AsiaOne Monday,
Dec 31, 2012
This is just part of the long
story. If you want to read more go:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20121231-392664.html
No need to look at his face if you don't like him.
POPULATION
One issue where we must seek consensus is population, a
longstanding challenge that we have been discussing in earnest this
past year. It is critical that we strike the right balance in our
population policies. At stake is a vibrant and cohesive nation, for
Singaporeans, now and into the future.
Fundamentally, the population issue is about maintaining a strong
Singaporean core. We need to balance two different imperatives
carefully. First, we must deal with practical necessities,
rationally and objectively. We need to prevent our citizen
population from ageing and shrinking. We have to find effective
ways to encourage Singaporeans to have more babies, and consider
how many new immigrants to take in. We must keep our economy
competitive and create good jobs for Singaporeans, and understand
the mix and size of our labour force to support such an economy. We
must work out how many homes, hospitals and train lines to build,
and how quickly, as our population grows.
But our population policies cannot just be about numbers.
Ultimately, a strong Singapore core is about the spirit of
Singapore - who we are, what ideals we believe in and what ties
bind us together as one people. We must therefore also give full
weight to the intangible human considerations. We all need the
anchors of family and friends, a sense of familiarity and home even
as our society changes rapidly. We need to improve relations -
between citizens and new arrivals, young and old, different races
and religions - to preserve our social harmony. And we need to
foster an open, confident spirit in our society, and stay connected
to the world. Above all, we must affirm our common Singaporean
values, norms and identity, forged through shared experiences and
memories, regardless of where we originally came from.
The White Paper on Population will set out all these
considerations. We will publish the White Paper in January, debate
it in Parliament and set the direction of our population
policy.
EMBRACING THE RIGHT VALUES
To realise our aspirations and manage our challenges, Singapore
must have good governance. We need capable and committed leaders,
who uphold high standards of integrity and set good personal
examples, so as to have the moral authority to lead our nation.