SMU Assistant Professor of Law and NMP Eugene Tan abstained from voting on the Population White Paper as he was not satisfied with the roadmap laid out. In his Parliament speech, he said the paper was a roadmap of the general economic direction - not something that "gives hope to the people of Singapore". He added that Singaporeans felt sidelined by the White Paper, but said that it should be the beginning of an effort to reach out to all stakeholders. "It should not be a document to end the discussion," he said.