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The Workers' Party's Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang on Thursday said that the Singapore government was "driving with an upside down (population) road map".
Mr Low, who is MP for Aljunied GRC, said that Singapore's low birth rate and ageing population were caused by a social and physical environment that is not conducive for family life. Therefore, solutions should focus on promoting quality of life for families, he said.
The WP chief also pointed out that the White Paper was still proposing incentives to have more babies under the Marriage and Parenthood package, when previous incentives had not worked.
"Without a TFR (Total Fertility Rate) recovery plan with clear targets, our birth rates are not going to go up. So when 2030 arrives, what solution are we going to turn to? Immigration again?" said Mr Low.
"The problem with the government is not that it lacks 20-20 foresight in infrastructure development, but (that) it fails to recognise that the problem is its immigration policy," he added.
Mr Low said that the key plank in the Workers' Party's proposal is to increase Singapore's resident workforce by encouraging women and senior citizens to work.
Former deputy prime minister and MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Mr Wong Kan Seng, said that the White Paper is the government's effort to prevent a repeat of history.
He said: "The point is that it's not whether the population size should be 5.9 (million) or 6.9 (million). It is about how we keep our economy growing at a sustainable rate, create better jobs for Singaporeans and provide care and support for elders.
"These objectives are the key responsibilities of the government. But it must have the people's support."
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