Local homeowners protest immigration push.
SINGAPORE, Oct 23 - Resentment in Singapore is mounting over an increasing number of immigrant workers, as the country changes under an aggressive immigration policy aimed at boosting growth. The government wants to raise long-term growth by increasing the population by 35 percent over the next 40 to 50 years through immigration, but locals fear the plan increases competition for jobs, an anxiety being stoked at a time of recession. About 1,600 home owners in the Southeast Asian nation have petitioned to stop the government from building a dormitory for 600 migrant workers in their neighbourhood. Residents say they do not want the dormitory near their homes because it may increase crime, worsen traffic congestion, and cause property prices to fall. "There will always be prying eyes, and this could mean more crime," said N. Wee, a resident in the neighbourhood. "Prevention is better than cure," she said.
The petition, which sparked an impassioned debate over xenophobia in the media, underlines a long brewing anxiety among Singaporeans, mostly the descendants of immigrants themselves, to defend their turf in a crowded island state. Singapore wants to grow its population of 4.8 million to tackle a low birth rate and greying population. The policy will boost the population to a point where those born in Singapore will barely form a majority. "If the government goes for growth, Singaporeans have to accept the social costs of a growing foreign population in their midst," the Straits Times newspaper on Thursday quoted former prime minister Goh Chok Tong as saying at a human capital conference. Most Singapore citizens are descendants of immigrants who came to Singapore from China, India and the Indonesian island of Java at the turn of the 20th century.
Temporary residents and non-Singaporeans who take up permanent residency make up about 35 percent of the population. "It's about power, pride and prejudice," Chua Lee Hoong, an editor at the Straits Times, said in a column. "For a country that is predominantly a land of migrants, the xenophobia here can be astonishing." Ho Khai Leong, an associate professor of political science at Nanyang Technological University, said Singaporeans are feeling insecure about their homes, jobs and ties with the state. He said the government needs to address that by giving Singaporeans more preferential treatment beyond voting rights, such as offering them the first right to jobs, an issue of increasing importance after a recession in the third quarter.
"The government needs to give confidence that they are taking care of Singaporeans," he said. In the estate where the dormitory is planned, residents' feelings have cooled after the government conceded to building a new road to carry immigrants' traffic away from the estate. But residents in a nearby estate are now protesting instead. "This is not my country so I cannot get angry with Singaporeans," said S. Senthil Kumar, a 30-year-old construction worker from India who has worked in Singapore since 1997. "There will be no problem if everyone respects everyone," he said as he exercised in a park in the estate.
SINGAPORE, Oct 23 - Resentment in Singapore is mounting over an increasing number of immigrant workers, as the country changes under an aggressive immigration policy aimed at boosting growth. The government wants to raise long-term growth by increasing the population by 35 percent over the next 40 to 50 years through immigration, but locals fear the plan increases competition for jobs, an anxiety being stoked at a time of recession. About 1,600 home owners in the Southeast Asian nation have petitioned to stop the government from building a dormitory for 600 migrant workers in their neighbourhood. Residents say they do not want the dormitory near their homes because it may increase crime, worsen traffic congestion, and cause property prices to fall. "There will always be prying eyes, and this could mean more crime," said N. Wee, a resident in the neighbourhood. "Prevention is better than cure," she said.
The petition, which sparked an impassioned debate over xenophobia in the media, underlines a long brewing anxiety among Singaporeans, mostly the descendants of immigrants themselves, to defend their turf in a crowded island state. Singapore wants to grow its population of 4.8 million to tackle a low birth rate and greying population. The policy will boost the population to a point where those born in Singapore will barely form a majority. "If the government goes for growth, Singaporeans have to accept the social costs of a growing foreign population in their midst," the Straits Times newspaper on Thursday quoted former prime minister Goh Chok Tong as saying at a human capital conference. Most Singapore citizens are descendants of immigrants who came to Singapore from China, India and the Indonesian island of Java at the turn of the 20th century.
Temporary residents and non-Singaporeans who take up permanent residency make up about 35 percent of the population. "It's about power, pride and prejudice," Chua Lee Hoong, an editor at the Straits Times, said in a column. "For a country that is predominantly a land of migrants, the xenophobia here can be astonishing." Ho Khai Leong, an associate professor of political science at Nanyang Technological University, said Singaporeans are feeling insecure about their homes, jobs and ties with the state. He said the government needs to address that by giving Singaporeans more preferential treatment beyond voting rights, such as offering them the first right to jobs, an issue of increasing importance after a recession in the third quarter.
"The government needs to give confidence that they are taking care of Singaporeans," he said. In the estate where the dormitory is planned, residents' feelings have cooled after the government conceded to building a new road to carry immigrants' traffic away from the estate. But residents in a nearby estate are now protesting instead. "This is not my country so I cannot get angry with Singaporeans," said S. Senthil Kumar, a 30-year-old construction worker from India who has worked in Singapore since 1997. "There will be no problem if everyone respects everyone," he said as he exercised in a park in the estate.
Last edited:
