A true visionary's words, a scroll of prophecy (?) and Singapore's Population White Paper

"You refuse migrants, you'll dissolve into nothingness." Quote by Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. (Photo: Courtesy of TR Emeritus website)

Nothingness, a country full of aging population, all the shopping centers filled with shops selling Ginseng and herbal medicines for old folks?!? Hell no, I wouldn't want the country I live in to turn out like that. Do you? Nope, not in a million years! Singapore currently is a very vibrant and colourful country, full of life and enthusiasm of diverse natures. But the words I read in an article on (TR Emeritus) this morning rudely awoke my mind from my slumber of ignorance. The words of wisdom such as the one quoted above, should never be ignored for they do carry meaningful and an immense purpose. Metaphorically speaking, those words in itself can become a scroll of prophecy, i.e. if nothing is done about it.

If there ever is a human being of whom I regard next to God, they would be General Aung San (Burma/Myanmar's Revolutionary Leader/Nationalist) and Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. Both of them have truly extraordinary, brilliant and unquestionable patriotism and nationalism. I respect and regard them as true leaders with visions ranging beyond future generations. Of all the speeches and dialogues Former Minister made or was involved in, I find this one truly eye-opening.

At a wide-ranging dialogue session Mr. Lee was spoke about Singapore's population for the first time after recent endorsement of Population White Paper. For those of you who still do not know what is it, "Population White Paper: A Sustainable Population For Dynamic Singapore" (The full pdf file can be downloaded here.) is a form of report/document that informs the residences and citizens of Singapore about the key considerations outlined and a guide/road-map which will be used for the immigration and population policies of Singapore. 

I am not going into much details. Heck, I am not sure whether I am qualified to be reviewing the white paper and its contents. But I sure do have a thinking brain and am of a mind towards contributing the society that which I live in. 

A few things in that white paper provoked even my layman/typical-ignorant-person's brain.

Low and Declining Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

TFR, so chim ah, what does it mean to me? Simple, Singaporeans and residences are not making enough babies. It's a problem that is very simple to understand, yet super complicated to solve it. Being a youth in these trying and very-competitive times sure is a stressful one. Many of us go to work before the sun is fully up, get back home after the sun is set. 

I sometimes liken ourselves to be clockwork machines, tick tack tick automatic: alarm>wake-up>shower>get on bus>interact with ahem.. iPhones/Android devices>get to work>work>go home>eat then sleep. And it repeats over and over again everyday except Sunday. Well, on Sundays we rival the polar bears' winter hibernation! Where is the interaction between people? You might say; "Oi, I got whatsapp my galfren/wife everyday one hor." Sure, you do send text messages, socialize with people online. Mind you, babies can't be made electronically nor via Facebook or Twitter. 

Stress is another contributing factor. But stress is a fact of life, none can hide from it. In my honest opinion, only thing I can suggest is we can choose not to let Stress become our way of life. (In order not to distract away from the topic at hand. There will be another post regarding how we can conquer Stress and be triumphant.) Like stress there are many other factors such as forever-rising living costs.

How do we solve this problem? I don't know the answer, if I knew I wouldn't be writing this. What do I suggest? Ah, I can suggest one thing, ditch away your obsession with materials, get out more often, interact with warm, living and breathing people. Without this first step, I can see no way out for us from this impending doom.

High Quality Living Environment

When I read that, only one word stood out is "High". I don't know about quality, but I do know that accommodation costs are increasingly getting higher. I do not need to repeat the usual mainstream Singaporean complaints of rising costs. The only way to counter this is to keep on improving on economic developments as a one united country and as individuals. 

As a summary, I so far concluded that with these population and its associated problems, we do need more babies, more foreign investments and of course migration of population (cheaper labour and wider pool of human resource and talents) to a certain degree. Then again, "You refuse migrants, you'll dissolve into Nothingness." I just hope these words do not become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Note: I will be touching more on the aspects of migration into Singapore and little-known, unrepresented points of view from a migrant's perspective in my next posts. Stay tuned!

References:

http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/03/21/lky-you-refuse-migrants-youll-dissolve-into-nothingness/

http://blog.omy.sg/ahfon/archives/151

http://population.sg/