SINGAPORE: Race is still a difficult issue in Singapore, as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong acknowledged on Saturday (March 29). The good news is racial discrimination at the workplace has decreased, though it continues to be experienced by one out of 10 Malays and Indians. This was found in a study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in collaboration with the racial and religious harmony non-governmental organisation (NGO) OnePeople.sg
According to the study, 18.4 per cent of Malays and 16.7 per cent of Indians reported feeling racially discriminated against in a job application or job promotion. While one feels for them, still there has been an improvement. The study, which was conducted in 2024 and released in February of this year, shows a drop in discrimination. More than a quarter of the Malays and Indians surveyed reported such discrimination in the 2018 and 2013 versions of the study, each of which analysed responses from 4,000 Singaporeans, noted The Straits Times.
Chinese reports of discrimination were, in comparison, negligible.
Only 3.7 per cent of the Chinese reported such discrimination in the latest study, down from 4.1 per cent in 2018 and 5.7 per cent in 2013.
Overall, only around 6 per cent of Chinese Singaporeans reported feeling racial discrimination sometimes, often, very often or always at work, compared with 23.7 per cent of Malays, 23.4 per cent of Indians, and 20.6 per cent of those classified as “Others”.
Improvement since 2018
This is an improvement in 2018, when 10.7 per cent of the Chinese reported discrimination, compared with 35.3 per cent of Malays, 32.2 per cent of Indians, and 17.7 per cent of those classified as “Others”.
However, as the Prime Minister said on Saturday, race is still a difficult issue that leaders from civil society have to discuss besides religion, social mobility and technological changes.
Language remains the most common form of discrimination reported, with people conversing in a language that excludes others from the group.
The study also found younger Singaporeans are more likely to suspect racial discrimination than older Singaporeans.
In 2024, older respondents were more likely to believe that Singaporeans of all four major races — Chinese, Malay, Indian and “Others” — had to work equally hard to lead a decent life in Singapore. However, younger Singaporeans were likely to believe that Singaporean Chinese and Eurasians did not have to work as hard as Singaporean Malays and Indians.
Younger respondents were also more likely to say that Singaporean Chinese and Eurasians had to work less hard than Singaporean Malays and Indians to reach the top.
“I just wish I don’t have to worry about my race,” wrote a Redditor on r/SGExams a month ago. “I hate being Indian,” he added. “I’ll be taking my O levels; I am concerned (about) how being Indian is going to affect me for my EAE to polytechnic.”
“As a Chinese, I don’t think I’ll have anything helpful to say other than that I at least do acknowledge my privilege in this country, and it sucks how widespread and accepted racism is,” another Redditor responded.
While it’s unfortunate that racism, though diminishing, remains a reality, it’s heartening to note that —from the Prime Minister to the Institute of Policy Studies to a Chinese netizen—there is awareness at all levels of the need to address it.