Channel NewsAsia - Friday, August
14
SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has
highlighted two challenges for Singapore to undertake in order to
do well in the next five to ten years.
Speaking on Thursday at the annual National Day Dinner at his
Tanjong Pagar constituency, the minister mentor said Singapore can
reach a new level of development, but difficulties will crop up
along the way.
To resolve them, the nation must always face them squarely and
work together.
The first challenge is integrating new citizens and permanent
residents (PRs) with the local population. The speed of this
process depends on the openness of Singaporeans who are born and
raised here, and the willingness of new citizens to adapt and be
part of the Singapore society.
Mr Lee explained that without immigration, the ageing problem
will be too heavy a burden for the young. Immigrants who can be
integrated without upsetting the racial balance are in Singapore’s
interest.
He said: "We need immigrants to make up for the children we are
not having. That’s a very hard fact of life. Between age 25 and 40,
more than 30 per cent are unmarried — that means single and
childless.
"Those who marry have an average of 1.8 children — replacement
is 2.1. If we do not have educated Malaysians, China Chinese and
India Indians and others from the region, our economy will decline
and our labour force will shrink."
Mr Lee, however, assured Singaporeans that the government is
conscious of protecting the interests of citizens. In fact, there
is a clear distinction between citizens and PRs in terms of HDB
housing, hospital charges, education fees and the Resilience
Package.
On the other hand, he added that Singapore cannot make the
immigration process so onerous that no one comes. For example, it
cannot insist that PRs or new citizens be fluent in English when
even some existing citizens are not.
Mr Lee’s second challenge is to encourage Chinese Singaporeans
to speak more Mandarin and to take up scholarships to study in
China’s top universities.
He said Singapore needs 200 to 300 A—level students to be
proficient in both languages and cultures to manage the work with
China — both government—to—government and in the private
sector.
He added: "This does not mean we are displacing English as our
working and common language — our first language. English will
remain the master language for all Singaporeans.
"Our new immigrants know that in Singapore, without an adequate
command of English, they cannot go far. The command of English is
the decisive factor for the career path and promotion prospects of
all Singaporeans."
As for the resident population, Mr Lee said the government is
conscious of the need to keep the character and values of the
Singapore society, so it is carefully controlling the inflow of PRs
and new citizens to maintain this balance.
— CNA/so
