It is just numbers

Singapore's population grew 5.5% last year to reach 4.84 million, due largely to the influx of foreigners. The number of residents (Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PR)), rose 1.7% to 3.64 million in June last year, said a report released by the National Population Secretariat (NPS) recently. There were 79,167 new PRs in 2008 - up 15,540 from 63,627 the previous year and 20,513 new citizens, an increase of 3,179 from 17,334 over the same period.

What worries me is that the governments pursuit for such numbers is perhaps meant to beef up our replacement numbers. Singapore's total feritility rate of 1.28 in 2008 remained below the replacement level of 2.1. Besides, China and India, I believe the bulk of the developed countries such as Korea and Japan are also facing such problems. But unlike Singapore, they do not lower their criteria to allow immigrant entries.

My first thoughts on this is, can our resources (prosperity) support the intended 6 million population target? Will the new citizens/PRs be here to stay? Let's call them CPRs.

Quite often I heard of friends and aquiantanaces making plans to leave Singapore. In search of the greener pastures. Even housing agents have bought bungalows in Johor in hope of a better lifestyle in Malaysia in time to come. Will the CPRs be also making plans to leave Singapore for greener pastures in the future? What the existing citizens observe now, is most likely to observe in time to come. The push factors causing people to leave, if left untouched, will still be the reason 10-20 years down the road. The CPRs left their motherland with ease, and came into Singapore with ease as well. What is to say they will stay 10-20 years down the road? A bond? We paid for their education, provided them with subsidies and jobs etc, is gratitude suppose to be the anchor? I hope the thought process of our HR retention scheme in our Singapore Inc company is thorough enough.

Too often I have heard of many foreign scholars using Singapore as launch pads to go to Australia, US, etc. What makes those places so attractive? Should we be looking into the pull factors instead? For one, I know the migrant policies in Australian and Canada make it hard for entry as compared to Singapore's.

I believe the focus is to listen to the people and stop the mass exodus of the true blue existing Singaporeans; and also raise their migrant entry policies and ensure the new CPRs become stayers. But we all know why the government choose to please the new CPRs more than the current whiny lot. Jet Li and Gong Li being Singaporeans does not mean anything but a number. Yes, they can afford 20 million bungalows here, just as easy as they can purchase one in Malibu or Hawaii.

I think the government should stop looking at figures and numbers and seriously listen with their heart. The disastrous outlook if the new immigrants like the existing whiny-fed-up citizens all choose to treat Singapore like a hotel, where there is only money to be earned and nothing to belong to. What is to stop them from leaving? Certainly a third causeway will not.