment
passes degraded or depressed wage levels of many Singaporeans, not just
the lower income Singaporeans. I remember when I started work in 1985,
my salary was $1900 as an entry level engineer. After a few years I
could afford a house and a car. Today, 28 years later, an entry level
engineer in Singapore earns $2600, just $700 more than what I earned
when I started. The mathematics is very simple, the cost of living did
not just go up by 1.3% per annum the last 27 years and even more, the
cost of owning a HDB flat is did not just go up by 37% since 1985.
Finally,
I am perturbed by the banquet analogy used by Minister Khaw. We are
talking about lives of Singaporeans. Our banquet guests come for one
night and leave when the function is over. There is no turning back when
we grant PR and citizenships. We must be more exact about the numbers
we want to add to the Singapore population and not plan on a basis of
'hoping we hit some number". Because if overdo things and end up with a
population of more than 7m, it may be too late to stop the fast moving
train of population growth when we fire up all the engines of growing
the population. We missed the mark the last 10 years, and are already
paying a high price for that mistake.
In
my speech in this house in 2008 during the committee of supply debate
on the population I urged the government to abandon the "the instant
tree mentality" in trying to grow the population in response to the
declining birth rates. At that time, I did not agree with the rate of
growth pursued and we know the consequences and the hardship
Singaporeans faced as a result of the rapid growth, Instant trees cannot
grow strong roots and can be uprooted in difficult times. I once again
urge the government to slow down and plan on reaching their population
target over a longer time horizon. I don't think we can live with a 6.9m
population in 2030. We may be able to handle it in 2050, no one really
knows. Please abandon this 'instant tree" mentality as we cannot afford
to make Singaporeans lives more difficult as a result. I rather we err
on the side of caution when it comes to growing our population. We
cannot keep paying a high price for planning misjudgements.
In
conclusion, I would like to see us take a breather from re-growing our
population again. We have too many problems as a result of the last
breathtaking population growth rate. As a government we need to rebuild
the trust and confidence among Singaporeans that our citizens matter
most to us and that we are willing take a break from our relentless
drive for growth to solve their problems, make their lives more
comfortable, give them a better quality of life and show them that any
future growth of population will not create similar social and cost of
living problems. At this stage many Singaporeans from all walks of life
don't have the confidence that we can handle another steep growth of the
population, so let's not push it. I would like all of us, including the
government to spend the time creating and environment that gives us
confidence in our future and one where our young can see a sense of hope
of opportunity and if we fail to instil a sense of hope and opportunity
for our future generations, we will not be able to root them here and
build a strong national identity and a strong nation. This is what
building a strong Singapore core should entail. So let's delay all plans
for further population growth for now.
