TWO decades from now, Singapore will be a hive of even greater activity — an exciting place to live and work in, according to a scenario painted by demographic, healthcare and urban planning experts at a discussion forum organised by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) on Friday.
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Panellist Dr Vernon Lee, a public health physician who works for an international institution, envisages Singapore developing into a leading research centre on tropical diseases and selling its healthcare expertise to others in the region.
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With further progress — built on the bedrock of order and rationality — the management of waste will reach levels that will allow it to be put back into the system, said Dr Malone-Lee Lai Choo of National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Real Estate.
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But one worrying thought persisted: Will it become a mite too packed once Singapore hits a targeted population of 6.5 million?
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Do we really need 6.5 million people when even a population of 5.5 million seems a staggering crowd, asked one concerned participant.
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Another asked: Instead of continuing to depend on imported foreign talent, why not encourage the return of our own local talents who are now living and working overseas?
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Responding to that, IPS Senior Research Fellow Dr Yap Mui Teng said that while one preferred enhancing the fertility rate to arrest the decline in population, a faster resolution of the problem in the short term would be to rely on migrants to make up the shortfall.
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Explaining the government's rationale, consultant demographer G Shantakumar, a panellist, added: "These migrants are people who bring with them a lot of talent and perhaps money. Who does not want money?"
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But despite the rapid inflow of migrants over the last few years, Singapore's social fabric has not been threatened.
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Dr Malone-Lee agreed that Singapore should not "overly push" for a bigger foreign population. Providing a fresh perspective into an issue, she said: "More people means we can look after the environment better.
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"We are stewards of the environment and we should also know how to look after it and make it productive. Our city will not grow unless we open up and generate more production capacity," she said.
