A stubborn citizenry refuses to people the earth
As part of its never-ending
effort to convince, cajole, command or beg Singaporeans to get married and have
children, the country's National Family Council has launched Project Superglue,
a grant scheme aimed at Singaporeans aged 13 to 31, inviting them to come up
with innovative ideas to promote a "Family First mindset."
First up: The Singaporean
Fairytale, a six-month campaign by four final-year students from Nanyang
Technological University (NTU). The students are adding a pro-family spin to 15
well-known fairy tales such as Three Little Pigs and Rapunzel, adding helpful
tips on fertility and family living.
Singaporean officials for more
than two decades have been searching for ways to increase the country's
birthrate, an abrupt policy turnaround from the 1980s and former Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew's "stop at two" campaign to discourage loyal citizens
from having babies. The government may have believed that its social
engineering programs were responsible for cutting the birthrate, but in all
likelihood it probably had more to do with the pressures of urbanization.
Singapore's total fertility rate
- the number of live births per woman of child-bearing age ‑ has fallen to 1.2,
among the lowest in the world. The government hopes to push that up to 1.4
although past efforts haven't worked. Falling birthrates largely reflect
cultural patterns and urbanization, neither of which are really susceptible to
the government urging couples to get down to it.
In the 1980s, for instance, the
government's Social Development Unit, or SDU, sponsored get-to-know-you weekend
cruises up the Malaysian coast for singles. Unfortunately Singaporeans
immediately hooted that SDU stood for "Single, Desperate and Ugly."
The idea wasn't a success.
The government has instead sought
to take care of its population problems through massive immigration. As many as
50,000 new residents are welcomed into the island republic each year, with the
government seeking to retain the original population mix of about 75 percent
Chinese. That has led to serious strains in the resident population, many of
whom resent the newcomers, who are blamed for taking jobs away from
Singaporeans, raising the cost of living and disturbing the social order.
While undoubtedly
well-intentioned, critics say both Project Superglue and The Singaporean
Fairytale miss the mark and are yet another example of the government - and now
college students ‑ missing the point.
It is difficult to make couples
want to have children. Demographers have long known that no one is going to
have a baby just as a favor to their country. All that can be done is to remove
the obstacles in the way of those who do, and respect the decision of those who
don't.
Overcrowding, the high cost of
housing and the frenetic pace of Singapore all conspire to keep people out of
the sack and in the office. With 7,798 people per square kilometer, Singapore
is the third most densely populated society on the planet after Macau and
Monaco despite government attempts to expand the territory by importing sand
from Indonesia and elsewhere.
The government is not going to be
able to increase the birth rate if it refuses to look at the whole
situation.Young Singaporean couples and families are constantly caught in a
state of anxiety. Costs are rising as the island gets more and more crowded
(and, looking at the recently passed Population White Paper, is set to get more
crowded still).
There are now 50-year mortgages
to help families pay for their astronomically priced flats, and you can pretty
much forget about owning a car when the bidding for a Certificate of
Entitlement hits a new high. Although inflation continues to increase, salaries
and wages have not. The search for work is incredibly competitive, and there's
a lack of security even after you find employment. There are issues related to
unfair dismissals of pregnant women, which obviously makes one think twice
about having a baby.
These are important factors that
need to be addressed. But even then there is no guarantee that every young
Singaporean will settle down and start a family. This is because there are just
some people who don't want to have children. And these people are unlikely to
change their minds simply because of a cunningly-inserted fertility tip in a fairy
tale.
That said, I do want to see how
information on fertility has been inserted into the Three Little Pigs.
Kirsten Han
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Health care and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN 's area. We are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, if any request, please, contact directly Dr Christian SIODMAK, business strategist, owner and CEO of SBC at christian.siodmak@gmail.com. Many thanks.
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