People's Power Party takes aim at "mismanagement" of population policies

Key Concepts:

• Population Policy
• Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
• Indigenous Population
• Migrant Population
• New Citizens
• Cost of Living
• Overpopulation

Analysis of Population Policy

The speaker criticizes the population policies implemented during Mr. Long's tenure as Prime Minister, arguing that they were detrimental. The core of the criticism lies in the perceived neglect of the indigenous population in favor of increasing the number of migrants from overseas to become new citizens.

Population Growth Statistics

The speaker highlights a significant increase in Singapore's population, stating that it rose from 4 million to 6 million during Mr. Long's time as Prime Minister. This represents a 50% increase. The speaker attributes a portion of this growth to the annual granting of new citizenship to approximately 20,000 to 30,000 people.

Critique of Mitigation Strategies

The speaker contends that the strategy of using new citizens to mitigate the problem of low total fertility rate (TFR) has been ineffective. The speaker asserts that the TFR among new citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) has not improved and remains similar to that of local citizens.

Root Cause of Low Fertility Rate

The speaker identifies the fundamental problem of low fertility rate as being linked to the high cost of living and overpopulation. The speaker argues that overpopulation drives up the cost of essential resources such as rental housing, thereby discouraging families from having more children.