On 29 Jan, the Channel NewsAsia (CNA) published a report saying that the Singapore Government is ramping up infrastructure-building to cope with the pending hike in population. The report has since been deleted, but the link to the story is viewable in CNA’s FB.
CNA’s infographic on the ramping up of infrastructure to cope with pending population hike in its Facebook was captioned:
“COPING WITH MORE PEOPLE: To meet the needs of the possible 6.9 million population by 2030, the government will double the rail network to 360 km and has also set aside land to build 700,000 new homes. More healthcare facilities are also in the pipeline – an additional 4,100 hospital beds are expected by 2020.”
It is unclear why CNA dropped the report, but the Government’s release of the Population White Paper in 2013 drew widespread criticisms from many segments of society. Bowing to popular pressure, the Singapore Government amended the motion.
The Workers’ Party opposed the amended motion saying the White Paper will further dilute the Singaporean core and weaken the country’s national identity. The opposition party warned that such population hikes will “lead us to require unsustainable population injections in the future.”