Singaporeans Plan Protest as Parliament Debates Population Boost

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-06/singaporeans-plan-protest-as-parliament-debates-population-boost.html

Singaporeans are planning a protest next week against the government’s projection of an increase in the island’s population by as much as 30 percent by 2030, as Parliament debates the country’s demographics for a third day.

More than 900 people said on a Facebook page that they will or may join the demonstration on Feb. 16 at Speakers’ Corner at the edge of the city’s financial district. About 9,000 have also “liked” another page that calls for a stand against the government and “Say ‘No’ to an Overpopulated Singapore.”

An influx of immigrants has eroded the popularity of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s ruling party as infrastructure strains and record-high housing and transport costs add to public discontent. The administration has outlined plans for a population of 6.9 million by the end of the next decade with Singaporeans, including new citizens, making up one of every two people on the island smaller in size than New York City.

“The new population policy is anti-Singaporean and it threatens our existence and livelihoods,” Gilbert Goh, the organizer of the protest who runs a non-governmental group to help unemployed citizens, said in an interview. “Singaporeans will be the minority by 2030. We want to show our displeasure.”

Goh, 51, said he expects more than 1,000 people to join the Feb. 16 protest and has received permission from the National Parks Board to use the 0.94 hectare (2.3 acres) ground. Speakers’ Corner in Hong Lim Park, the venue of political rallies in the 1950s and 1960s, was modeled on the section of London’s Hyde Park traditionally set aside for free speech.

“We want to show the government that there is a consolidated voice against its population growth policy,” said Goh, who isn’t affiliated with any political parties after an unsuccessful run for as an opposition candidate in the 2011 poll. “We want them to hear us, but I doubt if they will.”