On the Population Blue Paper issued by the Workers’ Party (WP), SMU Assistant Professor of Law Eugene Tan commented that it did not specify how exactly it would raise the total fertility rate. He said that the maintenance of a national identity rested on the foundation of having a large enough Singaporean population, and that he would abstain from voting for this Paper, if a vote was called. He also questioned why the WP did not raise the issues mentioned in this Paper during the Parliamentary debate, and pointed out that it appeared to have incorporated comments from the masses with the aim of avoiding negative sentiments. This, in his opinion, appeared to be a strategy employed to gain political capital. He also said that the Paper should not be compared on par with the Population White Paper.