SINGAPORE: Member of Parliament (MP) for Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency, Liang Eng Hwa, has proposed an amendment to the original motion being debated in Parliament on the White Paper on Population.
He said reflecting the concerns raised by Singaporeans, he proposes to amend the motion to further reinforce the point that Parliament supports maintaining a strong Singaporean core.
This is by encouraging more Singaporeans to get married and have children.
He said: "A key thrust of strengthening our Singaporean core in the workforce is to help enhance the employability of Singaporeans and prepare Singaporeans for the competition. We need to help our citizens better maximise our so-called 'home ground advantage' and benefit from the job opportunities available and get higher salaries.
"What would work against the strengthening of Singaporean core is where foreigners are seen to be taking up jobs that Singaporeans can do. There are clearly still many examples of that in some sectors. We need employers to be more conscious of that."
Mr Liang also wanted to add clarity to the motion by recognizing that the population projection beyond 2020 is for the purpose of land use and infrastructural planning and not a population target.
The MP stressed that Singapore's leaders will not get the buy-in from Singaporeans on the country's long term plans if it has not demonstrated that the government is serious in resolving the current bottlenecks.
He said: "We need to invest big to create space and capacity to cope with higher population and to sustain a high quality living environment. We also need a long term economic strategy that can continue to create good and fulfilling jobs for our citizens.
"Bearing in mind, come 2020, we will have at least 16,000 Singaporeans per year graduating from local universities and many others from the polys and ITEs. We need to keep creating good employment for these graduates every year.
"Economic growth sustains our financial ability to pay for the higher social spending so that our retired citizens can age with dignity and security. Too low an economic growth will change that equation and things may balance out. That is exactly what this population White Paper and Land Use Plan is all about. And I agree with DPM Teo that it is about doing the balancing acts. And that every issue is interlinked with one another and so you can't just take one piece and say we should do more or do less."
Mr Liang said the government also needs to assure Singaporeans that the population policies are meant to benefit citizens.
- CNA/xq
MP proposes amendment to motion on White Paper on Population
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MP proposes amendment to motion on White Paper on Population
