Who opened the floodgates?

I'm sure we've all seen this article. It's a pretty good article and I will not substantiate on the facts and whatnot that the article brings across.

What I can say, though, is that I have had the opportunity to talk to ESM about the influx of foreigners. I don't have any mindblowing nuggets from his speech about why exactly the floodgates have been opened. I did not even take down notes. All I could remember was him asking "what ratio would be comfortable, then?" when we brought up that the number of foreigners vs Singaporeans was getting uncomfortable and he asked us all individually how many kids we were planning to have when I highlighted a MAJOR long-term issue we'll be having.

What issue, you ask? I just highlighted the main concern of the growth rate. If we were really getting foreigners in solely because of the declining birthrate, we must be quite daft. You see, from what I know, the birthrate of FTs is not that high. Our overall birth rate is still atrociously low. Getting lower even. You see, with this decline in birth rate, we also have to keep in mind that the FTs that have been 'imported' will grow old too. As the entire population ages, what then? Get more FTs in? Isn't this a vicious cycle? What can we do about it?

After mentioning it and looking on hoping to get an answer from the ESM (I've asked this before to another MP and did not get a proper answer so, really, I was hoping for something) and he looked toward a younger MP beside him and basically told him it was his responsibility now. ESM has stepped down and now the onus is on the new generation to tackle any issues Singapore may face.

Now, my fellow Singaporeans, do not scoff (much, at least). He has a point. What we should be doing now is to figure out ways to address the situations right in front of us instead of pinpointing the blame to a single person. Yes, mistakes have been done so what now? A witch hunt will not make things better. What will make things better is to have people advocating for certain changes to be made. We need strong enough voices that will make change. My dear friends, you decide how we are going to do that. I have tried raising possibilities (I don't know if they have bee heard, though) such as temporary passes (concerning medical workers) until we have had enough time to train more people in a field where professionals are needed rather than just readily giving PR status to foreigners. I urge everyone to try to contribute to change. Do not be afraid to speak out.

*names of MPs omitted as they don not have anything to do with the matter at hand

The writer is a 19 year old social work undergrad who genuinely wants to strive for a better Singapore. She is non-partisan and bears no ill-intention towards members of parliament, including ESM Goh.