Singapore could look to review immigration policies

Singapore's ruling People's Action Party (PAP) may be forced by public
pressure to review its immigration policies after facing its worse election
results for over 40 years.

Afer winning 81 out of 87 parliamentary seats in last Saturday's elections,
the PAP, Singapore's ruling party since 1959, has a majority which many
other political parties around the world would envy.
The results however are the worst the party has achieved since Singapore was
granted independence in 1965, with opposition parties claiming around 40 per
cent of the overall vote - a 15 per cent rise since the 2001 elections.
Oppostiton parties took advantage of growing resentment against the PAP to
win support during the run-up to the elections, with many focusing their
attention on what they claim are over-liberal imigration policies.
The government is now likely to review its attitude to immigration, with
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledging that his colleagues would be
doing some "soul-searching" in the weeks to come.
"Many Singaporeans wish for the government to adopt a different style and
approach," he said on Sunday. "We hear your voice. The PAP will learn from
this election and put right what is wrong."

Around 36 per cent of Singapore's population is comprised of foreign labour,
which the city-state uses both to help power its economy and to prop up the
falling birth rate among its own citizens.
A lack of jobs, high housing costs and an over-crowded transport system are
among a number of problems which the opposition parties attribute to the
immigrant population.
Prfoessor Chang Yau Hoon, of Singapore Management University, said that the
government would certainly be expected to review its polices on immigration
in the near future, and that ensuring Singaporeans were given first
consideration as regards employment would be the most likely priority.
"This said, however, I do not think that the tap on foreign talents and
workers will be closed," he sad. "Foreigners are still expected to fill
the jobs that the local workforce is either unwilling or unable to occupy.
The government is most likely to implement a starker differentiation between
citizens and non-citizens of Singapore in its policy review."