Bring On The Foreign Hordes

When Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said the government will not reverse its calibrated intake of immigrants, he maintained that it was their model of economic growth based on importing foreigner workers and expatriates that fueled the Singapore productivity engine. If it makes Singaporeans feel richer, they shouldn't have reason to complain, or so they claim.

But, as Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew told Mark Jacobson of National Geographic, the citizenry is still grumbling.

And that's because the undisclosed reason for the invasion of foreign elements is their warped approach to address the diminishing population. Low birthrate is not unique to Singapore, all developed countries, from Japan to France, face the same problem. What exacerbates the situation is the number of Singaporeans voting with their feet. Even if the baby boomers are not in a position to pack and go, they are making sure their offspring have a better life in a country where democracy is not abused. To add salt to the wound, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan is steaming ahead with his goal of crowding 6 million on the tiny red dot, even if it means that 1 in 3 will be a foreign face. Does he bother about the rising level of dissatisfaction? Not when the Old Man is still around to protect him: he was saved from electoral defeat by Chiam See once, he's cock sure his star will still shine.