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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - PM signals a slower intake of immigrants</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>The pace will be a more sustained one, with a clearer distinction in how PRs and citizens are treated </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday sought to soothe Singaporeans' simmering discontent over the surging numbers of foreigners in Singapore in recent years.
Their rapid influx will slow, he said, as the economy is not expected to grow at the exceptional pace it did for several years until last year.
There will also be 'sharper' differentiation in the way the Government treats citizens and permanent residents (PRs), he promised.
Mr Lee did not elaborate on the forthcoming changes, but made clear the shift will reflect the responsibilities and privileges that come with citizenship.
But, he added, 'we cannot make it so onerous for PRs and non-residents that they do not want to come'.
Mr Lee was speaking at a dialogue with 1,500 undergraduates at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) last night.
His 45-minute speech sought to tackle young people's concerns on whether Singapore has more room to grow.
The pace of growth lies in their hands, he said, adding that attracting immigrants - especially talented ones - to sink roots here is a key driver of growth.
Indeed, in a competitive and integrated world, a 'sustained, calibrated inflow' of immigrants is necessary to 'safeguard the long-term interest of Singaporeans', he stressed.
Mr Lee posed a question to the students: 'What type of Singapore do you want - a relaxed, quiet kampung, or a buzzing cosmopolitan city?'
Noting that some say Singapore can be more relaxed and does not need to 'go for Number 1 in everything', he said: 'But with that attitude, soon we will be Number 2, then Number 3, and eventually end up a kampung again.'
Singapore, he said, has the potential to do better and become an outstanding city similar to London, New York or Shanghai.
The country also ought to improve, ensuring a high standard of living, health care and education for all.
There are, however, limits to growth. The most obvious constraint is physical space, while the most critical is people.
This is why Singapore continues to open its doors to foreigners - they enlarge the economic pie as they have skills that locals lack and take up jobs that locals shun.
This policy will not change, he said, adding: 'Singapore will need new immigrants for the indefinite future.'
But the policy is also not cast in stone.
'What we do depends not just on the Government, but on how open our society is, and how well Singaporeans adjust to and integrate new arrivals,' he noted.
The Prime Minister made it clear he understood the concerns that locals have - ranging from fears about the competition posed by newcomers, to irritation about the latter's different habits, accents and weak command of the English language.
'I understand and empathise with these concerns. Worries have grown because of large inflows in the last few years,' he said.
Mr Lee made a distinction between two groups of foreigners: transient foreign workers and immigrants who settle here as PRs and citizens.
The former make up more than 55 per cent of foreigners here. Many do jobs or take shifts that locals avoid and act as a buffer during the downturn.
Mr Lee pointed out that foreign workers absorbed most of the job losses in the first half of this year. More than 21,000 of them left, even as more than 7,000 locals gained jobs in the same period.
Despite the contributions of foreign workers, he cautioned: 'We know we cannot take in unlimited numbers of foreign workers.'
'We already have almost a million foreigners working here: I cannot imagine simply expanding year after year, and having two million workers here one day,' Mr Lee said.
This is the third time this year the Prime Minister has expressed his concern about the foreign worker population growing too big.
To prevent their unbridled surge, he said businesses have to improve their productivity so that more can be done with fewer workers.
Singapore, however, has to make a greater effort to integrate immigrants so that they feel at home, he said. But there must also be a clear distinction in how the Government treats citizens and PRs, and PRs and non-residents.
This will give people reason to become citizens, he said.
He recounted how an elderly Malaysian woman who is a PR visited his Meet-the-People session to ask for citizenship.
Asked why she wanted it, she replied in Chinese: 'Citizens get more benefits.'
Mr Lee's speech was followed by a lively dialogue with students, with 14 of them posing questions within one hour.
Their concerns ranged from Singapore's competitive advantage to the prices of HDB flats, to the ban on eating and drinking on MRT trains.
Asked by one student from China about the secret to Singapore's success, he said: 'There is no secret. We get people to pull together instead of in different directions.'
[email protected]
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>The pace will be a more sustained one, with a clearer distinction in how PRs and citizens are treated </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday sought to soothe Singaporeans' simmering discontent over the surging numbers of foreigners in Singapore in recent years.
Their rapid influx will slow, he said, as the economy is not expected to grow at the exceptional pace it did for several years until last year.
There will also be 'sharper' differentiation in the way the Government treats citizens and permanent residents (PRs), he promised.
Mr Lee did not elaborate on the forthcoming changes, but made clear the shift will reflect the responsibilities and privileges that come with citizenship.
But, he added, 'we cannot make it so onerous for PRs and non-residents that they do not want to come'.
Mr Lee was speaking at a dialogue with 1,500 undergraduates at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) last night.
His 45-minute speech sought to tackle young people's concerns on whether Singapore has more room to grow.
The pace of growth lies in their hands, he said, adding that attracting immigrants - especially talented ones - to sink roots here is a key driver of growth.
Indeed, in a competitive and integrated world, a 'sustained, calibrated inflow' of immigrants is necessary to 'safeguard the long-term interest of Singaporeans', he stressed.
Mr Lee posed a question to the students: 'What type of Singapore do you want - a relaxed, quiet kampung, or a buzzing cosmopolitan city?'
Noting that some say Singapore can be more relaxed and does not need to 'go for Number 1 in everything', he said: 'But with that attitude, soon we will be Number 2, then Number 3, and eventually end up a kampung again.'
Singapore, he said, has the potential to do better and become an outstanding city similar to London, New York or Shanghai.
The country also ought to improve, ensuring a high standard of living, health care and education for all.
There are, however, limits to growth. The most obvious constraint is physical space, while the most critical is people.
This is why Singapore continues to open its doors to foreigners - they enlarge the economic pie as they have skills that locals lack and take up jobs that locals shun.
This policy will not change, he said, adding: 'Singapore will need new immigrants for the indefinite future.'
But the policy is also not cast in stone.
'What we do depends not just on the Government, but on how open our society is, and how well Singaporeans adjust to and integrate new arrivals,' he noted.
The Prime Minister made it clear he understood the concerns that locals have - ranging from fears about the competition posed by newcomers, to irritation about the latter's different habits, accents and weak command of the English language.
'I understand and empathise with these concerns. Worries have grown because of large inflows in the last few years,' he said.
Mr Lee made a distinction between two groups of foreigners: transient foreign workers and immigrants who settle here as PRs and citizens.
The former make up more than 55 per cent of foreigners here. Many do jobs or take shifts that locals avoid and act as a buffer during the downturn.
Mr Lee pointed out that foreign workers absorbed most of the job losses in the first half of this year. More than 21,000 of them left, even as more than 7,000 locals gained jobs in the same period.
Despite the contributions of foreign workers, he cautioned: 'We know we cannot take in unlimited numbers of foreign workers.'
'We already have almost a million foreigners working here: I cannot imagine simply expanding year after year, and having two million workers here one day,' Mr Lee said.
This is the third time this year the Prime Minister has expressed his concern about the foreign worker population growing too big.
To prevent their unbridled surge, he said businesses have to improve their productivity so that more can be done with fewer workers.
Singapore, however, has to make a greater effort to integrate immigrants so that they feel at home, he said. But there must also be a clear distinction in how the Government treats citizens and PRs, and PRs and non-residents.
This will give people reason to become citizens, he said.
He recounted how an elderly Malaysian woman who is a PR visited his Meet-the-People session to ask for citizenship.
Asked why she wanted it, she replied in Chinese: 'Citizens get more benefits.'
Mr Lee's speech was followed by a lively dialogue with students, with 14 of them posing questions within one hour.
Their concerns ranged from Singapore's competitive advantage to the prices of HDB flats, to the ban on eating and drinking on MRT trains.
Asked by one student from China about the secret to Singapore's success, he said: 'There is no secret. We get people to pull together instead of in different directions.'
[email protected]
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