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Thread: Singapore can accommodate 8 millions

  1. #1
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    Default Singapore can accommodate 8 millions

    Singapore can, if it wants, accommodate eight million people.

    That is Dr Cheung's belief.

    But whether it wants to hit even six million is a "political matter" up for negotiation between the Government and the people, he makes clear.

    The Hong Kong-born Singaporean, 59, spent close to 30 years monitoring the interplay between Singapore's population and economic growth, including 14 years as the Government's chief statistician. He draws a sharp distinction between a population target and a planning parameter.

    "We must always plan for the upper limit. We have to be creative and have in mind urban infrastructure for a much larger population," Dr Cheung says.

    Otherwise, one ends up with "lousy planning". One example of that is the older MRT lines. They were planned for a population of four million. Six carriages per train were deemed sufficient then, in turn, dictating station designs for six-car trains.

    Today, they are a limiting factor, preventing the adding of more carriages to each train to cater to higher traffic. The only option is to run more trains per hour, which increases the strain on the rail system, he says.

    Another reason to plan for a larger number is that population growth has its own momentum, as shown by population figures published just last week, he says.

    They showed that foreign worker numbers went up by 100,000 in the 12 months to June, and new immigrants by about 45,000 last year, in spite of government efforts to tighten and slow both inflows.

    But should Singapore turn off the foreigner tap altogether, it risks hurting the economy,

    Dr Cheung says. For example, if the foreigner-dependent maritime industry is hurt by a lack of labour, it will have a knock-on effect on sectors such as logistics, bunking, cruise and oil rig.

    "These economic drivers may disappear overnight. Once you lose these, you'll never get them back again because there are so many other countries competing for that position," he says, adding that in the longer term, Singapore needs to restructure its economy and raise productivity.

    Back in the 1990s, Singaporeans worried about housing four million people on this island. But, thanks to the resulting economic growth, "now we are beyond four million, and I don't think quality of life has suffered". "Singaporeans by and large have very good housing and urban life," he adds.

    However, he acknowledges that ground conditions this time round are different from those 22 years ago. He counts as genuine problems overstrained public transport infrastructure, too many foreign workers and a perception among some Singaporeans that the Government favours foreigners.

    If the decision is to stop before six million, or to take a longer time to approach it, he says: "That's fine. Then we can have slower growth and control the population more."

    This article was first published in The Straits Times. (Copyright 2012)
    Ride at your own risk !!!

  2. #2
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    At a forum on Population White Paper yesterday (24 Mar), which was organized by the University of Michigan alumni at the American Club, former Singapore’s Chief statistician Paul Cheung gave a stark warning of the very real dangers of population decline by contrasting the American cities of Detroit, in Michigan, and Austin, in Texas.
    He said Detroit’s population has halved in the last few decades while Austin is the fastest-growing in the U.S.
    Cities live and die on their dynamism, which turns on whether people want to go there, or want to leave. Those who say that the Government should set a population limit and “stay there” (i.e, enforcing the limit) are wrong, he said, as this would kill Singapore’s dynamism.
    Dr Cheung now teaches social work at the NUS. He was born in Hong Kong but became a Singapore citizen.
    Dr Cheung also pointed to how diversity has helped Singapore recover from crises quickly – when Sars hit and the tourism industry collapsed in 2003, it was a manufacturing boom led by demand from the US that got the economy moving and when the US had its recession in 2008, it was tourism that kept the Singapore economy afloat.
    “The Government is very worried about multiple engines of growth because if all else fails, at least something is still working,” he noted.
    Dr Cheung noted that the bottom 30 per cent of Singaporeans have seen no increase in their real incomes in the last decade.
    He added that the Government is welded to its ideology of “development rather than humanitarian assistance”, that is, money is put into training programmes for the low income rather than welfare handouts.
    However, he agreed that Singaporeans’ resentment towards foreigners stemmed from a discomfort with the income inequality that the country’s growth model has wrought.
    Last year, he was reported in the media [Link], saying that, “Singapore can, if it wants, accommodate eight million people.”
    But whether it wants to hit even six million is a “political matter” up for negotiation between the Government and the people, he said.
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  3. #3
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    reiterating my hunch, singapore is modelling itself like NYC, LY, TKY, HK - and HK with the smallest population of the four measures already 7mil+

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    Quote Originally Posted by eng81157
    reiterating my hunch, singapore is modelling itself like NYC, LY, TKY, HK - and HK with the smallest population of the four measures already 7mil+
    we shall see more mm with the likes of nyc n hk.

    this is only the beginning. we can choose to ride the wave or get consumed by the growing tide.
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    Quote Originally Posted by mcmlxxvi
    we shall see more mm with the likes of nyc n hk.

    this is only the beginning. we can choose to ride the wave or get consumed by the growing tide.

    aiayh many will just KPKB regardless what tide comes.
    “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
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    Quote Originally Posted by minority
    aiayh many will just KPKB regardless what tide comes.
    Global market has reached its limit. If U want to survive, u must expand your own domestic market.

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    Quote Originally Posted by indomie
    Global market has reached its limit. If U want to survive, u must expand your own domestic market.

    Well people dont care.. want feel good. pay good mah. rest? "not my problem" mentality
    “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
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