On Tuesday (28 July), Mr Lee Hsien Yang (LHY), younger son of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), took to his Facebook to share an article published by The Straits Times (ST) in 2008, in which Mr LKY clearly voiced his reservations on having a population of 6.5 million for Singapore....
“MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew ‘has not quite been sold’ on the idea of a 6.5 million population size in Singapore. Instead, he projects for Singapore an optimum size of five to 5.5 million for Singapore,” the article read.
In 2007, the Government announced that it was planning to increase the country’s population to 6.5 million in 40 to 50 years down the road, which is an up from the current 4.5 million in 2008. This then sparked concerns about overcrowding, the article said.
It was reported in the ST article that Mr LKY said this while speaking at think-tank Institute of Policy Studies’ conference in 2008 which discussed what Singapore will look like in 2030. Some of the other issues spoken at the conference include “how the economy should evolve, cultural trends, and the Singapore identity”.
The article also highlighted that the moderator at the conference, Tommy Koh, asked if Singapore is guilty of overbuilding.
To this, Mr LKY said that Singapore should not follow the footsteps of Hong Kong where it is “just solid buildings, one blocking the sunlight of the other”.
“We are building on freehold and we are owners, we are sovereign. Therefore, my projection would be for somewhere around five to 5.5 million,” Mr LKY was quoted saying in the ST article.
It added, “Coupled with further reclamation, Singapore can then retain its space, the greenery, and ‘the sense of not being crammed, our parks, our connectors, our park connectors, birds, trees, water, canals into streams and so on’.”
Mr LKY also stressed then that having all the above-mentioned elements is how Singapore can be unique.
Now who is pushing for Singapore to have more than 5.5m against the vision of LKY? Who is trying to clear our greenery to be replaced with concrete like Hong Kong?
It shudders to have leaders in charge of future population planning who can say ""Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of the benefit of hindsight."
ReplyDeleteSingapore - Glaring Signs Of Incompetency And Inefficiency
ReplyDeleteIn 1965, Singapore's population was only 1.5 million. With this small population, the old guards were able to develop Singapore from Third World to First World within 30 years. Not only that, 90% of the population were lowly educated or without education.
If the Old Guards, without previous experience and previous leadership to fall back on, could have done so well, why is the present set of PAP leaders, having 5.7 million people as asset, still unable to do better than the Old Guards. Still wanting to import more foreigners to squeeze into the tiny piece of land!
And still keep complaining about own countrymen not talented enough, need foreign talents by the millions to grow the GDP and to increase the PAP's votes through New BEHOLDEN Citizens?
A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
A bad manager quarrels with his resources, particularly his human resources.
A bad leader belittles and degrades his own countrymen!
A bad government makes itself filthy rich and makes its citizens poor, by suppressing their wages to benefit foreign MNCs, foreign talents and huge local Holding Companies.
Something must be seriously wrong with the competency, efficiency and self-confidence of the present PAP Leadership!
And, most glaringly, something must be terribly wrong with the thinking of the pathetically apolitical Singaporean voters.
Tragic!
Most HDB car parks are now half or 1/3 filled. Most have given up car ownership. Cannot afford to own cars. So their lives must be getting better.
ReplyDeleteHahaha...
ReplyDelete10M for Sg!
10M for Sg!
10M for Sg!
Go.........for it!
Cheers........
They did not plan for it. But it just happened....one day. No one knows why.
ReplyDeleteYup, 4.3 million India nationals come in, and u have 10 million !
ReplyDeleteThat is why there is little substance in Vivian's assurances that the 10 million figure is not a target. Whose word holds more credibility than the old man? Yet today no one running the country cares a hoot what he thinks is ideal.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQuiz For Kindergarten K1 Boys And Girls
ReplyDeleteTeacher:
What is the colour of a banana when it is not ripe yet?
Student 1:
Green. It looks like a green horn.
Teacher:
What is the colour of a banana when it is ripe?
Student 2:
Yellow (outside yellow, inside white).
Teacher:
What is the colour of an over-ripe banana?
Student 3: Black. It is black outside and rotten inside. Sometimes, it is messy and stinks.
Teacher: Well done children. All of you are so clever. You answer all the three questions correctly.
Would you want to become a banana when you grow up?
All Students answer simultaneously in a chorus:
NO! Teacher. We want to become MANGOS! Yellow outside and inside even when over-riped, always.
LKY did not live to see the ravaging effects of COVID-19 on our small but densely populated country, nor was he able to forsee a pandemic of such scale. (A daily 3-digit new cases is nothing to be proud of.) I am doubtful that he would stick to his ideal population of 5.5M. We are not even 5.5M yet, but look at us! ren sun ren hai everywhere.
ReplyDeletelntuitively,
ReplyDeletethink the late ruthless monster in his bid to have his son to inherit the Sin premiership, had changed his very own principle.
The casinos were built under his eyes not over his dead body.
He had his daughter inlaw put incharge of Temasek Holding and declared her pay as a secret.
The greedy vainpot dictator seemed to want Sin as his family fiefdom and in some ways, his son is fulfilling his wish acting like an emperor with many eunuch and palace maid and a dowager. His father help to mentor many of the palace members.
lf there was any schemer, nobody beats the old fox, who might have learnt his skill while working for the Japanese lmperial Army during World War Two.
That was the deed and contribution of the man to Sin.
Legacy of LEEGACY, if not Singaporeans today would have been much better off under Lim Chin Siong or David Marshall. Or even Ong Pang Boon.
ReplyDeleteOr even under Malaysia.