http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/456…
Multiculturalism, not PAP’s race-based
policies
Saturday, 05 February 2011
James Gomez
The changing racial demographics and rise in inter-ethnic
marriages clearly point to the need to move towards a truly
multicultural Singaporean Singapore where policy making is not race
based.
Genuine multiculturalism in Singapore should extend equitable
status to different ethnic and religious groups when it comes to
policy making whereby no one group is seen to receive any undue
advantage.
In 2010, according to Singapore Statistics, of the 5,076,700
Singapore residents, 1,846,000 or 36% were non-Singapore citizens.
In 2009 of the 26,081 marriages registered, 18% were inter-ethnic
marriages and it is a rising trend.
In spite of these hard numbers reflecting demographic changes in
Singapore and the ground reality of a globalised citizenry, the
PAP government continues to take a colonial
era race based approach to key policies.
And the PAP government continues to be
regressive. It has now introduced additional and complicated
double-barrelled classifications (effective 1 Jan 2011) that serve
no policy or national unity purposes.
The PAP government’s latest efforts to
introduce double barreled racial classifications will only further
point to ethnic differences in Singapore.
The complexity of modern Singapore requires that existing racial
classifications be eliminated instead of introducing new and
further classifications.
Race classifications and the implementation of racially based
public policies currently in operation are a relic of the past.
They breed an undercurrent of structural racial discrimination in
public instituitions and the work place that is not clearly visible
in policy terms. It also perpetuates a majority-minority syndrome
in Singapore.
As a first step towards genuine multiculturalism, the
SDP proposes the following changes:
•“Race” in identity documents. Remove compulsory race
classifications in identity documents. It can be optional if
desired, but will have no bearing on public policy.
•Ethnic based self-help groups. Consolidate them into a broad
non-ethnic based national assistance programme.
•Racial quotas in public housing. Remove racial quotas and give
people a free choice over where they want to live.
•Group Representation Constituencies (GRC). Eliminate the
GRC, and make elections politically and
racially barrier free.
Race based policies take up resources, time and energy and
distract us from the real issues that face Singapore. What is
important to note is that 50 years of PAP’s
race based policies have not brought us closer. Racial
considerations should be done away with in all aspects of public
policy.
In particular, those policies highlighted above that currently
have a racial component to their implementation.
The Singapore Democrats will continue to speak up on this issue
and other policies that breed discrimination in Singapore. The
practice of race classification and race based policy making is out
of synch in today’s globalised world.
We can no longer afford PAP policies that
only highlight our differences, instead of our commonality.
Otherwise as a society we are finished.
Dr James Gomez contested in the 2006 GE. He recently joined the
SDP. He is also the Deputy Assiciate Dean of
the Arts Faculty at Monash Asia Institute.
Be Our Supporters:
http://www.facebook.com/yoursdp