Grace Fu: proportion of Malays in citizen population will not shrink

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu said that the pace and profile of immigration intake has been "calibrated to preserve the racial balance".

Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the Population White Paper, she reassured Malay MPs who had expressed concern that the Malay-Muslim share of the population may shrink as Singapore expands towards 6.9 million.

She said that among citizens, the Malay proportion has remained stable, growing slightly from 14.9 per cent in 2000 to 15.1 per cent in 2010.

Among the residential population - which comprises citizens and permanent residents - it has dropped slightly from 13.9 per cent in 2000 to 13.4 per cent in 2010.

But Ms Fu emphasised that the ethnic balance in the citizen population will be maintained "as far as possible."

"Malays constitute the second largest ethnic group after the Chinese, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future."

rchang@sph.com.sg

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