IN AN acknowledgement that more needs to be done to integrate new immigrants, a National Integration Council (NIC) is to be set up.
To be chaired by Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, it will comprise members from the public and private sectors, as well as from the community.
AID FOR IMMIGRANTS
A National Integration Council will be established to drive the integration agenda forward through a concerted effort.
Last year, 20,513 foreigners took up citizenship, while 79,167 took up PR.
The goal will be 'to drive the integration agenda forward through a concerted effort', Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said when announcing the new initiative yesterday.
Mr Wong, who chairs the National Population Committee,said 20,513 foreigners took up citizenship last year. A further 79,167 took up permanent residency.
This is up from the 17,334 who took up citizenship in 2007 and the 63,627 who became PRs that same year.
'This could be due to the good economy and the broadening of the eligibility criteria in 2004,' he said.
The latest increase in immigrants came as Singapore's total fertility rate last year stalled at 1.29 - the same as it was a year earlier.
It had been creeping up steadily from 1.25 in 2004 when a $300 million package to encourage parenthood was announced.
Speaking during the Budget debate on estimates for the Prime Minister's Office, Mr Wong said current efforts at integration - initiated largely by community organisations - were 'encouraging'.
The People's Association, for instance, has over 700 'integration and naturalisation champions' who engage new immigrants through house visits. There are also immigrant associations such as the Amoy Association and Chin Kang Huay Kuan where new citizens can interact.
'But there is scope for the public sector, the private sector and the people sector to work more closely together in a systematic and coordinated way,' he said. The committee will thus comprise 'key representatives' from these sectors.
He did not provide more details as Dr Balakrishnan will disclose more during the debate on his ministry's estimates next week. But The Straits Times understands that members may include trade associations of industries that hire large numbers of foreigners. The labour movement and Singapore National Employers' Federation may also be involved.
Mr Wong's announcement followed calls from Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang) and Mr Ang Mong Seng (Hong Kah GRC) for more to be done to bridge the local-foreign divide.
In the past year, the growing numbers of foreigners have led to some tensions - with concerns over their impact on demand for housing and schools, competition for jobs, and their ability to fit in.
Said Dr Teo: 'We have yet to provide sustainable programmes to bond our communities.'
Meanwhile, Nominated MP Gautam Banerjee warned against what he called 'dangerous and disingenuous political rhetoric' for foreign workers to be retrenched ahead of Singaporean workers.
Such calls would send a contradictory message to foreign companies and foreign talent, unsettle a key segment of the workforce and undermine the work of government agencies in attracting and developing talent here.
In his speech, Mr Wong reiterated the rationale for population growth, saying that without immigration, the population would decline by about 2020.
Countries like Australia were now limiting foreign manpower, he noted.
'We should not do likewise. As Mr Banerjee mentioned, this would be short-sighted and could ultimately lead to more job losses for Singaporeans,' he said.
