On Tuesday (19 November), People’s Voice founding leader Lim Tean took to his Facebook to share a video by his fellow party member who wants to know the Government’s reasoning to want the country’s population to reach 10 million.
In the video, People’s Voice member Sivakumar asked the urgency for the People’ Action Party (PAP) to over-populated the country, given that Singapore is reported to be the “third most densely populated country in the world, behind Macao and Monaco”.
Although Macau and Monaco are relatively small countries, but they have a big hinterland – something that Singapore does not have, said Mr Sivakumar.
“Why? What are we heading towards with all this over-population? What we are trying to achieve? The more over-populated the country is – some will have space which is excessive, some will have space very much constrained. This in itself is a major source of the inequality which we often talk about,” Mr Sivakumar said, while speaking at Keat Hong in Choa Chu Kang GRC on Sunday (17 November).
“So, would the relevant authorities please clarify where are they heading towards with this population growth?” he asked.
In September this year, official figures stated that the country’s population rose by 1.2% as it reached 5.7 million in June 2019. This happened with the help of larger number of foreign workers in the country.
If that’s not all, in March 2019, at a ministerial dialogue at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat told the students that Singaporeans need to be open to foreigners.
He said that it would be very negative for Singaporeans to draw an exclusive circle for themselves as Singapore would then have no place in the world.
On the projected population of 6.9 million by 2030, set out in the Government’s 2013 Population White Paper, Mr Heng openly said that Singapore’s population density is not excessive, noting that other cities are even more crowded and dense.
He went on to cite former chief planner Liu Thai Ker, who said in 2014 that Singapore should plan for 10 million people for it to remain sustainable in the long term.
As such, Mr Sivakumar repeatedly asked in the video the need for such a high number of population.
“Is it not a known fact that when human beings are overly squeezed into a small space, they encounter problems which are of essentially – living conditions will go down and cost of living will go up,” he stated.
Lim Tean urges people to vote PAP out
In Lim Tean’s post, he said that his fellow party member “rightly points out how this (over-population) leads quite simply to a higher cost of living and a lowering of living standards”.
He went to highlight that he has not met any individual who agrees with PAP’s policy. “We are also yet to hear any reasonable justifications from the PAP about their policy other than to ‘increase GST’,” he noted.
He added, “I have said many times that the PAP is a party whom have run out of ideas, and this irresponsible policy only further solidifies my statement. Where are the creative, innovative, intelligent and smart ideas to progress out economy? You won’t find them in the PAP ranks.”
As such, he urges the public to vote PAP out in the next general election.
“#VTO stands for Vote Them Out. Say No! to a 10 million population and vote out the PAP,” he wrote.