In absolute numbers, I would think that Singapore’s current population, i.e. 4.5 million, is about the maximum that Singapore can support. Never in my living memory have I been unable to board the MRT during peak hours, as in the case in the past 2 years. The roads are also congested nowadays; I remember telling people in Bangkok many years ago that Singapore does not jam. Shopping areas in town and in the heartlands are packed with people during the weekends. I can’t even feel the air-con at times. Now, I dread leaving the house on weekends. Further, it’s getting really hard to find seats in eateries, be it at hawker centres or restaurants. Argh. I hate the number of people I see around me!
The above paragraph is about how the increment in population affects the personal daily life of a typical Singapore citizen like myself. However, it is more than that. It is reflective of how the infrastructure in Singapore is coping with the recent influx of migrants. If the infrastructure is coping well, I wouldn’t be complaining this much. The population growth rate of Singapore from June 2006 to June 2007 is 4.3%, with the non-resident population growing at 14.9% and resident population growing at 1.6% (The Edge Singapore, 2008). However, the current infrastructure is proving unable to support this number of population.
The desire to push our population density to the brim is understandable. After all, having a larger population brings benefits to the economy. A larger population translates into more demand for goods and services, and hence, more money circulating in the economy, generating more income. It also means that there will be more talents present to contribute to further economic growth, especially in light of Singapore’s migration policies that give preferential treatment to ‘foreign talents’. Meanwhile, migrants coming into Singapore to take up dirty and dangerous jobs that Singaporeans shun. All seems right for a capitalist Singapore.
Indeed, the government has come up with plans to develop the city’s infrastructure to cope with 6.5 million people, as announced by the Ministry of National Development some time ago. However, doubts has been raised by Minister Mentor Lee about how many people we can really support on this tiny little island? Between 5 to 5.5 milion.
Apparently, when we state numbers such as the above, we are somehow measuring the maximum population Singapore can sustain based on our own definitions of ‘sustainability’, be it in personal terms, economic terms, environmental-friendliness etc. Different people belonging to different strata of society, thinking of ‘sustainability’ with different scales and criteria of measurement will come up with different population numbers.
Yueh Chinn
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1 comment:
Its defiantly an interesting comparison. Both nations want to increase their population. However, the land disparity is so great. Australia is already one of the most urbanized nations in the industrialized world. Nonetheless, historically population has always been a controversial topic. There is also this cultural stigma that prevents Australians from colonizing the interiors. We have this ideal to live on 1/4 acre block with a big back yard, with in a 10 minute drive from the beach and the cbd. That was never the reality. We need to adopts a similar lifestyle to what the Singaporeans are used to. Apartments are much more economical.
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