This is part of my month-long “Brevity is Clarity” endeavour, inspired by a friend’s Facebook post (here) which reminded me of the importance of getting points across cleanly and clearly. 160 words, 5 points, 1 issue. Check out the complete collection (here).
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If you are as lazy busy as I am, you are not going to dissect the Population White Paper; instead, based on news reports and the figure per se, here are some perspectives:
Beyond the figures, are we – as a supposedly “conservative” society – ready for such diversity?
1. Can our public transportation systems handle it? Or am I consigned to feeling awkward and uneasy when trapped right in the middle of a train carriage?
2. There will be more individuals with dissimilar nationalities, ethnicities, beliefs, sexualities… Beyond the figures, are we – as a supposedly “conservative” society – ready for such diversity?
3. Can we continue to justify the need for National Service (here)? With more foreigners, how should a Singaporean men feel at school (where he is two years behind); at the workplace (where yearly trainings are still required)?
4. Will the cost-of-living continue to rise? Can we maintain or enhance our social support systems, to make sure that low-income households get the assistance they need?
5. What will it mean to be a Singaporean? Will it even be important?
guanyinmiao's musings (Archived: July 2009 to July 2019) 
My concern is that firstly, the public transportation system will have to keep growing with the population, and secondly that the cost of living will keep increasing as the density of population increases too. As a foreigner, I am unqualified to comment on NS but I do believe that an increased population -especially an increase in immigrants – would, to some extent, aggrieve the local population.
Posted by Pranav | February 17, 2013, 8:39 pmApologies for the late reply (catching up on older comments now).
I think the on-the-ground sentiments echo what you’ve highlighted. It will be challenging for the SAF: I do recognise the need / importance of NS, but the government will find it increasingly difficult to justify it in the future.
Jin Yao
Posted by guanyinmiao | March 11, 2013, 6:28 pm