In remarks published Monday, Aug 30, Lee said Wong will oversee a renewed campaign to convince Singaporeans to have more babies, as well as an ongoing drive to attract talented immigrants to sink their roots in the city-state.

Wong, scheduled to become one of two deputy prime ministers when the veteran Tony Tan retires in June next year, is the best candidate because he is "very good at getting difficult things done," the Straits Times quoted Lee as saying over the weekend.

Wong was head of a ministerial committee that handled the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak that hit Singapore in the earlier half of 2003 and severely disrupted East Asian economies.

As home minister, Wong already overseas the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, which handles citizenship and permanent residency approval.

"We should welcome all those who can contribute to Singapore, whether they are businessmen, professionals, nurses, technicians, skilled workers, artists, sportsmen," Lee reportedly said in a community visit on Sunday.

"We should not over emphasise formal academic qualifications; experience, drive and enterprising spirit are just as important," he said.

Lee's remarks on immigration followed the unveiling of financial and other incentives designed to ease Singapore's baby shortage.

The S$300 million (US$177 million) annual package is on top of the existing incentives worth 500 million dollars aimed at encouraging married Singaporean couples to have up to four babies.

Singapore's low birth rate has become an urgent national concern after the fertility rate hit an all-time low of 1.26 children per woman in 2003 as people delayed marriage or had fewer children due to career pressures and the high cost of living.

Unless this is reversed or alleviated by immigration, Singapore's population of 3.4 million citizens and permanent residents will be in long-term decline and the elderly will form a larger proportion of society.

The tightly controlled city-state has in recent years expanded its immigration drive to draw talented individuals, especially from the arts and other non-academic fields, as it strives to be seen as a hip and fun place in which to work and do business.

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