Quora Answer: Can Singapore Fit 10 Million People without Annexing Part of Johor?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Can Singapore actually fit 10 million people without annexing the southernmost ¹/₃ of Johor State?”

Yes, we can.  It is a matter of resource management, infrastructure, and housing.  Although Singapore is one of the densest cities in the world by population, that is according to land area, not surface area.  We are built up, and built down, with more land reclamation in progress.  Done correctly, in stages, we could easily fit 10 million and maintain the nominal standard of meaning.

When Singaporeans oppose the so-called population figure of 10 million persons, it is not the number that is the primary issue.  It is about jobs.  The fear is that the sudden influx of immigrants would create tension with the people already here, and create competition for jobs that Singaporeans fear they might lose.  As it is, there is much work to be done to ensure that Singaporean management and professionals do not lose out to cheaper foreign talent.

Where the PAP went wrong is that they did not address these concerns.  They looked at it as economists, in that we need a certain level of immigration to fix our demographic distribution so that we can afford the ageing population.  That is them thinking two or three decades ahead.  What they did not consider is that the average person is worried about their tomorrow, not their three decades later.