Jentrified – a good piece that explains clearly why there is indeed a big difference between a new citizen and a true blue Singaporean. It takes time to really become one of the people and of the land, so let’s not pretend an instant passport will make one a true Singaporean.
About a week ago I was looking through the Population White Paper and was greatly perturbed by the missing definition of a “Singaporean core.”
Like many of us, I am concerned about a “diluted” Singaporean identity with the proposed influx of new migrants each year: according to the projected target, “Singaporeans” — which includes a substantial number of new citizens — only make up half the total population by 2030.
As I was trying to tabulate the number of “true blue” Singaporeans, i.e. those who are born and raised in Singapore, I was stumped.
Elusive Numbers
The base figure of 3.29 million Singaporeans in 2012 already included a certain number of new citizens under the government’s liberal immigration policy over the last few years.
That means to tabulate a more meaningful or accurate figure I would have to refer to the citizen population before the floodgates were open. The problem…
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Jentrified Citizen 