MONDAY'S editorial ('A case of try and try again') highlighted
the many failed attempts to arrest the declining birth rate in
Singapore.
The current average of 1.22 babies per woman of child-bearing
age is far below the near-replacement level of 2.07, and places our
birth rate among the lowest in the world.
This worrying trend was noted by the Government almost 25 years
ago and several rounds of incentives were introduced. All failed
miserably, and yet, we refuse to recognise the real reasons for the
failure.
Singapore's low birth rate is the outcome of social and economic
policies of the past decades, which have resulted in high cost of
living, low employment security, low wages, wide disparity of
income, high cost of housing and a stressful education system, just
to name a few.
The measure to increase the population through immigration will
not solve the underlying problems. Immigrants will face the same
difficulties as Singapore-born citizens and have the option of
moving to another country at a convenient time in the future.
I hope that we are prepared to face reality, address the
underlying issues, and try new measures which have proven to be
successful in other countries.
Tan Kin Lian
-- ST Forum