Lim Swee Say highlights "peaks" S’poreans will face in future

SINGAPORE: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and NTUC Secretary—General, Lim Swee Say highlighted three peaks which Singaporeans will have to face.

He said that is one reason why the government is putting forth the White Paper on Population for Singaporeans to ponder over and for Parliament to debate on.

Speaking during the debate in Mandarin and English, he said the first is the "employment" peak.

He cautioned that as long as the total fertility rate is below 2.1, there would be challenges for Singapore.

In this regard, if Singapore does not have more graduates than the number of people retiring, the workforce will dwindle.

The next is the "population" peak.

This will be hit if the number of babies born does not replace the number of people dying each year.

And the third is the "ageing" peak and this happens when there is a drop in the number of people who can provide support for the elderly.

Mr Lim explained: "I hope we can come to a clear consensus on the key priority areas for us to move forward. I hope we can speak in one voice, act in one heart and serve our people in one Parliament. Let us serve our people together regardless of parties, regardless of idealism, let us work together to maximise the upsides, minimise the downsides of a growing population. Together we can overcome the crises of the three peaks so that Singaporeans can live better in the year 2020, 2030 and beyond."

— CNA/xq