GE2025: SDP says current influx of foreigners 'unsustainable', calls for PM Wong to state 'optimal population size' (2025)

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) said on Friday (Apr 25) that the current influx of foreigners is "unsustainable" and that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong must give a clear plan on "what he sees as the optimal population size for Singapore".

“He cannot just give us motherhood statements, like we must welcome foreigners but we will carefully manage the inflow. No, this is a straw man argument,” said SDP chief Chee Soon Juan.

He said the SDP was not saying it wanted “to close our doors” or sought “zero immigration”.

"What we are saying is that the sheer volume that we’re letting in foreigners is hurting this country. And it is unsustainable," added Dr Chee.

SDP's leaders and General Election candidates were speaking on Friday at Beacon Primary School in Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency (SMC). It was the only election rally of the night and SDP's second this election.

SDP chairman Paul Tambyah is taking on the incumbent Mr Liang Eng Hwa of the People's Action Party (PAP) in the constituency.

The six SDP candidates who spoke before Dr Chee defended their party chief's move to Sembawang West SMC – something that was questioned by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung the night before.

SDP is fielding 11 candidates in four constituencies this General Election – Bukit Panjang SMC, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, Sembawang GRC and Sembawang West SMC.

IMMIGRATION

SDP has laid out its position on immigration in its manifesto. It wants to put Singaporeans first in the workforce with a “talent track scheme” to ensure that “only foreign professionals whose skills and credentials are rigorously verified may work in Singapore”.

On Friday night, Dr Chee stressed that the SDP is not “anti-foreigner”.

“As Singaporeans, we do not demonise our guests, we do not dehumanise them. We are better than that, because we are Singaporeans. We will treat every individual in Singapore, citizen or not, with respect, with kindness and with dignity.

“It is not the foreigner whom we are fighting against. It is the irrational, the irresponsible immigration policy of the PAP that we are questioning.”

He said immigration was an “existential problem” in Singapore.

“If we continue to allow the PAP to bring in more and more foreigners, our problems of mental health, cost of living, overcrowding, environmental degradation and overall quality of life are all going to worsen.”

If elected, SDP Members of Parliament (MPs) would work with the government to assimilate and build unity with new citizens and foreigners in Singapore, Dr Chee said.

“But that does not give the PAP licence to keep on increasing the number of foreigners into the country. We must be more judicious, more sensible in our immigration policy.”

Last year, Singapore's population exceeded 6 million for the first time, reaching 6.04 million as of June 2024.

This was mainly driven by growth in the non-resident population, which refers to those who are not citizens or permanent residents.

ONG YE KUNG "ABANDONED ALJUNIED FAMILY"

On Thursday, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at a PAP rally that Dr Chee needed to give voters a better explanation for why he "abandoned Bukit Batok to come to Sembawang West".

Dr Chee had staked an early claim to recontest Bukit Batok SMC, where he lost in GE2020. After the SMC was absorbed into Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, Dr Chee moved to Sembawang West SMC.

Dr James Gomez, an SDP candidate in Sembawang GRC, said that Mr Ong "spent most of his speech yesterday throwing barbs" at SDP, instead of addressing the cost of living and healthcare costs.

Mr Ong "should ask himself why he abandoned his Aljunied family, and why other PAP MPs move around different constituencies", he added.

"Let's be reminded, (Mr) Ong lost in Aljunied in 2011 and he parachuted in 2015 into Sembawang GRC, whose boundary was redrawn," said Dr Gomez.

In GE2011, Mr Ong was part of a PAP team that lost to the Workers' Party in Aljunied GRC. It was the first time an opposition party won a GRC.

On Friday, SDP’s Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Ariffin Sha highlighted other PAP heavyweights who moved constituencies in this General Election.

He pointed to the moves by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong from Chua Chu Kang GRC to Punggol GRC, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng from Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC to Chua Chu Kang GRC, and labour chief Ng Chee Meng to Jalan Kayu SMC after losing in Sengkang GRC in GE2020.

"Do you feel that the ministers and MPs are taking Singaporeans for granted? A big margin of victory for the PAP will send the signal that such actions are okay, we can get away with it."

Fellow speakers pointed to "gerrymandering" as the reason why Dr Chee moved from Bukit Batok SMC to Sembawang West SMC, with Bukit Batok absorbed into a GRC.

SDP's Sembawang GRC candidate Damanhuri Abas questioned why "Bukit Batok disappears just like that" when the boundaries were redrawn.

"Why? Because they think they will lose. Why are they so afraid of facing Dr Chee in parliament ... you simply erase the hard work of Dr Chee for the last 10 years, winning the hearts and minds of Bukit Batok residents by resorting to tactics of a playground bully."

When asked about Mr Ong's comments during a walkaboutat Kampung Admiralty Hawker Centre on Saturday morning, Dr Chee urged people to tune into or attend the party’s rally for Sembawang West SMC at Evergreen Primary School this evening.

"I just want to make sure I gather my thoughts and make it a coherent response,” he said, adding that he wanted to specifically speak about this when he is in the constituency.

"I mean, all I can say right now - just befuddles me why they want to draw more attention to this … about the gerrymandering. But they make their beds. They have to lie in it. But for me, as I said, I will respond to them."

Speakers also respondedon Fridayto Mr Ong's comments that Dr Chee would not be able to take care of residents in Sembawang West if he becomes the MP there, as Dr Chee would challenge him and not work with him.

"(Mr) Ong frames the contest in Sembawang GRC as a choice between who to include or exclude from the PAP’s Sembawang family," said Dr Gomez.

"So let me be clear with our intentions. The SDP believes elections are about policies, accountabilityand representation. It is not about personal ties, it's about selecting leaders who will put you at the core – the well-being of residents."

Mr Ariffin said Mr Ong has "got it wrong", and that any MP's job is "not to challenge the government, but to uplift the lives of Singaporeans".

"If something is wrong for the people, do we not speak up? Do we not push back? Isn't that what your MP is supposed to do?Instead of petty politics,Minister Ong should be focused on actual issues that are facing everyday Singaporeans."

Mr Ariffin also pointed to the Elections Department’s guidance for candidates to avoid negative campaigning and denigrating opponents.

“Dr Chee’s speech (on Thursday) was focused on the future of Singapore and policies, bread and butter issues, and a single-minded focus on helping, wanting to serve Singaporeans,” he said.

“But at the same time that our rally was going on at Choa Chu Kang Stadium, a few MRT stations away – I don't know how often ministers take MRT, so they may not get the reference – the health minister and Sembawang MP Mr Ong Ye Kung talked about Dr Chee Soon Juan.”

SDP’S “NORTHERN STRATEGY”

Dr Gomez said that the SDP's engagement in Sembawang has spanned 20 years. The party contested and lost in Sembawang GRC in GE2006 and GE2011.

In 2015, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC was created by merging parts of Sembawang GRC and Chua Chu Kang GRC. The SDP contested there in GE2015 and GE2020, and not in Sembawang GRC.

Dr Gomez said the SDP decided to bring Sembawang GRC into its focus in 2022, as a "natural extension" of the party's ground operations in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC and the changes in electoral boundaries.

"Many of the residential and commercial areas have close ties, and with regular redrawing of the boundaries in the northern constituencies, there emerged a natural connection and strategy, and we saw this opportunity within the northern strategy."

Earlier this year, the SDP said it would embark on a "northern strategy" for this election.Dr Gomez said the SDP would release its town plan for Sembawang GRC on Saturday.

"It will lay out our vision for a well-maintained Sembawang and an inclusive community," he added.

GOVERNMENT "BULLDOZED" GST HIKES

Mr Alfred Tan, a candidate in Sembawang GRC, addressed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) hikes.

"The PAP government bulldozed its way to have the GST increase despite protests from the opposition," he said, urging residents to “vote carefully.”

The GST was introduced in 1994 at 3 per cent. This increased to 4 per cent in 2003, 5 per cent in 2004, 7 per cent in July 2007, 8 per cent in 2023 and 9 per cent last year.

The party also proposed using the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) to assess the quality of life in Singapore.

Increasing GST is “very easy for the PAP government to do” when it is driven and focused on gross domestic product (GDP) as a key performance indicator, Mr Tan said.

“GDP does not measure happiness, it does not measure mental health,” he said.

“Real progress ... is in the dignity of our elderly, the hope of our youth, the strength of our communities. It means truly living as human beings, and not as economic cogs and gears, thrown aside and discarded once you pass your usefulness.

HEALTHCARE INSURANCE AND BUKIT PANJANG PLANS

At Friday’s rally, Prof Tambyah spoke about the party’s healthcare proposals, one of the six items in its manifesto.

“The SDP healthcare plan involves small co-payment plans, which are capped, and operates on the basis that no one chooses to get cancer or a heart attack.

“There are few people who may ask for treatments which give them a quality of life, which they think they deserve, but the insurance companies feel they are not entitled to,” he said.

“But the SDP healthcare plan is fully financially sound as it operates within the current healthcare financing budget.”

As the candidate running in Bukit Panjang SMC, Prof Tambyah also noted that more improvements need to be made in the constituency.

“The bottom line is that Bukit Panjang is an ageing town. There are many things that need to be improved. The LRT renewal needs to be done. There are areas of cleanliness that need to be improved.

"But more than that, as a country, we need to take stock of where we are after 60 years of PAP rule, and the time has come to vote for change."