<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Population growth: Swiss may yet be the model we should emulate
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE unease many Singaporeans feel in the past few years over the explosive increase in the number of foreigners living in their midst was confirmed by figures released by the Department of Statistics on Tuesday.
When 36 per cent of the population, or 1.78 million out of a total population of 4.98 million, are permanent residents or foreign workers, it is no wonder that citizens begin to feel insecure at both ends of the pyramid.
The rapid surge of population import is evident by the fact that in 1980, our total population was only 2.41 million. Within a short period of less than three decades, we have more than doubled our population to almost five million. And if the population planners have their way, it will increase to hit 6.5 million soon.
To get some sense of perspective, let us take a look at Switzerland, a country whose standard of living we aspired to attain in the 1990s.
In 1900, this modest European nation had a population of 3.3 million. It took the Swiss more than 100 years to double its population to 7.7 million, last year.
The number of resident foreigners in Switzerland (including temporary foreign workers) stood at 1.66 million last year, or only 22 per cent of the total population.
Switzerland's annual population growth rate was only 0.8 per cent between 1980 and 2007. Its highest rate of 2.4 per cent was between 1961 and 1964.
Despite this relatively low growth rate, Switzerland did not have to resort to massive population import to achieve a standard of living then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong wanted Singapore to emulate in the 1990s.
Our population planners must be aware that Switzerland is 57.3 times the size of Singapore, with a land mass of 41,285 sq km compared to our little red dot's size of 720 sq km.
Yet despite its size, Switzerland has refrained from a massive intake of immigrants, sparing its people frenzied competition with foreigners.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the drive for material prosperity. However, the price we pay in terms of overcrowding, long queues and work-life imbalance that accompany the huge influx of immigrants will put an unbearable strain on our limited resources and our social fabric as well.
It would be prudent for the Government to pause, take a deep breath, examine our figures and compare them with those of other countries before rushing to increase our population by another 1.5 million.
Patrick Low
<!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE unease many Singaporeans feel in the past few years over the explosive increase in the number of foreigners living in their midst was confirmed by figures released by the Department of Statistics on Tuesday.
When 36 per cent of the population, or 1.78 million out of a total population of 4.98 million, are permanent residents or foreign workers, it is no wonder that citizens begin to feel insecure at both ends of the pyramid.
The rapid surge of population import is evident by the fact that in 1980, our total population was only 2.41 million. Within a short period of less than three decades, we have more than doubled our population to almost five million. And if the population planners have their way, it will increase to hit 6.5 million soon.
To get some sense of perspective, let us take a look at Switzerland, a country whose standard of living we aspired to attain in the 1990s.
In 1900, this modest European nation had a population of 3.3 million. It took the Swiss more than 100 years to double its population to 7.7 million, last year.
The number of resident foreigners in Switzerland (including temporary foreign workers) stood at 1.66 million last year, or only 22 per cent of the total population.
Switzerland's annual population growth rate was only 0.8 per cent between 1980 and 2007. Its highest rate of 2.4 per cent was between 1961 and 1964.
Despite this relatively low growth rate, Switzerland did not have to resort to massive population import to achieve a standard of living then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong wanted Singapore to emulate in the 1990s.
Our population planners must be aware that Switzerland is 57.3 times the size of Singapore, with a land mass of 41,285 sq km compared to our little red dot's size of 720 sq km.
Yet despite its size, Switzerland has refrained from a massive intake of immigrants, sparing its people frenzied competition with foreigners.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the drive for material prosperity. However, the price we pay in terms of overcrowding, long queues and work-life imbalance that accompany the huge influx of immigrants will put an unbearable strain on our limited resources and our social fabric as well.
It would be prudent for the Government to pause, take a deep breath, examine our figures and compare them with those of other countries before rushing to increase our population by another 1.5 million.
Patrick Low
<!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
