New citizens enrich Singapore, invigorate economy: Minister

New citizens enrich Singapore and invigorate the city state's economy “in ways beyond what numbers can show”, a senior minister said on Sunday..

Singapore minister Lee Hsien Loong welcoming newly naturalised Singaporeans at the citizenship ceremony said new arrivals bring fresh experiences, diverse perspectives and global connections, helping the country plug into the world and thrive as a regional hub and a global node.

“This is how cities like London, New York or Shanghai become great centres of culture and prosperity. They attract enterprising and adventurous people from all over the world to live and work there,” Channel News Asia quoted the former prime minister as saying.

“And the steady infusion of new arrivals sharpens them, sparks cross-fertilisation of ideas and cultures, and creates an environment of constant innovation and enterprise,” he said.

Every year, there are about 30,000 babies born in Singapore, which takes in about 22,000 new citizens to keep up with the demand for manpower across all sectors.

Recalling his visit to Google headquarters in Silicon Valley two years ago, Lee noted that most of the presenters he met had grandparents who hailed from all around the world.

“That is America’s enormous advantage – it draws top talent from every continent, and therefore it can innovate and stay ahead,” he said, adding that Singapore must always be open to ideas and talent from around the world.

“This is how we became a shining red dot (a common reference to the city state). Because our ancestors came here from many lands, made this their home, and built up this country. This is what we must continue to do to shine even brighter in future – not just for our own sake, but for our children and grandchildren too.”

Multinational Singapore’s population is predominantly Chinese and about 9 per cent Indians whose forefathers came a century ago to the island state and were joined by indigenous Malays, building the city state as an Asian business and financial hub.

The Singapore government is “keenly aware” of the need to handle immigration and integration sensitively, especially as the inflows (foreigners into the growing economy) are not small either, said Lee.

“Even dragon year − last year − still not quite 30,000 citizen babies born. So, we do need to bring in more people, more talent, more contributions,” he said.

Chinese consider Dragon Year as per their vernacular calendar a good year to have babies.

The minister, however, sounded a note of caution and said Singapore needed to manage its immigration inflows carefully by keeping it measured and balanced.

According to past media reports, Singaporeans, whose grandparents settled a century ago, have expressed reservations about new arrivals in the prosperous city state. They are especially concerned about loss of jobs to foreigners.

Lee, who stepped down as prime minister last May, highlighted various ways Singapore integrates its new residents.

All of them undergo the Singapore Citizenship Journey before obtaining their citizenship, he said, adding that Integration and Naturalisation Champions from the People’s Association, a state agency, also run programmes to welcome and integrate new citizens into their communities.

“I hope now that you have become citizens, you will participate wholeheartedly in society, and make the effort to integrate,” he said.

“Learn our values and cultural norms, get involved and contribute actively to your communities."

“To help new citizens to fit in − to feel at home here, to pick up how our society works, and how we can live harmoniously together. And to firmly reject those who play up nativist and xenophobic sentiments for political gain, which will do great harm to our society,” Lee said.

Rounding up his address, Lee emphasised how Singapore’s success has always been built on its people – those who came earlier from distant lands, their children born here, and those who continue to join the country every year from all over the world.

“As long as we open our hearts and minds, we can together build a nation that remains vibrant, cohesive, and full of opportunity for those who call it home,” underlined Lee.