Essay on Race and Ethnicity in Singapore

The issue of race and ethnicity is always brought up in contemporary Singapore. Race can be defined as the manner in which people are classified with regards to their physical features, mostly their skin color, facial characteristics and features and, features of their hair. Attributes and features which enable us to view and identify with a distinct race are usually based on genes. As such, for any particular person, race is something that cannot be changed, it is a fixed concept, However, the race of a person does not specifically tell us about the persons preferences, his beliefs, his personal and social behavioral patterns or hi general feelings. In Singapore, race is used to define a massive multiplicity of ethnic groups. There are three major races in Singapore. The largest ethnic group is comprised of the Chinese who account for 75% of the population, the Malays account for 13% while the Indians account for 9% of the population.

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Ethnicity, on the other hand, is a concept that is multi-factorial. It has several dimensions to it and, race is one of them. With respect to the Malays, it is not conterminous with race. The Malays lay more emphasis on the cultural factors of a particular group which have a direct relation to religion and language.

When many people come together, and they are all from different continents and places, it is not easy to ignore their physical differences. One group will always look different from the other in terms of their physical features. Color and physical differences are always existent between different groups. In any particular society, the norm is that people will differ when it comes to religious beliefs, attitudes, community values, ideals and customs. Therefore, Singapore is no different. The three major races in Singapore have their unique language, beliefs, culture and values but they mostly share a common religion, which is Islam. It is important to note that even races are not homogenous. Each race has its own dialect group. However, despite the differences, Singapore has tried to exist like an egalitarian state. All people, irrespective of their religion, race, beliefs and cultures, are supposed to coexist together peacefully.

Pluralism in Singapore

Pluralism can be defined as the understanding, acceptance, appreciation and celebration of the distinct and, different cultures that are present in a society. A plural society is characterized by division of ethnicity, religion and economic activities. In such a society, there is no common unifying social will. Singapore was established as a trading post for the East India Company in 1819. It was a crucial colony for the British Empire. Because of trade, many migrants from Asia, but mostly China, India and other Southeast Asia states, flocked into Singapore. Soon after the establishment of the trading center, the Chinese migrants imposed their demographic predominance in the area. Singapore thus became a quintessential Furnivallian plural society.

There were economic stratifications of labor on the basis of ethnicity and, physical proximity of the administratively classified races. As such, there was little or no social integration and ethnic communities lived by themselves. The colonial government only maintained peace and order but it did not look into the needs of the immigrants. The social amenities provided depended on administrative and economic exigencies. This negligence by the colonial government is what led to the three racial groups trying to provide their own collective needs. The government negligence promoted and enhanced the development of community structure among the racial groups. However, there was no sense of common destiny among the groups. The idea of coming together came after the Second World War. Civil groups which cut across racial divides came up and started fighting for the rights of workers.

Multiracialism and Meritocracy in Singapore

Multiracialism and meritocracy are important concepts in Singapore. Multiracialism aims at doing away with the ideology of a mono-racial group, with a mono-culture and mono-lingual being governed by an authoritarian state. It is one of the founding principles of Singapore and the main reason why it was established to make sure that Singapore would accommodate all groups and it would not become a second China. It would offer a dominant ideology to its citizens who would bring together the distinct elements of Singapore and, its people. Multiracialisms has always been advocated for so that it promotes equity, fairness and justice and, at the same time satisfy all the racial concerns of the different groups present in Singapore.

All governments in Singapore, the current one and the past ones, have promoted and, propagated multiracialism as a national asset. It has become a very important tool in furthering and, promoting the social objectives of the country, steering Singapore to greater economic growth and prosperity. One of the government speakers, in an interview in 2008, said,

Singapores multi-racial populace gives us an easy understanding of a variety of peoples, those in East Asia through our Chinese, those in the South Asian-sub continent through our Indians and others, and those in the Malay world of Southeast Asia through our indigenous Malays. That understanding gives us special access to those regions. We can successfully and profitably deal with a variety of Asian peoples and build up mutually beneficial trade and other economic relationships with them. If we were all Chinese in Singapore, it would not have been that easy for Prime Minister Goh to lead the large group of Singaporeans that is India today to create a new era of close economic cooperation between Singapore and India (Ortiga, 2014)

Just like multiracialism, one of the other founding concepts of Singapore is meritocracy. When Singapore decided to unite with Malaya, some conflicts emerged. Political leaders were against the Malays being given any special privileges because of the birthright and, claim that there were the indigenous people. These leaders called for and advocated for equity among all the citizens with regards to employment opportunities, education opportunities and, political seats in parliament. These conflicts became bigger and in 1965, Singapore and Malaysia became separate states, each becoming independent in its own way.

It was after this separation that Singapore adopted the system of meritocracy. All its policies and governance systems are based on Meritocracy. Through this system, rule is based by ability instead of race, wealth, religion or other factors which determine and, shape social positions. This is a governance system that incorporates and, integrates good governance, principle of fairness and equity in terms of access to employment and jobs, services and education to all its citizens. Meritocracy sees to it that there is no preferential treatment to a particular individual because of their race or position in the society. Each race is granted equal and fair opportunities. This helps in promoting, fostering and strengthening social cohesion and unity without creating any social tension. Favoritism leads to tensions as the less-preferred race rise against the more-preferred race to counter the disparities.

This was the best system for Singapore and the government realized that affirmative action could not be applied efficiently and effectively when the population was mostly comprised of Chinese majority. Meritocracy complements multiracialism through creating a structure and a system where social mobility is determined by grit and industriousness; therefore, no ethnic group or race has unfair advantage over the other. In addition to that, meritocracy builds a future in which all the citizens fully participate in building the nation without creating any social divisions which might divide the nation just like in the early post-colonial history.

Hard work and economic growth have been important tools in the propagation of meritocracy by the government, developing it into a national creed. The government has been successful in making the people believe that economic success is not determined by the race of a person but rather hard work and the abilities of a person. The main impact of this is that it has helped in depoliticizing ethnicity and, at the same time promotes equity, justice and fairness. Multiracialism has helped in recognizing and appreciating diversity and accommodating one another. It has also become a very important tool in cultural identity of tourism. Throughout the world, Singapore is viewed as a culturally vibrant nation; where tourists can indulge and participate in exotic East while still feel safe even in an unfamiliar place.

References

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