Lee on Singapore immigrants and migration of
Singaporeans
Mr Lee: “Yeah. I mean, you take Singapore. When I was born, this
island had probably 450,000 people. By the time of Second World
War, nearly one million, it grew with trade and so on.
Three-and-a-half years of Japanese Occupation cut off from all sea
routes, no food, no medicines, no textiles, no nothing, the
population dispersed into all the surrounding areas to grow tapioca
in order to survive. It went down to about half-a-million. British
came back, restored the system, trade grew, went back to one
million. By the time we became independent in1965, we were about
two million.
“So, long stretches of rubber estates, pineapple plantations,
mangrove swamps I used to cycle down to town from the countryside,
it’s now just highway upon highway, tall buildings. We now have
four-and-a-half million people, 3.2 million our citizens, the rest
foreigners working here and our planners are projecting for growth
to 6.5. I said, look, go slow. Do we want to hit 6.5? Maybe we
should… My demographers tell me 5.5 is the more likely target
unless we ramp up the immigration. Even 5.5, already at 4.5, we
have complaints from our people who say, look, will you keep those
permit holders, those strange Chinese and Indians who don’t look
like us far away because if we have them nearby, at night in the
weekends, they come near our places
because we’ve got bright lights and they stay around and leave the
place littered and make a terrible noise. If we don’t have them,
who’s going to climb up all these scaffoldings and bend these steel
bars?”
Q: “So, how serious is the brain drain, sir?”
Mr Lee: “The brain drain is pretty serious, our brain drain,
losing them…”
Q: “To China?”
Mr Lee: “No, losing them to America. No, we’re not losing to
China.”
Q: “Not China?”
Mr Lee: “China, they’ll come back. You want to be Chinese or do
you want to be Singaporean. You go to China, you’re going to
compete against 1,300 million very bright fellows, hardworking,
starving. Do you stand a chance to be on top of that pole? No, but
if you go there as Singaporean with a different base, speaking
English which they can’t, with connections to the world, then
you’ve got a different platform. What happens is they go to
America, Americans then collect them, the bright ones. You stay for
two, three years in their companies, acclimatize them to the
company culture and take them to China, if they speak Chinese.
So, they’re part of the American team. Now, if they are working
in China, I think they’ll come back because they don’t want their
children to compete against Chinese. But if they decide to take the
Green Card and settle in America, then I think we’ve lost them and
they are going to America and those who don’t want the hard
competition here go to Australia and Canada.”
Q: “You have percentages on that, sir?”
Mr Lee: “We’re losing about… According to the people who give up
their citizenship and take out their savings, their pension funds,
we’re losing about, at the top end, 1,000 a year, which is about,
if you take the top 30 per cent of the population, thereabout four
or five per cent. It will grow because I think the numbers are
growing. Every year, th
Lee on Singapore immigrants and migration of
Singaporeans
Mr Lee: “Yeah. I mean, you take Singapore. When I was born, this
island had probably 450,000 people. By the time of Second World
War, nearly one million, it grew with trade and so on.
Three-and-a-half years of Japanese Occupation cut off from all sea
routes, no food, no medicines, no textiles, no nothing, the
population dispersed into all the surrounding areas to grow tapioca
in order to survive. It went down to about half-a-million. British
came back, restored the system, trade grew, went back to one
million. By the time we became independent in1965, we were about
two million.
“So, long stretches of rubber estates, pineapple plantations,
mangrove swamps I used to cycle down to town from the countryside,
it’s now just highway upon highway, tall buildings. We now have
four-and-a-half million people, 3.2 million our citizens, the rest
foreigners working here and our planners are projecting for growth
to 6.5. I said, look, go slow. Do we want to hit 6.5? Maybe we
should… My demographers tell me 5.5 is the more likely target
unless we ramp up the immigration. Even 5.5, already at 4.5, we
have complaints from our people who say, look, will you keep those
permit holders, those strange Chinese and Indians who don’t look
like us far away because if we have them nearby, at night in the
weekends, they come near our places
because we’ve got bright lights and they stay around and leave the
place littered and make a terrible noise. If we don’t have them,
who’s going to climb up all these scaffoldings and bend these steel
bars?”
Q: “So, how serious is the brain drain, sir?”
Mr Lee: “The brain drain is pretty serious, our brain drain,
losing them…”
Q: “To China?”
Mr Lee: “No, losing them to America. No, we’re not losing to
China.”
Q: “Not China?”
Mr Lee: “China, they’ll come back. You want to be Chinese or do
you want to be Singaporean. You go to China, you’re going to
compete against 1,300 million very bright fellows, hardworking,
starving. Do you stand a chance to be on top of that pole? No, but
if you go there as Singaporean with a different base, speaking
English which they can’t, with connections to the world, then
you’ve got a different platform. What happens is they go to
America, Americans then collect them, the bright ones. You stay for
two, three years in their companies, acclimatize them to the
company culture and take them to China, if they speak Chinese.
So, they’re part of the American team. Now, if they are working
in China, I think they’ll come back because they don’t want their
children to compete against Chinese. But if they decide to take the
Green Card and settle in America, then I think we’ve lost them and
they are going to America and those who don’t want the hard
competition here go to Australia and Canada.”
Q: “You have percentages on that, sir?”
Mr Lee: “We’re losing about… According to the people who give up
their citizenship and take out their savings, their pension funds,
we’re losing about, at the top end, 1,000 a year, which is about,
if you take the top 30 per cent of the population, thereabout four
or five per cent. It will grow because I think the numbers are
growing. Every year, there are more people going abroad for their
either first degree or second degree or whatever. But we’re making
up by getting many bright Chinese and Indians coming here because
of better prospects, learn English, you can learn Chinese at the
same time and so on and the Indians are near home, First-World
standards as against Indian infrastructure. The trouble is many of
the Chinese then use us as a stepping stone to go to America where
the grass is greener. But even if we only keep 30 to 40 per cent
and we lose 60 to 70 per cent, we’re a net gainer. But the day will
come, maybe 20 years, maybe 30 years, when Chinese say, look, my
life is better than yours or as good.” ere are more people going
abroad for their either first degree or second degree or whatever.
But we’re making up by getting many bright Chinese and Indians
coming here because of better prospects, learn English, you can
learn Chinese at the same time and so on and the Indians are near
home, First-World standards as against Indian infrastructure. The
trouble is many of the Chinese then use us as a stepping stone to
go to America where the grass is greener. But even if we only keep
30 to 40 per cent and we lose 60 to 70 per cent, we’re a net
gainer. But the day will come, maybe 20 years, maybe 30 years, when
Chinese say, look, my life is better than yours or as good.”
senile old man likes to repeat his crap again and again. hear
also sian. haiz.
This is what Singaporeans have to endure.
It's like surfing the same website, watching the same TV show
for 50 fucking years. never change.
pure hell.
