local mission

New immigrants help sustain, enrich S'porean way of life, says SM Goh

By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia

Posted: 07 November 2009 2336 hrs

New immigrants help sustain, enrich S'porean way of life, says SM Goh

SINGAPORE : Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said new immigrants help sustain and enrich the quality of life of Singaporeans.

Speaking on the issue for the second time in three days, Mr Goh said without Permanent Residents (PRs) and new citizens, Singapore will soon go the way of the dinosaurs - as the population will begin to shrink in 2020.

Mr Goh said in the last 10 years, the number of people aged 65 and above has grown by about 100,000 while the number of children aged below 15 had shrunk by about 50,000.

This is an unsustainable demographic structure. Economic growth may also slow by 1 to 2 per cent.

A recent trip to his ancestral hometown in China's Fujian province provided SM Goh a chance to reflect on the subject of immigration and identity.

"The previous 16 generations, including my father, were all born in China. I was welcomed not as a Chinese national, but as a Singaporean. It is possible for one generation, for new immigrations to become loyal to Singapore, to Singaporean values, and to contribute to Singapore society," said SM Goh.

At a community event on Saturday, Mr Goh said he understood how some Singaporeans felt crowded out by new citizens and PRs, whether in housing, jobs or schools.

New immigrants were also perceived as "taking advantage" of better opportunities here, without giving back to the community or doing their share of National Service.

Mr Goh noted that the influx of new immigrants has become an emotive issue that goes into the heart of what it means to be Singaporean. And the challenge for the government is to convince the public that Singapore is better off with new immigrants.

Mr Goh said the question is whether they sustain and add to the quality of life here.

And he believes they do - by supporting population and economic growth, and by enriching the cultural scene.

But the government too, needs to address what the newcomers can do to integrate, and how it can help.

Mr Goh said "We will have to face up to the problems encountered by Singaporeans on the ground. Explaining in macro terms using overall statistics is not good enough. We have to deal with real situations faced by Singaporeans.

"This immigration issue is a critical one, and we must bring Singaporeans on board to understand and support what we are doing. They must feel that they have a stake in the intake of immigrants and migrant workers, and see that these people, by bolstering our economy and demographic structure, make their lives better and not worse.

"Singapore is at a threshold. If we turn away immigrants, it will have dire long-term consequences for Singapore. If we have them in the right numbers and quality, it will boost our economic vitality."

Mr Goh said such issues are now being deliberated by the national Economic Strategies Committee.

He stressed that his intention was not to open up another round of debate on new immigrants, but to reflect on their critical importance to the country's future. - CNA /ls

As I was reading through the article, I cannot help but recall the mission sunday sharing about two weeks back about how we can contextualise the idea of doing mission in the local context. A brother was sharing how he and his unit had tried to outreach to the working foreigners and among whom some have come to know the Lord personally and their lives were truly transformed and they persevered in their faith despite family persecution and health issues. It was probably one of the few occasions that I heard about such a powerful testimony. How true is it that the workers working here need to hear the gospel as well especially those who are living in countries which are hostile to our Christian faith. It is probably their rare chance to experience the fellowship and be enfolded,connected well who could in turn be entrusted to bring the gospel back home. Spore being a multi-religious country, having five hundred plus churches being endowed with so many blessings and given the freedom to practise our faith, I believe that there is great potential for us to extend a helping hand to integrate the many migrant workers and foreigners and hopefully bring them the good news as well

Romans 10:14-15
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"