Protest against the 6.9 million population target by 2030. We welcome foreigners to join us for the event as we are discussing mainly on the flawed policies of the government. For media enquiries, please email gilbert@transitioning.org.
THE COUNTDOWN TO THE PUBLIC RALLY AT SINGAPORE HONG LIM PARK (SPEAKERS CORNER) CLICK HERE NOW.
Visitor Info
Hong Lim Park is a site of historical and national significance. It is Singapore's first privately-owned public garden and is named after Cheang Hong Lim, a wealthy Chinese businessman, who bought the land in 1876.One of the earliest public parks in Singapore, it was originally named Dunman's Green after the first Superintendent of Police (Thomas Dunman) who retired in 1871. The name was changed in 1876 to Hong Lim Green in honour of Cheang Hong Lim who donated the land.
During the Japanese Occupation, it was the venue for storytelling. In the 1950s and 1960s. It was used as a cricket ground by members of the Singapore Chinese Recreation Club and the Singapore Cricket Club. In the 1960s and 1970s, Chinese operas were performed on the stage. The park also served as the venue of many of the first political rallies. Right up to the late 1970s, the Green was the only major recreation space in Chinatown. It is still used for various community events through the year.
In September 2000, the Government designated the park as the venue of the existing Speakers' Corner. Abutting the park is the Telok Ayer Hong Lim Green Community Centre and the Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post.
Park users who wish to register to use Speakers' Corner can click here.
The Park is lit from 7.00pm to 7.00am
PETITION : Dear respected Singaporeans on Facebook Platform, I wish to invite you to join this Petition to ask for a Referendum to be held on the Population White Paper. Go to www.tklcloud.com/petition.
We, the citizens of Singapore, wish to express our concern at the possible increase in population to 6.9 million in 2030, as contained in the Population White Paper.
We urge the Government to hold a Referendum for us to express our choice of the economic, social and living environment for our families in the future.
Majulah Singapura.
https://tklcloud.com/petition/
| Ex-presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian has the Hong Lim crowd rapt with attention. |
Large turnout at Speakers' Corner for protest against Population White Paper
Published on Feb 16, 2013 .4:45 PM
A large crowd gathered at Speakers' Corner for a protest
against the Population White Paper that was endorsed by Parliament last
week. (Organisers estimate that close to 5,000 people attended.)
Many came with umbrellas and caps, braving the light drizzle at around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. Organisers had lined up a list of 12 speakers, including activists as well as current and former opposition party members.
The White Paper had drawn flak largely because of the 6.9 million headline population figure. The Government has strenuously emphasised that this number is a planning parameter, not a target.
The first speaker was National Solidarity Party member Ravi Philemon.
Many came with umbrellas and caps, braving the light drizzle at around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. Organisers had lined up a list of 12 speakers, including activists as well as current and former opposition party members.
The White Paper had drawn flak largely because of the 6.9 million headline population figure. The Government has strenuously emphasised that this number is a planning parameter, not a target.
The first speaker was National Solidarity Party member Ravi Philemon.
Large turnout at Speakers' Corner for protest against Population White Paper
By Goh Chin Lian And Maryam Mokhtar
Singapolitics
Saturday, Feb 16, 2013
SINGAPORE - A crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered at
Speakers' Corner for a protest against the Population White Paper that
was endorsed by Parliament last week.Many turned up with umbrellas and caps, braving the light drizzle at around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. Organisers had lined up a list of 12 speakers, including activists as well as current and former opposition party members.
The White Paper had drawn flak largely because of the 6.9 million headline population figure. The Government has strenuously emphasised that this number is a planning parameter, not a target.
The first speaker was National Solidarity Party member Ravi Philemon.
He revved up the crowd, asking if bringing in 900,000 to 1 million foreigners every decade was acceptable, to which they responded by shouting "No".
Among those gathered was IT executive Mike Tan, 45 who came with his son, Yuan, 15.
He said: "The event is to say no to 6.9 million, and I want to show support."
Click on here to view (Photos: ST, TNP, AFP, Reuters)
S'poreans hold protest against White Paper on Population
By S Ramesh | Posted: 16 February 2013 1846 hrs
SINGAPORE: A protest was held against the government's White Paper on Population at Speakers' Corner on Saturday, organised by Transitioning.org.
Organisers said close to 2,000 people turned up despite the rain.
The intermittent drizzle did not deter the organisers, who led attendees in singing the national anthem and reciting the pledge.
"I think it's the largest protest in decades. It is also the first one where anger is directed squarely at the government," said Reuben Wong, an assistant professor of political science at the National University of Singapore.
"People are now more willing to air their grievances. They have been doing it on the Internet for the past few years, but it is new for them to physically come down in such numbers," he told AFP.
The 12 speakers lined up for the event include young Singaporeans, bloggers, and opposition politicians. Most of them called for more consultation with the public.
Lawyer Nizam Ismail called on the Singapore government to supersede the White Paper with a Green Paper.
He said such a procedure is in practice in developed countries.
Mr Nizam argued that the Green Paper will contain the views of Singaporeans about the population challenges, and he stressed that this was missing in the formulation of the White Paper.
Former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian argued that four rounds of the baby bonus had not solved the problem of declining total fertility rate.
He said at the end of the day, it all boils down to affordability for Singaporeans to first get married and then have children.
Mr Tan said it is important for a policy change on the part of the government to encourage marriage and procreation.
However, he did not offer any new solutions or ideas to improve the total fertility rate.
"The large crowd here shows the PAP government that they are not afraid any more, they don't want to hide behind a moniker on Facebook to show their displeasure," said chief organiser Gilbert Goh.
"They are showing their deep displeasure with the White Paper," he told AFP.
A spokesman for the Singapore Police told AFP that it was not monitoring the size of the crowd, which was largely clad in black, armed with clappers and clutched a sea of umbrellas.
- CNA/AFP/xq Click Here To view More Photos
Crowd singing 'Count on Me, Singapore' at Say "No" to an overpopulated Singapore — at Hong Lim Park. (Click Here To View Video)
4,000 turn up at Speakers' Corner for population White Paper protest.
An estimated crowd of 4,000 people gathered at the Speakers' Corner at
Hong Lim Park on Saturday afternoon to protest against the Population
White Paper endorsed by Parliament last week.
[SEE SLIDESHOW]
Organised by transitioning.org,
a support site for unemployed, the nearly four-hour protest saw people
of all age ranges and races turn up in the light drizzle, with umbrellas
and some with home-made, colourful placards and posters. Many also came
with their young children in tow.
While organisers put the official figure at 4,000, others compared the size of the crowd to that of Pink Dot 2013, in which close to 15,000 took part.
A
total of 12 speakers, including former NTUC chief Tan Kin Lian, former
presidential candidate Tan Jee Say, SDP's Vincent Wijeysingha, NSP's
Jeanette Chong-Aruldoss spoke at the event, mainly hitting out at the
6.9 million population figure mentioned in the White Paper.
Each speaker was given 10 minutes to address the crowd.
The
peaceful protest was marked by poignant moments when the crowd sang
"Count On Me, Singapore" at the midway mark, and also at the end when
the National Pledge was lustily recited in unison.
Organiser
Gilbert Goh told Yahoo! Singapore he was pleased with the turnout.
Calling the protest "history-making", he said he initially only expected
200 to show.
"This protest event is meant for Singaporeans to
come here in a peaceful manner to show their displeasure at the 6.9
million population target," he said.
"We also wanted to show
Singaporeans that there's a place for you to come to legitimately
protest against any policy that you have against the government. You
don't have to sit behind Facebook and complain. You can show up in
unity, in person to complain," he added.
Last week, Parliament endorsed an amended motion to the White Paper on Population by 77 votes to 13.
The
amended motion filed by Holland-Bukit Timah MP Liang Eng Hwa stated
that the White Paper “supports maintaining a strong Singaporean
core by encouraging more Singaporeans to get married and have children,
supplemented by a calibrated pace of immigration to prevent the citizen
population from shrinking”.
PM Lee, in an address before the
motion was endorsed, stressed that the 6.9 million population figure had
been taken out of context and that the paper was not about any specific population
size for beyond 2020, but rather that it was being used for the
purpose of land use and infrastructure planning.
http://singaporenewsalternative.blogspot.sg/2013/02/international-news-media-coverage-of.html?m=1
http://mobile.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/singapore-rally-demands-immigration-curbs/story-e6frfkui-1226579583753
http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/mass-rally-in-singapore-seeks-immigration-curbs-1
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21485729
http://www.bangkokpost.com/lite/topstories/336255/singaporeans-rally-against-immigration
OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM is in Malay language,which is our National official language, but we use English as it is the international business language to communicate and coneect to the global citizens.MAJULAH SINGAPURA ( ONWARD SINGAPORE) Mari kita rakyat Singapure (We, the people of Singapore) Sama-sama menuju bahagia (Together march towards happiness) Cita-cita kita yang mulia (Our noble aspiration) Berjaya Singapura (To make Singapore a success) Marilah kita bersatu ( Let us all unite) Dengan semangat yang baru (In a new spirit) Semua kita berseru (Together we proclaim) Majulah Singapura (Onward Singapore) Majulah Singapura (Onward Singapore) The Origin : The Republic of Singapore present National Anthem was written in the wake of nationalism during 1956-1957. Its composer, the late Encik (Malay for Mr) Zubir Said, had written it on the basis of two words, "Majulah Singapura" or Malay for "Onward Singapore" . "Singa" means lion while "pura" means city. The patriotic song was first performed by the Singapore Chamber Ensemble on the occasion of the opening of the newly renovated Victoria Theatre. It was launched on the 3rd of December, 1959. Upon independence in 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was adopted as the Republic's National Anthem. |
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