S Ramesh Channel NewsAsia 10 Oct 12;
SINGAPORE: Singapore's leaders want to build a better and brighter nation for its citizens and Acting Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said the country's population growth is key to achieving this vision.
Mr Teo, who is also Minister-in-Charge of population policies, made the point when wrapping up a townhall session on population challenges late Tuesday.
The townhall was held to get feedback on the nation's population policies and ways to reverse the declining birth rate in Singapore. The views would go into shaping the White Paper on population due by the end of 2012.
It was a no holds barred discussion as the session ended an hour later than scheduled.
This was to allow everyone a chance to speak and voice his or her concerns, and it was evident that not everyone shared the same view.
Mr Teo said: "I could see that, just watching the faces of the audience; some of the things, people nodded their heads while some shook their heads. This represents the kinds of dilemmas and difficulties that we have, as the government, to try and meet the aspirations of our people."
He added that Singaporeans have to ask themselves what is the future for Singapore even if it has become "harder and harder to predict the future".
Mr Teo stressed that besides planning for the future ahead, Singapore must also be able to make adjustments along the way to overcome various obstacles.
"A number of you have pointed out that it is important to be resilient about the future and to be able to plan for a number of different sets of scenarios and be able to cater for them. You may not get it right every point in time but you should be able to make adjustments along the way," said Mr Teo.
He added: "At this point in time, we are making adjustments along the way for the very rapid population growth we had in the last few years and we are also adjusting the way our population is being developed in the future."
Mr Teo added the aim was all about developing a vibrant and liveable city.
"If we don't have a sustainable core Singapore population, we won't be able to sustain the kind of Singapore that we want in the future. That is a critical element of the Singapore in the future. The current birth rate is not enough for us to sustain our population or even maintain it at its current level. We want to be able to raise the population through encouraging births," he said.
Mr Teo said Singapore should be open to immigration to make up for shortfalls in birth.
"Immigrants will grow old, but they are making up for shortfall that we have today when they come in," he said.
Mr Teo explained the government is trying to achieve a sustainable population for a dynamic Singapore and that requires a resident population which is stable and not shrinking or ageing.
He said: "Where are we going with our population? Have we gone crazy and are we taking in anybody who wants to become a Singapore citizen or anybody who wants to be a PR? The numbers would blow away. Are we just taking any numbers of foreign workers and the population would keep on growing without bound? The answer is no."
"We want to maintain a strong Singapore and we are going to try and do that by increasing our birth rates as much as possible and by supplementing it with new citizens who share our values and who can assimilate and integrate as much as possible."
And that means also creating a role for foreign workers in the economy.
"The foreign workforce is interesting. They add to the workforce but they don't retire and grow old here. It's an advantage to have a transient workforce here," said Mr Teo.
He added: "They are only here when they are active and therefore they don't contribute to our ageing population. So there is an advantage in having a transient workforce here which helps to contribute to the economy and economic growth but which doesn't impose a social load on us when they grow old or doesn't demand a social load from us when they are very young."
And to build a good living environment for its residents, the country's land use plan should also have the flexibility to cater to a range of scenarios.
Among other concerns raised at the dialogue are affordable homes for newly married couples, work life balance and suggestions for one parent to stay home to raise the children.
Also present at the dialogue was Minister in Prime Minister Office, Grace Fu.
Ms Fu said: "From speaking to many women and men, many of them want to have both a family and a career. And if you make that as the only option, it may just become a real and significant obstacle especially among many women whom I have spoken to. Look, if you have children, you have to stay at home.
"Women want to have both options - a good career (in which they can get) satisfaction from working and making a mark in the workplace but also settling down and having children. So we have to find policy options that allow quite a wide spectrum of people who are driven by different things in life. Whether we can shape everybody to consider marriage and settling down as a priority, I definitely hope so."
Speaking on Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Ms Fu believes a TFR of 2.1 may be out of Singapore's reach.
She said: "I don't think we will ever get back to a total fertility rate of 2.1 or at least not in my political lifetime. If we look at the trend, we are bucking a very dangerous trend."
The collation of ideas doesn't stop with the townhall dialogue.
Singaporeans have been urged to continue sending their views on the subject to the National Population and Talent Division.
- CNA/fa
