Double-barrelled listing won't have big impact on ethnic
policies:PM Lee
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15
January 2010 1634 hrs
HANOI: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he
does not think the recent announcement on double-barrelled race
listing will have a big impact on ethnic integration policies, but
instead, it is more a liberalisation of the system.
Mr Lee was asked to comment on the issue at the wrap-up of his
official visit to Vietnam.
There have been an increasing number of mixed race marriages in
Singapore. This has led the government to allow double-barrelled
race listing, but questions have been asked about the impact on
ethnic integration, housing and Group Representation Constituencies
(GRCs) policies, for instance.
Mr Lee said: "I don't think it will have a big impact on our GRCs
or ethnic integration policies because the majority of the
population will still be the major racial groups - the Chinese, the
Malays, the Indians.
"And these are the other racial or ethnic groups who, in total
numbers, will remain small for some time to come, and maybe for a
very long time to come."
It is best though, said Mr Lee, for parents to say how they want to
describe their children's ethnicity. He said: "We allow
double-barrelled names - well triple and quadruple that becomes not
very practical.
"It is put down really for administrative purposes at birth, but
the real determination takes place when he is 15 years old, or she,
and you have your identity card and then what is put down in your
identity card is what stays with you for life."
Commenting on the public debate this has sparked, Mr Lee noted that
race and religion are very sensitive areas, which will never become
non-issues, here or globally.
"I think it is a liberalisation, I don't think it is a revolution.
And there is a lot of coverage, commentary, excitement even some
angst in the newspapers - perhaps take a few days and things will
cool off," Mr Lee said.
Referring to the French model which does away with such race
classification, the prime minister said this had led to
concentrations of ethnic groups in certain areas and an insoluble
social problem.
In the end, Mr Lee said it is best to have practical policies which
gradually bring people together, but acknowledge that they are not
identical.
- CNA/sc
Did I just see the words "cool off"?
Zomg he election want cool off, this thing also want cool off?
He so worried about pple not cool ah~...
