SINGAPORE: As part of Singapore's continued push to get its citizens to marry and have babies, the government announced it was reviewing current Marriage and Parenthood packages in an effort to encourage Singaporeans to have more children. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean urged Singaporeans to work “hand in hand to overcome two key challenges that Singapore faces: having a sustainable population and maintaining the country's economic vitality.” Teo, who also oversees the country's population planning policies, told reporters: “We intend to to put out a White Paper at the end of this year so that we can bring Singaporeans together to discuss this issue, to understand what the implications are and to come together to see what are the possible ways forward which will give us a sustainable population, a cohesive population and a population that will ensure our vitality into the future.” He said the global economy is “still weak, but with more jobs created in Singapore in the second quarter of this year, overall unemployment remains low at two percent.” The comments from the deputy PM come after former Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew urged the country's younger generation to get married and have babies. With Singapore's birth rate dropping dramatically, to one of the lowest levels in the world, Lee's comments come as a debate over how to maintain the country's population hits the city-state. Speaking at a National Day dinner for Tanjong Pagar GRC and Tiong Bahru residents, he said Singapore “will fold up" if there are no original citizens left to form the majority. Many viewed his comments as “anti-immigration" and even some online users called Lee's statement “racist" against incoming Singaporeans. Lee also said that migrants are needed as a temporary solution. The trend of declining birth rates must also be reversed. “If there are no new citizens, new PRs will settle Singapore's social ethos, social spirit and social norms," he said. According to The Straits Times, Lee said Singaporeans not marrying and not having children has become a “national problem" even though an individual's lifestyle and marital plans are personal decisions. In his speech, Lee also stated some of the current demographic trends in Singapore. The Chinese had the lowest fertility rate in 2011 at 1.08, he argued. “Successive generations of the largest ethnic group in Singapore will halve in size in the next 18 to 20 years if this continues," he argued. Indians had a fertility rate of 1.09 while Malays had a fertility rate of 1.64. All three ethnic groups have fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1. Lee also noted that “around 44 percent of Singaporean men and 31 percent of women aged between 30 and 34 are single."
