Indranee and Leong Mun Wai clash in parliament over Singapore’s fertility rate

A FURTHER EXCHANGE

Mr Leong accused Ms Indranee of avoiding his questions, and challenged her on why Singapore does not compare itself to countries such as France, which has a total fertility rate (TFR) above 1.5.

“You have quoted a downward trend in the TFR as a global phenomenon. But other countries are able to maintain it at above 1.5 but we are 0.97 – does that difference mean it is a responsibility that the government has to take?” he asked.

Ms Indranee pointed out that France’s fertility rate has also dropped, mirroring the global decline.

“The suggestion seems to be that the government is responsible for 0.97 TFR. I think that that’s not the case,” she added.

She said that while it is a global trend affected by many factors, the government can do its best to make sure there is an environment that is as supportive of marriage and parenthood as possible, which is what it is currently trying to do.

“Any phenomenon that we observe, there’s always a systemic factor and there is a specific factor. Other countries have also experienced a general decline in the TFR, but if other countries are still maintaining at 1.5 and our TFR has gone right below 1 per cent, that is a difference,” said Mr Leong.

He added that the policies have not addressed the “specific factors”.

“You cannot just say that ‘oh everything is dropping, we can’t help it’, more or less, you’re saying we can’t help it, that cannot be the case, because then we will be really running towards extinction.”

Ms Indranee pointed out that the government had never said that it “can’t help it”.

“As far as this government is concerned, we want to make a Singapore that is made for families and we are encouraging marriage and parenthood. It’s very odd because Mr Leong says the government says something when the government has not said any such thing,” she added.

“Are policies working? We had policies in the past which took us up to a certain point. But remember, we recognise that changes need to be made and things need to be looked at afresh and that is exactly why we implemented Forward SG.

“And that’s why we embarked on the process of looking at what new policies we can introduce.”