Madam Speaker, the White Paper states that “To be a strong and cohesive society, we must have a strong Singaporean core.”
议长女士，白皮书指出‘ 新加坡人是国家和社会的核心成员’， 还有‘我们要有一个坚强和团结的社会，就必须由新加坡人组成坚 实的核心。’
It also states that＂our population and workforce must support a dynamic economy that can steadily create good jobs and opportunities.＂
白皮书也指出 ’我国的人口和劳动队伍的组合必须有利经济发展，使经济保持蓬勃，为国人创造良好的就业与进取的机会‘
Our population will eventually reach the limit of our island’s space. It would be more responsible to plan now for economic growth that would rely on fewer labour inputs, while maintaining a Singapore core, than to leave the underlying economic and social issues till later.
我们的人口迟早会达到这个岛国有限的空间。
我们现在就得开始规划一个减少依赖外来劳动力 的经济成长，同时维持一个新加坡核心的劳动队伍， 这是一种负责任的态度。 Full speech
Our government has placed its nation building emphasis on our economy and the relentless pursuit of GDP growth. Singaporeans have been reminded time and again that a healthy GDP will bring about a better life for all. The negative consequences will be minimised and relieved with the onset of economic growth. It was on this note that between 2008 and 2011, our Government widened its door and allowed the large influx of foreigners and immigrants into this tiny nation state. The Government argued that we need a critical mass in our workforce to ensure the vibrancy of the economy. However, Singaporeans today face a widening income gap, a rising cost of living, increased social friction, unhappiness at the direction this country is taking, worried about their employment prospects. Full speech
Since 1990, Singaporeans have been subject to drastic population increases in a short time. From a population of 3 million in 1990, we had 4 million in the year 2000, and in 2010, 5 million. The share of Singapore citizens now stands at 62%, meaning that out of every 10 people, nearly 4 are foreigners. Indigenous Singaporeans feel under siege, wondering what happened to the Singapore they grew up in and whether they have a place at the table.
The Workers’ Party does not endorse the White Paper on Population as the population policy roadmap to address Singapore’s demographic challenge. The roadmap proposed in the White Paper will further dilute our national identity; it will also place us on a course towards needing even larger population injections in the future, which we do not believe is sustainable. While we accept that trade-offs have to be made, we believe such trade-offs should be made in favour of the well-being of Singaporeans and not GDP targets. Full speech
