By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia, 14 May 2012
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has described Singapore's population challenge as "serious" but "not insurmountable".
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Mr Teo, who is also Minister in Charge of population policies, noted that the citizen population will shrink and get older if Singapore's fertility rate remains low and the country closes its doors on immigration.
The number of elderly Singaporeans above 65 years old is projected to triple by 2030, to about 900,000 from 340,000 today.
That's without immigration and if Singapore's total fertility rate remains at the current figure of 1.2.
This means there will be 2.1 working age citizens supporting every elderly citizen.
That's one third of today's 6.3 working adults for every elderly.
Mr Teo said the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD), which is under his charge, has started engaging Singaporeans on these population challenges.
He said he believes most Singaporeans can accept a population that is complemented by a certain amount of immigration, and a foreign workforce of "some numbers".
The issue, he said, is so discuss what these numbers are.
Mr Teo said they're taking Singaporeans' concerns into account as they prepare a White Paper on Population, to be released by year's end.
Mr Teo also pointed out that the government has introduced various measures to address Singapore's population challenge.
Beyond supporting marriage and parenthood, one key strategy is to grow a strong core of Singaporeans who can contribute to the economy.
This is done through raising productivity to encourage more locals to enter the workforce.
Mr Teo added new education institutions in the arts, design and technology also give Singaporeans greater opportunities to develop their diverse abilities.
He said the government is helping Singaporeans to upgrade through continuing education and skills training programmes.
While policies are in place to ensure that older Singaporeans can look forward to an active and secure future, there are also efforts to keep overseas Singaporeans updated on developments and opportunities here through the National Population and Talent Division's Overseas Singaporean Unit.
Mr Teo said by creating a conducive environment to live, work and play, Singapore will continue to be an attractive place for Singaporeans, as well as those who are able to contribute to the country's development.
He acknowledged though that more can be done to communicate the need for immigration more effectively.
Mr Teo said: "If we're going to have 900,000 people over the age of 65 compared to 340,000 that we have today - a three-fold increase - then we really need to ask ourselves: who are going to staff up the nursing homes and community step-down facilities that we need?
"We may not be able to have enough Singaporeans to do that. Therefore even just in these sectors alone, we're going to need many more people in order to make sure that our older population will be properly looked after. Just in these areas alone, I think there will be considerable need for foreign manpower."
Social climate that supports family life needed
DPM Teo calls on community to help in effort to raise nation's fertility rate
By Janice Heng, The Straits Times, 15 May 2012
IT WILL take more than government policies and persuasion to get Singapore couples to have babies, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean as he called on the community to back the drive to raise the country's fertility rate.
While many pro-family policies are in place to promote parenthood, he noted, Singapore also needs to foster a social climate that supports family life.
This means convincing more people of the joys of marriage, having children and a good family life - something the Government is already trying to promote.
'You will see from time to time nice advertisements and so forth. You will see... all kinds of family life activities to encourage family bonding, enjoying family life,' he noted. 'But this is not one of those things which the government is necessarily the best in doing.'
Instead, community groups and non-government organisations can step up to encourage more Singaporeans to start families, said Mr Teo.
The DPM was replying to Ms Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC), who had asked about efforts to address Singapore's worrying low total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.2, which will not be enough to replace its population.
The DPM's call comes amid ongoing discussion of what Singapore needs to do to raise its TFR, and how much immigration it should have to keep its population from ageing too rapidly.
Yesterday, Mr Teo noted that apart from investing in education, health care and housing to make Singapore a good place to get married and raise children, the Government has also been spending more to promote parenthood.
Since 2008, it has put $1.6 billion every year into perks like the Baby Bonus, maternity and childcare leave, infant care and childcare subsidies, and tax benefits. This is more than three times the $500 million it used to spend in previous years.
But, he added, more was needed. 'Apart from policy incentives, we also need to foster a social climate that supports family life.'
Ms Phua then rose to ask if the Government could find a better way to explain the perils of low birth rates and an ageing population to Singaporeans.
'Much of our communications is very cerebral - full of data and trends and graphs,' she said. 'I don't know if there's a better, more effective way to do this.'
Agreeing, DPM Teo said the Government could do better, but needed people like Ms Phua and others to help spread the message.
The discussion on population also prompted questions about immigration and foreign workers, with DPM Teo and MPs talking about Singaporeans' attitudes towards these issues.
Mr Teo gave an example of how to better explain the need for foreign workers - by getting people to think about who will staff hospitals and nursing homes for the ageing population.
'When we put the question across in this way and say 'Who is going to look after you?', people will then begin to think, 'Well, okay, maybe we do need some foreign nurses, foreign health-care assistants and so forth',' he said.
Likewise, industry groups can also help spread the message about the need for foreign talent, he said in reply to a question from Nominated MP Teo Siong Seng. The president of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry had asked about efforts to attract and retain both foreign and local talent.
DPM Teo noted that companies with regional headquarters here needed people who can speak the language and understand the culture of countries in which they plan to expand. Without foreign talent, he said, such companies will not be here to create jobs for Singaporeans.
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