Population Staying Stable is Good News!

Singapore Can Do More to Fight All forms of isms – Racism, Ageism and More

The modest growth in population is good news indeed. It will have been better if there was a decline in population rather than just in growth.

The population stands at 5.61 million, according to media reports quoting statistics from the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD). In its annual Population in Brief report, released on September 27, the growth was just 0.1%.

The report also noted that the ageing population (citizens aged 65 and above) increased from 13.7 per cent to 14.4 per cent.

There were other reports which touched on how manpower shortage could hit businesses. To me, any talk about a labour crunch is just overblown sentiment. It is not brain surgeons or rocket scientists from across the shores they look for. It is largely routine resourcing.

Long Learning Curve

If firms show an unwillingness to hire locals and provide necessary training they have to bear the consequences.  After all, even the foreigners they hire are not productive from day 1. In fact, they go through a long learning curve.

Businesses screaming manpower gap trouble are just looking for escape routes that suit their palatability aligned with their own workforce preferences.

Go Offshore

The onus is on them to make the best out of available talent, showing an inclination towards equipping them with role-specific capabilities.

Or, they can tap skills offshore, given that most of the jobs going to foreigners are desk-based positions. If even in a smart and connected world firms are unable to use virtual teams they are just not being creative enough.

Breeding Evils – Racism, Ageism and Mediocrity

Foreign “Talent” (FT) quietly breed evils such as racism, ageism and fanaticism. I often hear comments against sections of the workforce they are threatened by – the young and old alike. The workplace is not a boxing arena for trading punches and withstanding strenuous physical activity.

When locals go without jobs, losing out to foreign mediocrity, there is a risk of revolt which can seriously affect harmony among the resident population.

There are MNCs who still make Mandarin mandatory for jobs that do not require specific language skills.

The only way to fight all -isms in Singapore is by trimming the population significantly. Women, young local graduates struggling for a break and even 50+ people can then be meaningfully employed by businesses.

Importantly, a less dense Singapore will translate to a better quality of life with little congestion. Economic prosperity alone does not define high-quality living.

 

G Joslin Vethakumar

Population Debate in Singapore Reignited

Economic growth with a substandard quality of life is not a happy compromise

The Singapore mainstream media have consistently been happy taking a pro-Government line. With a well-run Singapore, which has seen the country scale phenomenal heights, there has largely been no need for the media to come down on the Government. I am not an advocate of unfettered freedom.

Objective reporting by newspapers, nonetheless, is something I welcome. I have not seen much along this path in The Straits Times. Even the letters they pick are non-controversial and generally pro-establishment.

Social Media Rumblings

It is only in the social media that we see rumblings of discontent over the Government’s excessive friendliness to foreigners, businesses and pure lucre at the expense of a high-quality life that Singaporeans enjoyed when the population was less than four million about two decades ago.

This morning’s edition of The Straits Times had a letter from a reader in its Forum page supporting the Singapore Government’s White Paper on Population. The White Paper had argued for boosting the country’s population to about seven million by 2030 by importing foreign talent, an exercise that has seen the country bring in international mediocrity as well.

If the anticipated population materialises, it will mean about 1.6 million people more in an already overcrowded and overpopulated Singapore.

Roadmap for Trimming Population is the Need

The population issue had caused a lot of angst among locals, justifiably so, as their wellbeing had been seriously compromised by the Government’s open-door policy.

Amid all the talk of a labour crunch, Singaporeans struggle to find jobs and find places in the local universities. A number of university places for important courses are being taken by foreigners, forcing Singaporeans to look overseas for education.

Economy Not Everything

The most important action the Government must take is to come up with a roadmap to trim the country’s population by about 20%. The economy is not everything when it comes to determining a country’s future. The wellbeing of its citizens and a high quality of life are more important.

In one of my earlier posts here, I had taken the position that Economic growth with a substandard quality of life is not a happy compromise. I have no reason to move away from that stand.

It is naive to imagine that the economy will take a hit if the population is trimmed. The revenues for the Government may fall as there will be less people and entities to collect taxes from.

But the people will be a happier lot with jobs and better education without having to contend with stifling density.

G Joslin Vethakumar