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More Singaporeans eligible to vote in next general election (GE) – CNA Online 22 July 2024.
The total number of registered voters is 2,715,187, an increase from the 2,709,407 voters eligible to vote in the 2023 presidential election.
Obviously, much of the increase in registered voters came from new citizens, something even my uneducated grandmother, who was born in China, could understand.
I have said this in past comments and I will repeat it here. Most new citizens are decent people who contribute and add value to our economy. We welcome them, however, each of them has done their due diligence and weighed the pros and cons of being a citizen of this country before they decide to become a Singaporean.
Each of them has a private purpose for becoming our citizen, whether for business reasons, career advancement, vast opportunities that their home countries cannot offer, convenience, security, and so on.
Unlike native-born Singaporeans, their love and loyalty to Singapore are unlikely to be among their top five reasons for becoming Singaporean citizens.
I believe it would be an eye-opener for Singaporeans if the PAP government was willing to be equally transparent in disclosing how many new citizens renounce their Singapore citizenship and move elsewhere within the first ten years of obtaining citizenship.
In the face of a rapidly changing situation, we should never remain static. Our national policies should put the interests of the country first, not the interests of the People’s Action Party. (Please read the last sentence again)
I have long advocated that all new citizens be barred from voting in our general elections for at least the first ten years after they acquire citizenship.
GE is not child’s play. The outcome will determine the quality or lack thereof of our political leadership, the direction our country will take, and it will affect our people’s job opportunities, their livelihoods, our security, the environment, housing, the cost of living, and more.
It would be extremely foolish, unwise and even dangerous to allow a large number of new citizens whose loyalty, love and commitment to Singapore are untested, unproven and even questionable to influence our country and our collective future in the general election.
think.
Simon Lin
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