'Stop at two policy nothing to do with low fertility'

The policy to encourage families to stop at two children in the late 60s "had nothing to do" with Singapore's current ageing population and low fertility rate, said former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on Wednesday.

He noted that low fertility is a problem most developed countries face, partly because more women, educated and facing equal job opportunities, do not view their role solely as a mother.

The "Stop at two" policy was introduced in 1969 to control the nation's rapid population growth.

Lee was responding to a question by a Singaporean student from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) at a dialogue held by the school, in conjunction with its 7th anniversary celebrations.
 
The graduate student asked how the country could better manage its population policy, adding that Singapore which used to have the "Stop at two" initiative now faces an ageing population.
 
“Stopping at two has nothing to do with what’s happened. It has happened throughout the developed world, once you have women educated with equal job opportunities, they do not see their future just bearers of children,” replied Lee who was also speaking for the first time as a "distinguished fellow" of the graduate school.

He pointed out that the answer in tackling the population challenge remains in bringing in foreigners.
 
“So the fertility rate has gone down in Singapore to 1.18, I don’t see it going back to 2.1, which is the replacement rate. The only way it can happen if you diseducate or uneducate the women, that doesn’t make sense, the economy will suffer. So the answer is migration," he said.

Lee acknowledged, however, that an annual intake of 60,000 immigrants -- the population replacement rate suggested in a recent Institute of Policy Studies'  study -- is more than what Singaporeans would like to “digest”.

So the Republic could start with around 20,000 or 25,000 immigrants, and as it faces a growing shortage of younger people to care for the elderly, then it might have to take in more, he suggested.
 
“There just won’t be enough people to look after the old and to work the economy at the same time,” he stressed.

But how then can Singaporeans be persuaded to understand this issue better, asked professor Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the LKYSPP and also moderator for the dialogue session.

Lee said the government has already explained the situation but Singaporeans "just do not want to see so many foreigners in their midst". He added, "Intellectually we have already told them what the stakes are."
 
Two-party system not good development for S'pore
 
During the 45-minute dialogue, Lee also pointed out that the political arena is more complex today than when he was in power as educated citizens feel the government should have competition.

Yet, he stressed that a two-party political system would not be a good path for Singapore.

“So you want to have an opposition, finally you would end up with a two-party system and you become like the Europeans or the Americans, I think that’s not a good development for Singapore.
 
“I hope it remains just a competitive opposition and not one where eventually the public says, ‘Let’s have a two-party government’ believing that it will be better. I do not think so,” he stated.
 
Lee added that among other reasons, he does not believe the country has the ability to produce two top class teams as it does not have the talent, echoing the comments made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the recent general election (GE).

He also dismissed claims when asked by an audience member that his appearances during the GE had affected PM Lee’s overall performance.

"I did not appear so often anyway. I have stood down and I don't know who gave you the impression I appeared so frequently. I have stood down and I am off the press as a focus of attention, and off the electronic media," he said to laughter from the audience.

On Singapore’s vision going forward, he said it is up to Singaporeans to come up with one.
 
"The vision has got to be your vision, not my vision. I’ve lived my life, I’m 88, I’m strolling into the sunset, maybe I’ll stumble towards the end.
 
“But you have to have the vision of the kind of Singapore you want and you got to crystallise that and get your leaders to adopt your vision. It’s not for me to tell you what vision you should have,” he said.