The PAP Future is as good as the Population White Paper

The PAP is gambling their future with the Population White Paper as it wants more people to generate economic growth as usual.  And they always claim that these are hard and necessary decisions.   Which decision is not hard, difficult and necessary when it comes to people?

The PAP’s future is a magic number 6.9 and it claims it is a ‘worst-case scenario”.    Yes, it is indeed the worst-case scenario for the PAP in term of popularity support.  It has shown its intelligence, leadership, quality and standard in the colourful Population White Paper. And people in Singapore will make the judgment in due time when GE is called.  (Will the PAP dare to call a Referendum on the White Paper?)

In the past, such a white paper will see no objection in the parliament. It will just go through the motion. Now, you see the Workers’ Party wants to reduce the magic number to 5.9.  Which is a better magic number for future Singapore?  - Slower growth for smaller population or higher growth for bigger population.  

In addition, even PAP MPs also feel the uneasiness of 6.9: 

MPs call for ways to avoid 6.9m-strong population
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1252172/1/.html MP Seah Kian Peng urges review of assumptionshttp://www.singapolitics.sg/news/mp-seah-kian-peng-urges-review-assumptions 

Population White Paper reflects PAP quality of today

The Paper presented to the parliament shows the quality and standard of the current PAP leadership.  It is still the same old mind-set, thinking within a box of self-defined definitions.  The assumptions and statistics in the Paper are not clearly and properly disclosed so far.

<Meanwhile, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Senior Fellow Donald Low criticised the lack of scholarship and academic rigour in the White Paper. Writing on Facebook, Mr Low, a former high-flying civil servant, noted that there “wasn’t even a References section to show what research the writers of the paper had done, what social science theories they relied on, what competing theories/frameworks they looked at”.>http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/experts-weigh-population-projections

As usual, the PAP only produces its conclusions based on its own undisclosed assumptions, statistics, and theories.   However, the PAP will say it always makes difficult but necessary decisions for the good of Singapore.  They will say the same thing for the Population White Paper and ask for citizen support.

There is a danger all debates in the parliament about the Population White Paper are WRONG because the basics are all wrong.  There are based on undisclosed figures and statistics just to get the magic number 6.9.

When DPM Teo Chee Hean spoke in support of the Paper in the Parliament on Monday, he touched on “strangers in our own land” and integration: 

<Speaking to Members of the House on Monday, Teo said that he understood the concerns Singaporeans had over an increase in the migrant population and fears of "Singaporeans feeling like strangers" in their own country. 

He went on to emphasise the importance of integration.  

"Most of these migrants come from similar ethnic backgrounds. They will adapt to our lives, become more like us over time," said Teo as he sought to assuage a wave of negativity about Singapore's projected population of 6.9 million by 2030, of which little more than half would be Singaporean. >
http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/sustainable-population-most-important-part-paper

But he cleverly shifted the focus to foreign workers: 

<Speaking specifically on the issue of an increase in the number of foreigners with work passes, the deputy prime minister said that these migrant workers would be here to support, rather than join the population. >http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/sustainable-population-most-important-part-paper

We all know work pass holders are not the potential citizens. They just come here to work to support their families back home.  By confusing foreign workers as potential citizens joining the population, perhaps DPM Teo really had the intention to reach the magic number earlier and sooner.

IQ Paper not EQ Paper

Teo is a classic example of the maximum standard level of the PAP. He is pushing for the support of an IQ paper rather than an EQ Paper considering the emotional feeling of the people.

If you want to know the current quality of the PAP, you can find it in the Population White Paper.  The colourful White Paper shows you the mathematics side of the Party.  The PAP has not changed since GE2011 and as usual it only presents the PAP side of story not the side of people.   

Learning from the Supermodel

There is a special report on the Nordic countries in The Economist this week. These four countries all have small population like us and they can manage their economy very well as well as their social support system.   While debating on Population White Paper, there are many lessons that we can learn from them.  We are not a big economy big population country like the USA.  We should give more human touch to our people and hopeful we can at least achieve the Taiwan standard as Han Fook Kwang had seen in Taiwan recently.  

We always say our only resource is our people but does the PAP really appreciate the contribution of Singaporeans in the first place? 

<The Nordics cluster at the top of league tables of everything from economic competitiveness to social health to happiness. They have avoided both southern Europe’s economic sclerosis and America’s extreme inequality.>http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21571136-politicians-both-right-and-left-could-learn-nordic-countries-next-supermodel