Population an issue where we must seek consensus: PM Lee
AsiaOne Monday, Dec 31, 2012
This is just part of the long story. If you want to read more go:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20121231-392664.html
No need to look at his face if you don't like him.
POPULATION
One issue where we must seek consensus is population, a longstanding challenge that we have been discussing in earnest this past year. It is critical that we strike the right balance in our population policies. At stake is a vibrant and cohesive nation, for Singaporeans, now and into the future.
Fundamentally, the population issue is about maintaining a strong Singaporean core. We need to balance two different imperatives carefully. First, we must deal with practical necessities, rationally and objectively. We need to prevent our citizen population from ageing and shrinking. We have to find effective ways to encourage Singaporeans to have more babies, and consider how many new immigrants to take in. We must keep our economy competitive and create good jobs for Singaporeans, and understand the mix and size of our labour force to support such an economy. We must work out how many homes, hospitals and train lines to build, and how quickly, as our population grows.
But our population policies cannot just be about numbers. Ultimately, a strong Singapore core is about the spirit of Singapore - who we are, what ideals we believe in and what ties bind us together as one people. We must therefore also give full weight to the intangible human considerations. We all need the anchors of family and friends, a sense of familiarity and home even as our society changes rapidly. We need to improve relations - between citizens and new arrivals, young and old, different races and religions - to preserve our social harmony. And we need to foster an open, confident spirit in our society, and stay connected to the world. Above all, we must affirm our common Singaporean values, norms and identity, forged through shared experiences and memories, regardless of where we originally came from.
The White Paper on Population will set out all these considerations. We will publish the White Paper in January, debate it in Parliament and set the direction of our population policy.
EMBRACING THE RIGHT VALUES
To realise our aspirations and manage our challenges, Singapore must have good governance. We need capable and committed leaders, who uphold high standards of integrity and set good personal examples, so as to have the moral authority to lead our nation.
Originally posted by Dalforce 1941:They also want the votes. They know the votes of Singaporeans is shakey.
yes, of course.
that is why I always tell the foreigners the way they treat Singaporeans and run the country. Most foreigners are not interested to convert to citizens.