A government White Paper calls for Singapore’s population to hit 6.9
million by 2030. Citizens protest.
Edwina Lin is 24-years-old and
happily married, with a young son turning two this year. In Singapore, a
prosperous city-state with a dismal birth rate, this is becoming increasingly
rare.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. Lin,
a financial planner, and her family are currently living with her parents- and
brother-in-law; five adults and one child squeezed into a four-room flat in one
of Singapore’s many public housing estates.
She and her husband, a travel
sales agent, have applied to buy a five-room flat in a newer estate that will
only be ready in 2016. Until then, there isn’t much to do but work, earn as
much money as possible and save up. They‘re expecting to have to take out a
30-year mortgage to pay for their home.
It’s a common tale among many
young families in Singapore. Property prices have skyrocketed in recent years,
and citizens have yet to feel the effects of the “cooling measures” adopted by
the government. It’s a bitter pill to swallow as wages stagnate and the income
gap widens; all while the country continues to record positive economic growth.
Singapore has often been cited as
a success story, the envy of governments around the world. But simmering
underneath the gloss and the shine lies a much more complex story of a nation
slowly outgrowing a patriarchal government and restrictive system.
Not long after losing a
by-election, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) launched a White Paper
entitled ‘A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore’. The paper outlined
the government’s plans to sustain economic growth and deal with a rapidly aging
population, but for the most part only one thing captured the public
imagination: the projected population of
6.9 million by 2030.
It’s a very unattractive prospect,
especially when strains have already begun to show with 5.3 million people
crammed onto an island of only 714.3 square kilometres. Flooding and train
breakdowns are only some of the problems that have begun to annoy Singaporeans
used to taking efficiency for granted.
Despite the public outcry,
criticism from expert economists and five days of intense debate in Parliament,
the PAP was able to use its parliamentary majority to push the motion through.
In the past, Singaporeans would
have probably just complained in coffee shops before going about their everyday
business, but not anymore. For many, the White Paper was the last straw. A
protest organized at Hong Lim Park – the only space in the country where
citizens are allowed to protest without a permit – drew a crowd of over 3,000
people, all of whom were fed up with the government’s policy and lack of
serious engagement.
“It’s a united show of
displeasure by the citizens against the White Paper even though it has been
passed in Parliament,” says organiser Gilbert Goh. “Singaporeans basically are
not happy with the 6.9 million population target by 2030 and are dropping all
preconceived fears to step out of their comfort zone.”
Lin, too, had wanted to attend
the protest, but had to stay home to take care of her son. Like the protesters,
she has many misgivings about the White Paper and the quality of life for
future generations: “The most worrying is that my children and grandchildren
will have harder lives – and no signs of getting better quality of life –
despite hard work put in, unlike our parents’ and grandparents’ generation when
opportunities were abundant.”
Placards seen at the protest
showcase the people’s frustrations. “We want to be heard, not herded!” one
proclaims.
“We are not your ‘sheeple’,” says
another.
It’s a sign that the government’s
efforts to launch a ‘national conversation’ are not quite going to plan.
Despite the social media pages, the love-heart-filled website and the dialogue
sessions soliciting citizen viewpoints, Singaporeans still don’t feel like
they’re part of the decision-making process.
The protest is not without its
controversy, though. Critics have accused Goh of racism and xenophobia, and
many of the messages seen and heard at the protest were a little too
nationalistic and protectionist for comfort. Among the many placards at the
protest was one that read, “Singapore for Singaporeans”, echoing catchphrases
of right-wing anti-immigration groups around the world. (“Britain for the
British” is one of the favourite slogans of the far-right British National
Party in the United Kingdom.)
This has alienated some,
preventing them from participating in the protest despite also rejecting the
White Paper.
“The framing of the protest as
being about ‘immigration policy’ should ring alarm bells, especially when it
mirrors the rhetoric of the far-right in Europe,” says an educator I spoke
with, who decided to boycott the protest. “Concerns should be placed on issues
like oppressive labor laws, the commodification of space, militarization and
the policies of built environment. Also, civil society should recognize its
responsibility towards immigrants by building a just society for all.”
Still, many civil society members
went to the protest to ensure that anti-foreigner sentiment did not dominate.
Migrants’ rights activist Jolovan Wham was one of them.
“I went to the protest because I
was concerned that in our enthusiasm to oppose our government’s immigration
policy, we might end up unwittingly bashing foreigners,” the educator noted. “I
gave out flyers at the event to reinforce the idea that criticising our lousy
immigration and labor policies should not degenerate into attacks on
foreigners.”
Vincent Wijeysingha, treasurer of
the Singapore Democratic Party, also attended the protest to counter potential
anti-foreigner sentiments. “Do not set yourselves apart from our foreign
guests,” he urged the crowd in his speech. “Change your mindset: it is not they
who steal our jobs and lower our wages. It is a policy framework that has
forgotten that we Singaporeans are, and must be, the first and last object of
governance.”
It’s clear that Singaporeans are
angry, but it would be far too simplistic to pin it down to just one thing. The
wave of dissatisfaction has been caused by many factors, from worries over
bread-and-butter issues to a frustration over the lack of true democracy. And
locals aren’t the only ones hit, either; migrant workers have also often been
victims of government policy and the lack of welfare and protections.
“The problem with the White Paper
is that it recommends an increase in the number of low-wage migrant workers in
Singapore without providing information about how it would ensure that the
rights and welfare of migrant workers would be ensured,” Whams explains. “For
example, will there be sufficient decent accommodation for them? Will they end
up living in slum-like conditions at construction sites like many of them do
now, or in overcrowded quarters because there are insufficient dormitories? Are
our social services equipped with the capacity to provide appropriate social
support for them?”
Wham continues, “These questions
are not being answered and unless they can show how they will ensure that the
rights of migrant workers will be upheld, I reject the White Paper because we
cannot just treat migrant workers as economic units to grow GDP.”
It’s not the most cheerful of
situations, but Singaporeans seem to be waking up. Where this newfound
motivation will lead remains to be seen; not all change is good. The hope is
that people will be aware that change needs to come not just from the
government, but also in mindsets long cultivated from years of rhetoric and
“mainstream values” foisted on the populace. Fortunately, many young
Singaporeans aren’t giving up.
“I'm concerned for my country and
I'm not one who runs away when things get tough,” says Lin. ”This is my country
and I take ownership.”
Kirsten Han
Kirsten Han is a writer, videographer and photographer. Originally from
Singapore, she has worked on documentary projects around Asia and written for
publications including Waging Nonviolence, Asian Correspondent and The
Huffington Post.
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