By: Phillip Ang
The PAP must review its flawed immigration policy and not continue to treat PRs as a numbers game to increase the GDP.
Since PMs Lee and Goh increased the number of PRs from 112,100 in 1990 to 541,000 in 2010, their numbers have been on a decline. Some serious issues need to be addressed.
(It’s not difficult to understand why PAP has given out such a huge number of PRs to foreigners: without housing, education and healthcare grants/subsidies, the exorbitant living costs would have turned them away. After giving them a free taste of our benefits, wouldn’t these grateful PRs-turned-new-citizens vote for PAP? Or perhaps LKY just wanted to Singaporeans to fight for our rights to be called Singaporeans by having 524,600 PR spurs stuck into our hides?)
Ordinary Singaporeans should be concerned because the increase in PR numbers has directly affected us: more than 90% are from third world countries and willing to settle for lower wages. Most are here to make the best of PAP’s generosity at our expense. There is nothing wrong with wanting the best for ourselves. The problem is PAP’s flawed policy has affected every one of our basic needs by squandering limited public resources on foreigners.
PAP should provide a breakdown on the billions in grants and subsidies given to 524,600 PRs.
It defies common sense for PAP to insist on the need for more than 500,000 PRs to select only 20,000 new citizens. Many PRs also have dubious qualifications from unheard of universities. It’s really an insult to Singaporeans to compare people like IDA’s Nisha to our local university graduates.
PRs have been leaving Singapore permanently at an alarming rate but this doesn’t seem to bother our scholars one bit. What are the serious issues that have made them pack up and balik kampong? Chances are it’s the same problems faced by Singaporeans: our high cost of living.
How many PRs have left recently? Since 2010, the number of new PRs is estimated to be around 177,000. Assuming an average 90% of new citizens come from the PR stock, an estimated 18,000 annually or 108,000 over 6 years became new citizens. The net increase in PRs over 6 years should be about 69,000.
| Year | New PR s | New citizens | Net PR s |
| 2010 – 2016 | 177000 | 108000 | 69000 |
Instead of an increase, the number of PRs has actually decreased by 16,400 since 2010. This brings the total number who have left permanently to about 85,400 (69000 + 16400) or 14,000 annually. (Perhaps Chan Chun Sing would like to remind PRs that they also need to fight to be called Singapore PRs which many now think is just a piece of tissue paper?)
The number of foreigners giving up Singapore permanent residency should be a world record. Unlike PRs and new citizens in other countries who are there for the long haul, a large number of Singapore PRs are simply here to have our lunches.
Singaporeans who voted for such a flawed immigration policy should bear in mind that they have screwed up not only themselves but their children’s future. Isn’t our Singapore PR a piece of tissue paper?
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Republished from the blog ‘likedatosocanmeh‘.