Singapore: 6 Million Population, Anti-Immigration vs. Education Assimilation & US$230M Bitcoin Theft - E501

Jeremy Au and Shiyan Koh discuss the centers on Singapore's population growth to 6 million, driven by immigration, and its impact on economic opportunities, integration, and public sentiment. Shiyan Koh highlights the benefits of urban density and the need for schools to play a key role in assimilating immigrant families amid declining birth rates. The speakers critique Singapore's overly competitive education system, advocating for inclusivity and focusing on individual potential rather than school prestige. They emphasize fostering a grassroots "kampung spirit" through community-driven initiatives rather than relying solely on government action. Additionally, they reflect on societal trends like the rise of AI companions and the commodification of relationships, underscoring the importance of ethical decision-making, long-term thinking, and prioritizing health, family, and relationships for a balanced and fulfilling life.

[00:00:00] Jeremy Au: Good morning, Shiyan!

[00:00:01] Shiyan Koh: Good morning, Jeremy! we wrapped up Camp Hustle and then came back to Singapore, did a ton of meetings around F1 and Super Returns. It's just been all catch up since then, But yeah, it's been a crazy month for conferences in Singapore, and it was nice to see everybody, a lot of people came into town.

Thank you. So a lot of great collisions.

[00:00:18] Jeremy Au: Speaking about, lots of great people in town, there was a new article that came up that, was talking about how Singapore has now reached 6 million people. I've always used to talk about how Singapore has 5 million people. Now it's 6 million people, including, residents.

What do you think?

[00:00:30] Shiyan Koh: One of the things I always tell people is when I left Singapore, the population was 2. 7. And when I came back 20 years later, the population was like five and a half. Singapore has changed a lot in the time that I was gone. one of the things you notice is what density enables, right?

It actually enables a lot more businesses, a lot more interesting restaurants, a lot more activities. I am a fan of density. it's like why New York is New York. 7 million people in the metro area. I think for variety and texture, density is actually a pretty important component. I remember the uproar, was it 10 years ago, when that population white paper was released?

they said they were planning for a 10 million scenario. And then people jump on it to be like, Oh my God, deadline people is going to be insane. I think there are very real concerns around, can the infrastructure keep up? What does quality of life look like?

I think if we're going to have a healthy debate, I'm willing to go out on a limb here. And say, I think properly managed, density can benefit a lot of people.

[00:01:24] Jeremy Au: Yeah, it's a good question because there's a lot of debate about that. A lot of folks are unhappy, currently. the point of view would be that, Hey, with more people means that, they're taking away jobs. There's more strain on public infrastructure.

And, Yeah, we don't like them, right? this is a stack of components. My personal perspective, is that nobody in the world really likes, immigration, So I think there's an immigration component to this number of people.

So I think if people said, Oh, the growth rate was going to reach 6 million, or 7 million, and it was all done by, citizens. births, new kids coming on the block. that could be a different discussion, but I think in the context of Singapore, it's quite tied into the immigration component.

nobody in the world is in favor of more immigration, right? like Germany, you see the rise of the far there's anti immigration, we see the same context across multiple EU countries, we see that in America. I don't think there's a natural constituency for folks who are pro immigration for new people to join a country.

[00:02:18] Shiyan Koh: It's an interesting point, right? why do cities or countries grow? I think, There's demographics, If you have a very young population, there's a period where you can have a boom because they're in peak fertility years. But outside of that, I think you grow because there's economic opportunity, right?

So people are coming to see economic opportunity. So it's that there are jobs that aren't being filled by your existing Population and therefore, people are coming to take up those jobs. So it's, the causal arrow is different. the challenge with immigration is if people feel that the gains from immigration aren't being distributed or that, the costs of immigration are more top of mind than the gains.

I think in Europe, there's slowing growth and then there's some sort of xenophobia against the other. But even this recent, the eating the dogs and the chicken, the cats in Springfield or whatever with the Haitians were doing jobs that they just didn't have enough Americans to do, so I think it's a, don't know.

I want to think that. We as Singaporeans can separate those two things in our minds, let's be intellectually honest about what jobs are being done. And let's think through Hey, actually, would we really want scenario where there was no growth and no one to drive that?

I don't want to be one of these extreme black or white people, but if we just try to play through the spectrum of outcomes, I think in general, people want to live in a vibrant place that is growing, rising tide, lifting boats.

I think some of the discomfort can feel like other people who are not me are getting ahead faster than I am. If they weren't here, maybe I would do better. I think it's not so simple, I don't know if that's a controversial remark.