Welcome to the REACH Portal.

i-REACH (May 2013) is out now.

In This Section

Find us on

> >

A- | A+

Discussion Forum

12 Jul 2012, 4.38PM

29 comments & replies |by REACH Administrator | The World and Us

Singapore has to adapt to a changed world and grow at a pace that Singaporeans can accept, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the recent FutureChina Global Forum.

Addressing a question on the social impact of the newly-rich from China on Singapore, PM Lee said that while Singapore wants to continue to reap the benefits of the inflow of mainland Chinese, it will also manage the numbers and the social impact.

He said that it was "completely understandable" that Singaporeans may feel uncomfortable with the recent influx of mainland Chinese immigrants, who may look the same as Singaporean Chinese, but sound and behave differently.

In this regard, he urged newcomers to play their part in adapting to life in a multi-racial and religious society with different societal values and cultural norms. Chinese immigrants have to make those adaptations which the Singaporean Chinese have adapted and learnt over several generations.

"Of course, we also have to manage the numbers and the flow and make sure we're not overwhelmed. We have to make sure there is effort on both sides to make this a working, adapted and well-adjusted relationship," he added.

Read more in The Strait Times’ article “S'pore must grow at pace acceptable to its people: PM”.

Do you agree that a calibrated approach in managing the inflow of foreigners will enable Singapore to stay relevant in a changed world while sustaining our social fabric? Share your thoughts with us!

1327 views | 29 comments & replies |

Sort By :

Guest

12 Jul 2012, 7.50PM

All the management positions in the company I work for are held by foreigners. Why is our so-called world class education system not producing talents?

Singaporeans are all relegated to the lowest rank of the company, and we are outnumbered by foreigners. Where is the calibrated approach?

Our forefathers built this country from 3rd to 1st world with their sweat and blood. Why are we now inviting foreigners to rule over us?

My thought is, we are near the tipping point. Please do not push us to the limit.

Guest

12 Jul 2012, 9.19PM

Education in Singapore is more vocational training and literacy training. So we have literate people and trained people to run our factories and shops etc. The higher ideal of education - thinking and expressing ideas are not inculcated. Even our attempts to have innovative thinking by giving open ended questions and out of the box scenario questions are assessed strictly - one expected and right answer only. This kills creativity instead of fostering creativity. Projects are marked by impressions and innovation so much so that parents do the projects for their children.

My personal experience with locals is that they have lost the educational training that they had trained so hard for - they used to be able to read voluminous textbooks and now they can only read SMS', anything longer than that they have no patience to read and understand. Unfortunately ideas need paragraphs if not chapters to expound and SMS's type communications make poor transmission of ideas - instructions yes but not ideas. And so locals are not trained to think independently, not trained at expressing themselves and no patience to undersatnd ideas. And they can live comfortably with short messages taking instructionsso that's why expats rule over us.

Of course the real reasons are more and one man can only give so much reasons.

Guest

12 Jul 2012, 4.51PM

"Of course, we also have to manage the numbers and the flow and make sure we're not overwhelmed."

+++++++

I worry of this statement.

Does he mean right now we are still not "overwhelmed", and there's room for more to come in and flood us, then we will be overwhelmed?

Guest

12 Jul 2012, 8.17PM

PM Lee playing with words?

Is he managing the current inflow or just merely restricting outflow? No wait, maybe he is referring to the FUTURE inflow.

Does that actually solve the problem that was created 5 years ago? Not at all.

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 3.00PM

He was playing with ambiguities in his statements. He was also playing with the race card by identifying Singaporeans of Chinese origins as Singaporean Chinese. As the PM of Singapore, I expect him to refer us to Singaporeans without classification.

Fat MaMa

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 9.11AM

We, Singaporean, are so SCREWED ! by our Gov !

What LHL means that The Gov will make the overwhelming less 'felt' by the Singapore own citizen and HE is going to bring more and more foreigners into Singapore...no matter you like it or not.

The statement he made is just a sweet talk and smoke screen....he talk to make you felt better and make you thinking that he is good and he is doing all the right things.....

"PM Lee said that while Singapore wants to continue to reap the benefits of the inflow of mainland Chinese, it will also manage the numbers and the social impact." Read carefully ! We are so SCREWED!

"In this regard, he urged newcomers to play their part in adapting to life in a multi-racial and religious society with different societal values and cultural norms. Chinese immigrants have to make those adaptations which the Singaporean Chinese have adapted and learnt over several generations."
He is saying what LKY also said....It take afew generations to adapt and Singaporean like it or not - Accept the large amount of pinoy n chini !

"Of course, we also have to manage the numbers and the flow and make sure we're not overwhelmed. We have to make sure there is effort on both sides to make this a working, adapted and well-adjusted relationship," he added. He is asking Singaporean to live with it !

Com'on Singaporean lets stand together again ! like how we did in the 70s, 80s and 90s where we are proud to be Singaporean.

Guest

14 Jul 2012, 4.09PM

I think this whole thing about Singaporeans getting more xenophobic is just hogwash. It is just normal human reaction!! Look at the Aussies and their complaints over Chinese and Asian immigrants. Look at the Europeans, where in France they complain about the middle east immigrants.

This social reaction is not just peculiar to Singapore. Open the floodgates anywhere and suddenly allow the country to be inundated with foreigners will create problems anywhere, not just in Singapore. It is not just the Chinese immigrants behaving badly. I ve seen plenty of Europeans and Americans behaving just as badly, if not worst. They behave as if they were still in the colonial century. This rubbish has to stop. Singapore belongs to Singaporeans and we have every right to control and determine who comes in and who does not. There must be quality in the immigrants that come in. Skilled workers who are actually required in areas that Singaporeans are not able fill are welcomed. Immigrants who are able to create employment are welcomed. And these people must have quality in their character as well.

What we should have done was to allow a gradual inflow of immigrants, instead of simply trying to replace the existing population in one fell swoop due to the low birth rates. The sudden inflow of immigrants have increased competition in education, housing, medical, private and publich transport and therefore contributed to inflation.

How did this suddenly happen? If you look at the immigration rates, I believe immigration rates were probably in the 20k-50k region annually before 2005. Post 2005 there was a spike, probably in the 50k-100k region per year. I believe this was in response to the "new targeted" population of 6 million we were trying to achieve. Absolutely ridiculous. How are Singaporeans to adapt psychologically and physically to this sudden increase in population? Not to mention how are we to guarantee the quality of immigrants when we re accepting so many in at one go?

Compounding the problems was also the clear lack of proper infrastructure planning before we opened the floodgates. The HDB is a prime example. Undersupply of flats coupled with sudden increase in demand due to the sudden increase in population caused prices to escalate. In the MRT we have a system, dogged by many years of sub par maintenance, coupled a sudden increase in frequency of usage, that caused the breakdowns.

I say fix the problems, calibrate the inflow to something more gradual if we don t want to screw up our country in time to come. PRs who re hardly contributing to our economy should be kicked out. PRs who re clearly only here to take advantage of the property boom should be kciked out. PRs who just come in to buy HDB and than leave some other country to work should be kicked out. Newly minted Singapore citizens should also have say a 1 year probationary period. If they commit crimes, etc in between their citizenship should be revoked.

Guest

14 Jul 2012, 4.31PM

One more thing, if you look at the problems that are happening in HK and Singapore, we re not that different, accept that HK s problems are alot more severe, their income disparity is wider and housing is an even bigger problem as they do not have many options.

The problem is the same, and that is the existing younger lot of people are finding it ever tougher to fulfil their dreams with more competition and rising inflation. If you look a the problems in Singapore, there re fundamental flaws to the 2 biggest ticket items that have caused the rich poor gulf to widen:

1. Private transport.

COEs for cars below 1600 cc, the bread n butter cars for ordinary Singaporeans are about 60k. Luxury cars about 80k. Why such a small difference? If you look at every bidding, COE prices for 1600cc cars stay low, until the last few minutes where taxi companies come in the bid, than prices skyrocket. Therein lies the problem, big conglomerates are allowed to compete with small timers

2. Public Hosuing

A HDB resale at a prime area can go as high as 900k. Condos at not so prime areas can go for that price or below. Why again, the small gulf? Because newly minted Singaporeans and PRs compete in that market as well, but with much more wealth. I think we ve about 30% new citizens n PRs, thats not a small number. Plus we have what is commonly called the sky habitat effect. When prices get transacted at a much higher price in that region, it can lift up prices in the entire region though not necessarily to the same level. So we have limited supply, plus excess demand coupled with bigger wealth from a smaller group competing, and it raises the prices dramatically.

In both instances we have the same problem. A market meant for ordinary Singapreans that have a process which allows much richer people or organisations compete. So prices get jacked up, and ordinary citizens feel left out. It works well for rich people, but not for the poor or ordinary. That is one of the reasons why you see more Singaporeans getting frustrated. The quality of living in Singapore has increased no doubt, but ordinary Singaporeans are running much harder to maintain the basic standards of living.

Guest

14 Jul 2012, 10.58PM

The PAP adopted a sound strategy over the past 8 to 10 years to deliver sustained economic growth. It knows what buttons to push and with whom and when. But the one thing the PAP is not strong at is people relations. Its policies were executed too aggressively with little thought of how they affect the lives of Singaporeans.

LHL's words of these sentiments being "completely understandable" is a massive understatement. Sir, lest you and your not terribly people-centric politicians and bureaucrats get carried away with all the clever ideas bursting out of double tripos cerebrums, those digits on your policy papers represent real people, real lives, real aspirations of real Singaporeans. Before you make all sorts of promises to allow foreign companies to access our markets in exchange for our companies (made up of GLCs in no small way) to enter huge foreign markets, flood the little tea cup economy with gargantuan foreign barbarian companies, hordes of hungry poverty stricken workers from other parts of the continent and riches of Asia, please spare a thought for the distortion it brings to the local market.

Guest

16 Jul 2012, 6.20PM

"The PAP adopted a sound strategy over the past 8 to 10 years to deliver sustained economic growth"???????

By building a dependancy on constant cheap labour at all middle and lower job levels, negatively affecting millions of Citizens? You call that a sound, sustainable strategy!?!?

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 1.48PM

Is he selling singapore again to rich chinese and their high rank official?

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 10.14AM

I see useless rhetorics as usual, nothing else. We, Singaporeans, know better. Also, why must we be compared to HK? We are sovereign, HK isn't. Or are we already not, without Singaporeans knowing it? Cannot be trusted to the core.

Fat MaMa

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 1.07PM

PM Lee should go watch the ENDING to the "War of the World", perhaps he will figure out what is meant by "earning the right to be here."

Guest

15 Jul 2012, 8.15AM

One issue is that education in Singapore is grounded on "textbook" knowledge. Do many of our fresh undergrads know plenty about applying formulas, less on credible research sites and little on translating /integrating brain power to industry usages?

Guest

15 Jul 2012, 1.09PM

The immediate action for the govt is to send untalented PRs and their dependents home. With close to 40% foreigners in this little island, we are surely close to breaking point.

Guest

16 Jul 2012, 11.35AM

With recent news, more minsters are asking for integration. Think they are going to force it down our throat again. More foreigners and PRs are coming their way. My ex company just reemployed more foreigners again. Mind you, these are not low paying jobs.

WHAT A SPOREAN FIRST POLICY. Sincerely THks to the 60% voters who voted for these.

Guest

18 Jul 2012, 3.54PM

Before I continue my post, I d like to state explicitly that I m not anti foreigner, and in fact I ve wonderful friends who are foreigners as well. However this uncontrolled mass migration into Singapore has to slow down, because we re letting so many people in there s no quality control at all, and the amount of rubbish that flows in as well is shocking.

To be fair I ve met my fair share of the ugly Singaporean over time, but the frequency was really quite low, ast least to me. However the last 2 years alone has really been an eye opening experience to the amount of bad apples entering our shores.

Let me relate a few incidents. 2 years back, I was driving towards Sentosa, was trying to filter right as this motor cycle was some distance away from me. The fella flashed his lights and horned. I went back to my lane. Some ang moh on a motorcycle flashed his middle finger.

Couple of months back, I was queuing at an economy rice stall. Some china lady was in front of me in the queue talking on the phone. The guy waived me forward to order my food since she was over the phone, and she stared at me when I ordered before her.

Some weeks back, again some ang moh was scolding a waiter at some restaurant over the perceived sky high prices when the menu clearly stated all the prices. It was a high end restaurant. If you got no money, you shouldn t be eating and ordering there, why blame the waiter?

These are only a few incidents that I m relating.

Do you guys watch national geographic? Do you see what happens to the older lion who cedes some of his territory to the new upstart young lion? Over time the young lion takes more and more territory, and eventually the old lion is chased out of his own land.

Singapore belongs to Singaporeans, and there is nowhere else for us to run to. We cannot afford to be trampled in our own backyard. We have to assert our rights, but on a reasonable basis. We want foreigners, we want investments, but on our terms and conditions, because this is our country.

I think the 2011 elections was a great election, maybe not for the incumbent party, but great for the nation as a whole, because it reawakened the national consciousness of Singaporeans, got us thinking again what it means to be a Singaporean. They say great people are born during tumultuous times, this might not exactly be a tumultuous period, but it definitely is a period of great change. We have to stand up together for our own country and land, and make justifiable demands for what is right for our future, only than can we have a better Singapore.

Guest

12 Jul 2012, 9.33PM

Let's take our own daily experience - a new comer - and if the new comer remains aloof nobody is going to like him and soon prejudices and suspicions grow around him. There must be decent behaviour, nothing against local customs, and interactions.

Decent behaviour is difficult to enforce , one can only be selective in the people admitted in. Companies have interviews and they watch the personality and behaviour of the prospective employee.

Nothing against local customs - how often we get fed up if some one says in Australia this is how they do it etc - sensitivity, understanding are required - again this is hard to enforce and can only be selective in the people admitted into Singapore.

One cannot blindly look at money and position when admitting potential immigrants. The immigration department is the gatekeeper and must be careful in their gatekeeping role.

As for interactions: As is, even locals hardly interact - people disappear into their homes and make their appearances only for the minute or so between the lift landing and the car or bus stop. So if immigrants go for gatherings it will be sham gatherings as it is only for that moment a show-and-tell-the-world event. Nevertheless there is a role for these gatherings - ice breakers for them to be introduced to the neighbours.

What perhaps is useful is for the regular activitiesnot targetted at immigrants but targetted at residences with special invitation for immigrants- but unfortunately the traditional activities organised by RCs with their songs and dance and PA system blaring away only serve to alienate each other because it is anti-social and selfish to disturb the quiet of the neighbourhood for the fun of the few and KPI of the organisers.

Maybe, activities can be at apartment block level or several blocks level for easy planning becasue it will be a small scale event and there will be acquaintances and easier to get people to participate, the people can have a quiet gathering and activities, maybe just one or two activities eg balloon sculpturing, electric car rides for children, some food, maybe a screening of a show, an important person to be the attraction giving a short speech/presentation on new events in the neighbourhood or country, or a speaker from a bank or a housing agent etc on some general education topic etc. Then maybe feedback platform for residences if some RCs or Community Center people are around.

Guest

14 Jul 2012, 10.05PM

Decent behaviour is difficult to enforce

Yes, it must be cultivated, this is correct.

It is also correct that it takes 5 decades to deter us from spitting, littering etc yet we still find our streets filled with trash in the evenings when the sweepers rest.

Yes, decent behaviour is difficult to enforced

but how much time did we give foreigners to acquire these habits we consider decent?

Ultimately, are we less courteous/patient than our previous generations?

Guest

17 Jul 2012, 5.42PM

I believe economic and intellectual contribution, couple with the right attitudes is what we should look out for in PRs. Else why admit these people into Singapore? Just to make up the numbers?

If you look around you ll realize there re quite a number of PRs who are not even based in Singapore. They take our PR which grants them more privileges and than fly off somewhere else to work for years. They might even buy some properties here for investments because as PRs they ve more benefits, thereby creating compeition and inflation. If you look talk to people, look around the forums, read etc you ll find there re alot of PRs who re really just keen in our property sector only, its their ticket to riches. Singapore is really just a stepping stone.

How do they contribute to our country?

In the past we might need these people s money, but now when we have the right to choose than we should be selective. We want people who want to be citizens, people who want to stay for the long haul and generate economic value and employment to our country, not use this country simply as a stepping stone and in the meantime cause numerous social problems in the country.

Singaporeans contribute to the country, contribute taxes, do national service, contribute to CPF until 55 etc but alot of these people simply parachute in and pick up all the advantages without the necessary sacrifices. That is why there needs to be a clearer distinction between Singapore citizens and foreigners else the increasing social and income divide will only polarize the divide between people. And I m happy the government is sharpening that distinction.

A huge influx of foreigners will cause a social reaction, thats natural. I ve never said Singaporeans are a particularly nice bunch of people, and it is the government s business to be aware of that, and that is why opening the floodgates for huge immigrant migration was a massively wrong move in the past. It should have been alot more gradual. Look at cosmopolitan cities like New York. How long do you think they got to where they are? They took centuries, and we re trying to do it in 1-2 decades.

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 9.11AM

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 5.59PM

Immigration is always a big issue in almost every country in world! hair Chalk pastel

Guest

13 Jul 2012, 6.41PM

But not a pull-migration that "overwhelms" the natives!

Fat MaMa

Guest

14 Jul 2012, 12.54AM

Where in the world can you find immigration with so many nationalities, with minimal outflow of these so called FT?

Please be realistic that Spore is a very very very small little little little island unlike places like new york. Immigrants can move around within States.

Guest

18 Jul 2012, 10.39PM

COE prices are up significantly again. So transport and property prices are up again. Inflation this month will be hefty, most likely in the 5%-6% range. We ve a slowing growth, high inflation scenario. Could be heading for stagflation. There s really excessive demand and liquidity for everything here. Thats why prices are skyrocketing like nobody s business. If we don t have more demand side measures I m guessing prices for big ticket items will continue their steep ascend.

Guest

18 Jul 2012, 10.59PM

My take on managing car prices. Minimum 20-30% downpayment for buying cars. No 100% loan allowed. This is for financial prudence

Guest

22 Jul 2012, 2.06PM

Spore got how many foreigners from all around the world. Just go take a bus ,you will see different nationalities on board. I think spore is trying to show the world it can absorb all nationalities without any serious consequence/outcomes.

Policy makers/High rank official in Spore will not feel it. Even they do, they pretend/prefer not to admit and act upon it. Only commoners in Spore get the blame on integrating problem or whatever verb they used to describe.

Guest

22 Jul 2012, 3.06PM

We got cooling measures for housing. But to-date, no cooling measures from National Population & Talent Division (NPTD) and Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Seems more like non-chalance.

Guest

22 Jul 2012, 11.16PM

Slow down the immigration for god s sake. There s only so much the current population can absorb at a short span of time without provoking a massive social reaction. I believe underlying social tensions are heading towards breaking point and its something we should seriously look at. There s nothing wrong in bringing in immigrants but do it at a gradual, acceptable pace. Too much causes excessive demand, competition, rising prices, conflicts. etc

I think the government also doesn t understand how strong Singaporeans nowadays feel towards their national identity. Its not so much a race problem but the fact that singaporeans are feeling their national identity being diluted, an identity that has taken decades to build up.