Trust in Singapore Multi-Culturalism
Are Singaporeans
ready to put aside historical CIMO (Chinese, Indian, Malay, Others) racial
categories for a better united, truly cohesive and harmonious Singapore? What would it take to create a truly multi-cultural,
cosmopolitan Singapore society which demonstrates genuine respect for cultural
diversity?
These were some of
the questions discussed “live” by Inconvenient
Questions (IQ), Singapore’s emergent conversational square on 28
October 2015. I was on the Panel with Ho Kwon Ping,
Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings and Dr Nazry Bahrawi, Lecturer, SUTD. The Moderator was Viswa Sadasivan,
IQ Editor-in-Chief in their University Town
studio, National University of Singapore
First, my take on the issues:
Trust is the Force Multiplier in the War Against Racism and Racialism.
It is the policy weapon
of choice with a specific Goal in Singapore politics as well as socio-economic
polices – the creation of a just and equal society regardless of race, language
or religion.
The social reality of
Multi-Culturalism is Cultural Diversity.
We need to address
the Overlapping Webs of Cultural Diversity; which is made up of Layers of
Cultural Fabrics (“norms”, religions, diet, food, dressings, and various social
practices, and than some). The Fabrics weaved together form the Multicultural Canvas of Singapore.
Trust measures the density or emotive strength of cohesion and
resilience at specific and various parts of the Multicultural Canvas.
On the Top Surface, the Multicultural Canvas
operates at the National Level where a strong demonstration of racial
co-existence and harmony have existed for most of the past 50 years; surviving
national economic and social crisis eg economic recessions, CPF cuts, SARS and
JI.
At the Middle of the Multicultural Canvas are
the various socializing domains of Education, Defense, Housing, Employment, Business
Contracting, Cultural Expression Opportunities, Family and Community Life, Medical
and other Social Benefits … and where the distributions of benefits and
privileges are regulated by the rules of meritocracy and equal opportunities
access. The Trust density varies in respective Domains. Perceptions of equal opportunities differ
across ethnic groups, and Meritocracy has its own peculiar path to favour those
who can afford to prepare better to qualify for its award criteria. There is as yet no final absolute consensus
that the rules of meritocracy and equal opportunity access actually resulted in
a more just and more equal society; especially given the widening income
disparity across Singaporean society.
At the Bottom-most, the Multi-Cultural Canvas
is made up of the day-to-day interaction of ordinary Singaporeans whose
perceptions of relative social mobility vis-à-vis other ethnic members affects
the Trust Value. Perceptions of
discrimination in employment, in job promotion opportunities, in exclusion from
selecting choice HDB apartment, or from enrolment into elitist exclusively
Mandarin-speaking schools only serve to undermine the Trust density, thereby
weakening the Multicultural Canvas.
The New Singapore Multicultural Canvas now includes MORE
ethnic groups beyond the traditional CIMO. New Chinese, New Indians
and New Others have created “patchworks”
on the Multicultural Canvas, rather than reinforcing the C, I or O. Fault
lines at the patchwork boundaries will crisscross the traditional fault lines of
the CIMO, and make enhanced Trust even more challenging and daunting.
The
Conversation was further distracted by referencing some who imported the
concept of “Chinese Majority” privilege
which I have argued in my MIKOspace Blog to be wholly inapplicable
to the Singapore’s race relations.
The immediate imperative is to create a Stronger Sense of
Common Citizenship, instead of a Greater Sense of Multi-Racialism. We need to imbue in our emergent generations
a greater acceptance of Cultural Diversity instead of encouraging a deeper
sense of their respective racial or ethnic identity. We need to build a “united” Society by trusting
the things that strengthen us as Singaporeans, and not on the things which
potentially separate us. Remember, our cherished values of Family and Community reached “beyond
race, language or religion” to overcome the national crisis of SARS, JI Terrorism
and Recessions.
Singapore Exceptionalism is in our National Resilience,
our National Servicemen, our Community and our Family. This is Our Very Own Small Red
Dot, the Home of the Daring and Land of Opportunities for all.
WATCH the Video: “Multiculturalism - Is there enough trust?”
IQ believes that the time is right to start a serious and more open
– yet calibrated - discussions on this important issue.
Related:
Racial Harmony in
Singapore (9 Video)
Nichael HENG
