[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – There is certainly room for discussion on how Singapore can move towards a race-blind society and on the role of race-based policies such as the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP), said the Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.
But in having such discussions, Singaporeans must not forget the “overarching and overriding” concerns: building a nation that respects every race, that every race has a place at the table, and that every race shares Singapore’s common identity.
Mr. Tong was responding to the President of the Workers’ Party (WP), Sylvia Lim, on Thursday (September 3) during the fourth day of the debate on the president’s speech.
Lim had called for a national exercise on Tuesday to discuss how Singapore’s journey to becoming a race-blind society can be accelerated, and proposed an open review of race-based policies, such as the EIP and ethnic self-help groups. .
Two days later, Mr. Tong warned in a speech that while Singapore has become less race-conscious and more tolerant of differences, Singaporeans should not think that they have reached an ideal “post-racial state”, or that no further efforts will be made. necessary to unite different groups. He also said that race consciousness in Singapore cannot, and should not, be erased.
To this, Ms Lim clarified that she does not take Singapore’s multiracialism for granted and acknowledged the difficulties the Government faces in fostering a Singaporean identity in a heterogeneous population.
“But at the same time, I think my point was that we shouldn’t keep talking to ourselves or being held back by the past,” she said, adding that she was asking Singapore to update its conversations on race issues from time to time. since it cannot be “ossified by the past”.
In response, Mr. Tong assured Ms. Lim that government minds are not closed on racial issues.
Raising the overriding concerns on the matter, he said: “And within that restriction, we can have the conversations that Ms. Lim spoke about, we can see the priorities that she spoke about and we can see the different considerations.”
Ms Lim then reiterated her concerns about the EIP, noting that the policy has, in some cases, caused financial hardship for minority families due to the limitations placed on them when trying to sell their flats.
The EIP specifies the proportion of units in a HDB block and compound that can be owned by a particular racial group to ensure a balanced mix. If a block reaches an ethnic quota for a Chinese race, for example, a minority seller can sell the apartment only to people of minority races, which can narrow the pool of potential buyers.
Politics, Ms. Lim feared, could lead to bitter resentment if unhappiness over such economic consequences is not addressed.
Mr. Tong replied that the Government will consider the policy trade-offs taking into account its purpose and objective.
The debate on race continued after the Minister’s speech in Prime Minister Maliki Osman’s Office, with the Minister of Communications and Information, S. Iswaran, and the Chief Minister of State for Health, Janil Puthucheary, also speaking.
Regarding ethnic self-help groups, Ms Lim acknowledged the good work done by these groups, but asked if similar or better results can be achieved by merging the groups under a national umbrella, which would allow pooling of assets. national resources of the entire population.
In response, Dr. Maliki said that while self-help groups work together on different platforms, having unique self-help groups allows them to better serve the respective communities as they have a better understanding of the cultural nuances and history of each. community.
Iswaran, who was the first executive director of the Singapore Indian Development Association, said that self-help groups have not “ossified” but have evolved according to the needs of different communities.
He asked if Ms. Lim was stating that Singapore is better off without self-help groups.
To this, Ms. Lim said that she was not implying this. Rather, she had asked for an open conversation about whether self-help groups should stay distinct.
[ad_2]
