Ex-NMP scolds those who question why he hasn’t had children as he supports immigration to combat Singapore’s population decline

SINGAPORE: Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng has come under fire online after arguing that immigration, particularly from Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese community, is the only viable solution to Singapore’s declining birth rate and ageing population.

His comments, published in a Facebook post, sparked debate over immigration policy, race and national identity, with some netizens also questioning why he has no children if he is so concerned about Singapore’s demographic challenges.

In his post, Mr Cheng warned that “Singaporeans are going extinct” and claimed that if current demographic trends continue, “we will start having population decline in 2040.”

He argued that this would have serious economic consequences, writing: “This means the economy will shrink, and living standards will fall. A smaller working population will have to support a large ageing population.”

Mr Cheng also expressed concern over the shrinking local Chinese population, saying: “The local Chinese population is already shrinking, with more deaths than births.”

He argued that this would have wider implications beyond demographics, adding: “This will have a significant impact on the multiracial social compact that underpins Singapore, and influence Singapore’s domestic and foreign politics. There will be upheavals and political chaos when this happens.”

Mr Cheng said he was pessimistic about reversing the country’s low fertility rate.

“I am not optimistic that anything can improve the birth rate,” he wrote, before dismissing the argument that high living costs are the main reason Singaporeans are having fewer children.

“Stop listening to people whingeing about costs. This is simply not true,” he said, arguing instead that “it’s a psychological, cultural thing.” He added that, with only a few exceptions, richer countries tend to have lower birth rates than poorer ones, while wealthier people generally have fewer children than those with lower incomes.

Calling immigration “the only solution”, Mr Cheng said Singapore “has to bring in more immigrants but integrate them well” and urged the Government to “invest in integration.”

He went on to argue that Singapore should “double down on encouraging immigration of ethnic Chinese, especially from Malaysia.”

According to Mr Cheng, “There are far fewer assimilation issues for Malaysian Chinese.” He also suggested that “given the political uncertainty that Malaysian Chinese now are facing, now would be a good time to offer incentives for them to migrate to Singapore.”

Mr Cheng acknowledged that his proposals would not be popular, writing that “there needs to be political courage to present these unpopular but necessary policies to the electorate,” before concluding: “The very existence of Singapore is at stake.”

Mr Cheng’s comments prompted some Facebook users to question why he had not personally contributed to raising Singapore’s birth rate by having children.

Responding in the comments section, he drew a firm line against such criticisms.

“Anybody who attacks me for not having kids will be blocked,” he wrote.

He added that having children is “an individual choice” rather than “a national duty”, reiterating his belief that people in developed countries naturally have fewer children and maintaining that “only solution is immigration.”

While some agreed that Singapore would have to rely more heavily on immigration to offset its declining birth rate, others took issue with his call to prioritise ethnic Chinese immigrants, arguing that it ran contrary to Singapore’s identity as a multiracial nation.

One commenter questioned why Mr Cheng appeared so concerned about the future ethnic composition of Singapore.

“What is your agenda seriously? I do not see any issues if there are less local born Chinese population & higher minorities’ population in the future… we are all Singaporeans, right? Of course we will all strive to make this country grow and defend it with our hearts… so stop this nonsense analysis that only one race is working harder than the rest for Singapore lah,” the commenter wrote.

Another accused Mr Cheng of promoting a racially selective immigration policy.

“Wow so openly racist. Import Chinese only. Mind you, we are in the middle of South East Asia. We should have more South East Asians. Throw away the racist 70% Chinese quota. We are a multi-racial country. It’s in our pledge,” the commenter said.

Others felt the issue is more nuanced and said immigration would only prolong population decline. One commenter said, “Mass immigration is only a short-term fix; it does increase the population but doesn’t stop aging population. The new citizen will simply quicken the inevitable. The true fix is still birth rate, but it’s now too late unless every woman get pregnant.”