Singapore — A forum was recently held by experts and panellists to discuss the issue of race and how Singapore can address this road ahead.
The panel discussion was held on Friday (Jul 29) by the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS), in partnership with Strategic Moves’ Inconvenient Questions, which is a sociopolitical platform created by former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Viswa Sadasivan.
It featured speakers Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Culture, Community & Youth, and Trade & Industry; Zainul Abidin Rasheed, former Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Faheema Nazhath, a social harmony advocate and founder of hash.piece; and Leong Chan-Hoong, an associate professor at the Centre for Applied Research at Singapore University of Social Sciences.
The importance of ensuring a multiracial and multi-religious setting in Singapore was highlighted in the discussion.
However, the situation remains the same, according to Ms Faheema, who provided feedback from the youth’s perspective.
“People are sensitive about it; people, even educated ones like lecturers, are making racially charged remarks,” she said, noting it is difficult not to be sensitive about the issue.
“We need to know that we are Singaporeans who grew up in Singapore that has shaped race and religion in a particular way.”
She noted that the younger generation has high expectations regarding racism.
“With such high expectations, the accountability and responsibility of how we react and respond come very high.”
When asked if she had encountered a strong pushback when she wanted to speak about a sensitive issue like race or religion, Ms Faheema admitted that she sometimes did not feel brave enough to speak up on conversations involving race and religion.
Race and religion applied to housing arrangements
Moving on to the statistics, Mr Leong noted that despite the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP), there are still certain locations with greater concentrations of a specific race.
He mentioned Bishan and Toa Payoh with a lot more ethnic Chinese, while there are more Malays in the Marsiling area.
“When we talk about race, the irony is that over the last 50 years, race is still an important topic,” said Mr Leong.
He noted the importance of looking at how race is socially constructed.
Mr Leong also touched on how some policies, such as EIP, resulted in a lot of comparison and angst, even though unintended.
If a quota restricts someone from having a unit, they might feel resentment towards other races, he added.
“The goal is more reconciliation, to ensure no one is being discriminated as a result of the policies.”
Mr Viswa stressed that people are evolving. “What may have been acceptable to a cohort of people in 1965 may not be acceptable to a similar cohort of people today.”
“We cannot run away from contextualizing the explanation. We need to put in the effort to explain it.”
Mr Tan, who recently came from the G20 energy ministerial, shared insights from other delegations regarding race and religion.
“At the core of it, if we take a step back, a lot of these things are still happening in many other countries.”
He mentioned that the youth in France fought for their identity amid a mostly Republican population.
Regarding concrete steps to reduce racism in the public space, the panel discussed tackling stereotypes and the way they are created.
There is also a need for a better understanding of ethnic backgrounds as people form impressions of others at a very young age.
Having exposure at a young age allows them to understand others better, said Mr Leong.
Mr Tan added that there should be a platform for people to share their thoughts and speak up about complaints and such issues.
The full video of the discussion could be accessed here. /TISG
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