Race
Old enmity erodes
Deepening globalisation has generated an ‘us vs them mentality’, compelling the various races to come together. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Mar 15, 2008

FASTER than anything else, globalisation has eroded much of the historical racial divide in Singapore, especially between Chinese and Malays, without eliminating it.

Given its longstanding nature, this scourge is unlikely to disappear any time soon, but the next best thing is happening.

Deepening globalisation has brought in new challenges (as well as benefits) that are compelling the various races to come together to work things out, instead of bickering over petty racial issues.

One perceived threat from the people’s point of view is immigration.

While the large-scale arrival of foreigners – mainly from China and India – has contributed significantly to the overall economy, locals perceive it as a threat that cuts across racial lines.

The strongest resentment against the presence of Chinese mainlanders, for example, has not come from the Malays or Indians, but from local Chinese.

Similarly local-born Indians have hit out against the new arrivals from their former motherland.

Race issues have been replaced by a common feeling that the local population is slowly becoming a minority in its own country as an overwhelming number of foreigners arrives.

To a large extent, this has helped to bond them. “Its an emotional thing. The foreigners have brought the different races closer together,” a social worker said.

“It’s sort of an us versus them mentality.”

When Singapore’s most dangerous terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from a high-security detention centre, a shocked nation sprung into action to set up an island-wide search.

Joining hordes of security forces were volunteers who spread across residential estates to distribute pamphlets with the picture of the wanted Jemaah Islamiah leader.

Many were Malays, as was the large number of security forces hunting for Mas Selamat.

“This man is a threat to us all because he wants to bomb us irrespective of whether we’re Chinese, Indian or Malay,” explained a middle-aged Malay housewife on television.

This is the latest evidence that race relations in Singapore, particularly between Chinese and Malays, have significantly changed from the violent 60s.

More Malays – like other Singaporeans – are marrying outside their race. Last year three in 10 Muslims did so, compared with only 20% in 1997.

And in a recent survey, 94% of ethnic Chinese undergrads said they would not mind an Indian for a Prime Minister, while 91% would accept a Malay Prime Minister.

This is Singapore’s new generation, born after independence in 1965. They have no living memory of the deadly race riots of the 60s.

Racial bonding has also another ally – education.

Last week I saw seven teenage students, obviously classmates, two Malays, an Indian and three Chinese, noisily lunching at a fast-food outlet. They were laughing and joking, oblivious of their different backgrounds.

This is actually a normal scene in Singapore schools these days (which still celebrate Racial Harmony Day every year), so common that it arouses little interest.

To an old journalist like me, however, who has lived through the worst of times of Chinese-Malay riots, the whole thing is a minor miracle.

Singapore kids have lived, studied, worked and played together for over 40 years.

To ensure racial and educational immersion, the authorities long ago imposed a rule that forbids neighbourhood schools from catering exclusively to any one race, but makes sure of a proper mix.

The same, too, applies in public housing.

The units of each block of Housing Board flats are apportioned roughly 70% to the Chinese, 16% to Malays and 8% to Indians.

Despite the progress, racial issues still surface even among the best educated.

Three young bloggers were prosecuted for posting racial remarks against Malays.
Two of them were jailed for making seditious remarks and the third sentenced to do work within the Malay community.

This would help him “correct his misguided dislike for Malays”, the judge said.

A shocking eye-opener came last year from – of all people – a Public Service Commission (PSC) scholar studying in the United States, Chuan Chen San, who remarked in his blog:

“The Singapore Association (in the campus) has become an Indian association, so gross. And some more (they’re) non-Singaporeans. It’s just so repulsive, these ugly guys with dark skin and irksome features.”

“I still find Indians and Filipinos (dark ones) so repulsive and such a turn-off. Anyway, so now we have this ugly mass as our president (etc).”

The only merit of the case was the universal condemnation by Singaporeans of Chuan, who was criticised in strong terms by almost every one.

More serious are complaints often voiced by Malays and Indians of job discrimination.
These minority job seekers are angry over employers who asked them during interviews if they were proficient in Chinese or whether they could speak Mandarin, even in jobs that require no special language needs.

Landlords, too, frequently display bias against dark-skinned tenants; many of the room-to-let advertisements blatantly rule out Indians.

The government has warned against such racial discrimination and may take action to stop it.

One person is not too optimistic about the possible emergence of a Singaporean identity that is free of racial, language, religious and cultural identities of its people.

The cynic is Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who understands racial problems here better than most.

He said: “The melting pot idea (of throwing in all the races and hoping one day to pull out one people) is idealistic, but not realistic.”

(This was first published in The Star, Malaysia on Mar 15, 2008)