In 1990, citizens made up 86% of Singapore’s 3m people.
Today, the share is 64% of 5m-odd. More than one in three people are foreigners (permanent residents, known as PRs, and non-residents).
In the past, immigrants were concentrated at the top or bottom of the jobs ladder, performing work that Singaporeans could not or did not want to do.
Today, foreigners compete on almost every rung. Some, like geneticists, bring in useful skills. Others—it is feared—displace local skills and depress wages at the bottom.
PRs enjoy the benefits of citizenship without all the responsibilities, such as national service for men (first-generation PRs are generally exempt).
High immigration has coincided with a widening income gap. Singapore’s Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, rose from 0.444 in 2000 to 0.481 in 2008—higher than in China and America. The contrast between the glitzy downtown and the “heartlands” is glaring, and more damaging in tiny, dense Singapore than it would be in a big country
And the dominance of the ruling People’s Action Party means that in Singapore—unlike many countries—anti-immigrant sentiment cannot easily gain a strong political voice.
Expect no drastic policy changes.
it was the latest sign of resentment towards incomers and evidence that immigration is becoming the city-state’s dominant political issue.
cheers to great leaders for their good policies.
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