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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Immigrants can become like us: SM </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>He notes Singaporeans' unease over influx of foreigners but believes they can enrich society </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Cai Haoxiang
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SM Goh lighting an oil lamp at the Deepa Thirunal dinner celebrations at the Braddell Heights Community Centre last night. -- PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->When he attended a Deepavali event recently, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was struck by how several young children of permanent residents (PRs) from India could easily pass off as Singaporeans.
Two weeks ago, when he visited his ancestral village in Wuling in China's Fujian province, he realised that although he could trace his roots 17 generations back to the year 1403, there was no doubt that he himself was a Singaporean, and regarded by the Chinese villagers not as a returning Chinese national, but as a visiting Singaporean leader.
Recounting the events at a grassroots event last night, Mr Goh said: 'These two experiences tell me that new immigrants to Singapore can become Singaporeans in outlook and loyalty within a generation.'
Mr Goh was at the Deepa Thirunal dinner celebrations at the Braddell Heights Community Club, attended by 1,000 residents from the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and the single-seat wards of MacPherson and Potong Pasir.
Singaporeans, Mr Goh noted, have been uneasy about the influx of large numbers of foreigners, as they fear being crowded out of the property market, choice schools and jobs.
Some foreigners are also perceived to be taking advantage of Singapore's opportunities and services, while not giving back to the community or doing national service, he said.
The number of foreigners in Singapore has increased by more than 100,000 a year in recent years. Latest figures from the Department of Statistics show that out of the approximately five million living here, more than a third - or 1.8 million - are non-citizens, with PRs making up 533,200.
Mr Goh said the issue boils down to whether newcomers can help sustain and enrich Singapore's quality of life. He cited three ways they can.
The first is to stem the population decline, which continues apace despite government efforts to encourage marriage and procreation.
He said: 'In the last 10 years, the number of people aged 65 and above grew by about 100,000, while the number of children aged below 15 shrank by about 50,000. Without PRs and new citizens, Singapore will go the way of the dinosaurs...Our population will begin to shrink in 2020. That is only 11 years away!'
Second, Singapore needs immigrants to sustain the current standard of living. Its economic growth rate, he surmised, would be one or two percentage points lower without foreigners.
'Well, you may say, let us do without this extra boost...and be satisfied with our present quality of life. But it is not that simple.
'Without the foreign workforce, our flats and MRT will not be built, our buses will come to a standstill, our health-care services will degrade, and many investors, including Singaporean ones, will uproot and go where talent is abundant,' he said.
Finally, he said, immigrants enrich Singapore's society, by injecting vitality and diversity in fields like the arts, music, sports and philanthropy.
However, while noting the upside of having foreigners in Singapore, Mr Goh also stressed that the Government should distinguish between those who are committed to long-term stay in Singapore and those who use the Republic as a stepping stone to elsewhere.
In addition, the Government should address how to get immigrants to contribute to Singapore society, for example in community service and donations to charity, he said.
He added: 'We will have to face up to the problems encountered by Singaporeans on the ground. Explaining in macro terms using overall statistics is not good enough.'
[email protected]
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>He notes Singaporeans' unease over influx of foreigners but believes they can enrich society </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Cai Haoxiang
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
SM Goh lighting an oil lamp at the Deepa Thirunal dinner celebrations at the Braddell Heights Community Centre last night. -- PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->When he attended a Deepavali event recently, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was struck by how several young children of permanent residents (PRs) from India could easily pass off as Singaporeans.
Two weeks ago, when he visited his ancestral village in Wuling in China's Fujian province, he realised that although he could trace his roots 17 generations back to the year 1403, there was no doubt that he himself was a Singaporean, and regarded by the Chinese villagers not as a returning Chinese national, but as a visiting Singaporean leader.
Recounting the events at a grassroots event last night, Mr Goh said: 'These two experiences tell me that new immigrants to Singapore can become Singaporeans in outlook and loyalty within a generation.'
Mr Goh was at the Deepa Thirunal dinner celebrations at the Braddell Heights Community Club, attended by 1,000 residents from the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and the single-seat wards of MacPherson and Potong Pasir.
Singaporeans, Mr Goh noted, have been uneasy about the influx of large numbers of foreigners, as they fear being crowded out of the property market, choice schools and jobs.
Some foreigners are also perceived to be taking advantage of Singapore's opportunities and services, while not giving back to the community or doing national service, he said.
The number of foreigners in Singapore has increased by more than 100,000 a year in recent years. Latest figures from the Department of Statistics show that out of the approximately five million living here, more than a third - or 1.8 million - are non-citizens, with PRs making up 533,200.
Mr Goh said the issue boils down to whether newcomers can help sustain and enrich Singapore's quality of life. He cited three ways they can.
The first is to stem the population decline, which continues apace despite government efforts to encourage marriage and procreation.
He said: 'In the last 10 years, the number of people aged 65 and above grew by about 100,000, while the number of children aged below 15 shrank by about 50,000. Without PRs and new citizens, Singapore will go the way of the dinosaurs...Our population will begin to shrink in 2020. That is only 11 years away!'
Second, Singapore needs immigrants to sustain the current standard of living. Its economic growth rate, he surmised, would be one or two percentage points lower without foreigners.
'Well, you may say, let us do without this extra boost...and be satisfied with our present quality of life. But it is not that simple.
'Without the foreign workforce, our flats and MRT will not be built, our buses will come to a standstill, our health-care services will degrade, and many investors, including Singaporean ones, will uproot and go where talent is abundant,' he said.
Finally, he said, immigrants enrich Singapore's society, by injecting vitality and diversity in fields like the arts, music, sports and philanthropy.
However, while noting the upside of having foreigners in Singapore, Mr Goh also stressed that the Government should distinguish between those who are committed to long-term stay in Singapore and those who use the Republic as a stepping stone to elsewhere.
In addition, the Government should address how to get immigrants to contribute to Singapore society, for example in community service and donations to charity, he said.
He added: 'We will have to face up to the problems encountered by Singaporeans on the ground. Explaining in macro terms using overall statistics is not good enough.'
[email protected]
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