Singapore government said it has not proposed, planned nor targeted for the country to increase its population to 10 million, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.
Responding to statements circulating on various online platforms, National Population and Talent Division (NPTD), Strategy Group, PMO, stated "categorically that these statements are untrue".
The topic became hot topic on July 1, especially after Chee Soon Juan from Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) confronted Dr Vivian Balakrishnan in a General Election 2020 debate on Channel News Asia.
Refuting Chee's, Dr Balakrishnan said his claim that Singapore was looking to raise its population to 10 million is false. "The government doesn't have a target for the population; what we want is a Singapore core that is demographically stable."
PMO added in its statement that the government regularly explains its approach to population planning, including through annual updates at the Committee of Supply debates.
"In a Factually article published in March 2020, the Government reiterated that Singapore’s population size is affected by many factors, including birth rates, life expectancy and global developments. The article also states that the Government does not seek to achieve any particular population size."