Last month, I highlighted in a posting (here) that Hong Kong and mainland China have a better approach in solving the twin problems of population ageing and low female fertility that are also faced by Singapore. This observation followed from my discussions with population and sociology experts at the University of Hong Kong. I expanded on this theme in a lecture (here) that I delivered at Peking University HSBC Business School a few days later on 25 March.
One month after my two postings, DPM Teo Chee Hean, minister in charge of the Population White Paper, was in Hong Kong where he had discussions and briefings with senior officials on urban planning issues including population planning (news report here). His officials from the National Population and Talent Division held discussions with Hong Kong’s Population Commission.
“Need to think of what people want”
What one commission member Paul Yip said, was revealing : “I shared how we might be obsessed with big numbers for GDP growth, but we need to think of what people want and the need to get their support.” This is exactly what Singaporeans have been telling the PAP government. We will tell them more at the coming May Day rally in Hong Lim Park. I will be speaking at the rally when I will spell out what I see as the real and inevitable solution to the population problem.
Courage to change course?
DPM Teo should have visited Hong Kong earlier and studied how Hong Kong and other cities tackle population issues before he finalised the White Paper. The whole world now knows that the White Paper is a seriously flawed document. I hope he has the courage to persuade his colleagues to change course as it would be the right thing to do.
The only downside (from his point of view but not that of Singaporeans) is a serious dent to the ego and image of PAP leaders, but then Singaporeans are already past the stage of seeing PAP ministers as competent and having foresight. After all, didn’t the Prime Minister himself admit in January this year that PAP had no foresight?
Tan Jee Say
* Jee Say was a Presidential candidate in the 2011 Presidential Election. The article first appeared on his facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TanJeeSay.