The Government wants the population to reach 6.9 million people in 2030 (in the next 17 years).
To achieve this, it will continue with the large influx of foreign labour to reach 2.5 million foreigners in 2030 (2012: 1.49 million). Permanent residents will reach approximately 600,000 in 2030 (2012: approximately 530,000).
The white paper mentioned that in 2030, the total population will make up of 55% "strong Singaporeans core". Mind you, the 55% includes approximately 450,000 new citizens let in by the Government during the 17 year period.
This may mean that an additional 1.5 million foreigners will be pumped into our homeland over the 17 year period!
The white paper states "We do not expect our TFR (total fertility rate) to improve to the replacement rate of 2.1 in the short term. Taking in younger immigrants will help us top up the smaller cohorts of younger Singaporeans, and balance the ageing of our citizen population."
Is the Government assuming that the low TFR (2011: 1.2) can never be fixed and thus proposes such short term solution?
If the Government cannot fix the low TRF in the short term (17 years), then should it start to think of a long term solution now?
I strongly believe that with proper work-life balance policies and stronger childcare support, Singaporean couples will be willing to have more than 2 kids and the low TFR can improve.
If the current government is unable to propose a long term solution to fix the low TFR problem, maybe it is time to let the other parties to give a try?
Long term solution will take many years to fix the problem, but at least over the 17 year period, we may see improvement in the TFR issue. The short term solution can probably survive us for 17 years, but will the Government propose another population white paper in 2030 to increase the population further to circumvent the low TFR problem?
YOU CAN HELP. It is important for every Singaporean to understand the proposals put up by the Government in this Population White Paper and really think about the consequences that every average Singaporean will face over the next 17 years.
The Ah Gong(s) and Ah Ma(s) (our important elderly) will likely read and hear about the population white paper from the newspapers and television. Help them to understand better. I have done up a short video clip using simple charts to illustrate the population increase over the next 17 years. Please help to download to your mobile phones and show it to your Ah Gong and Ah Ma or show it to any Singaporean who have heard of the Population White Paper but has no time to read the lengthy and complex report.
