9 - Ethnic Relations in Singapore: Evidence from Survey Data

Summary

Ethnic division is not a thing of the past. Indeed, in the last decade alone, we witnessed numerous high-profile examples of the revival, resilience, or renaissance of ethnicity, ethno-nationalism, and racism in various parts of the globe (cf. Fenton 1999, p. 212). In itself, there is nothing essentialist about — or inherent in — race or ethnicity that produces social tension or conflict. However, ethnic inequality and racial prejudice, reinforced by ethnic segregation and racial discrimination, have been a source of racial conflict and, more generally, social instability.

In the Singapore context, the stock solution to promoting racial harmony has always been to encourage inter-ethnic interactions and integration, whether in the housing estates, in schools, or at the workplace, as well as to promote ethnic equality and supra-ethnic cooperation, solidarity and identity in and through the nation-building project. The latter presumes that the various ethnic groups can imagine a future together as “One People, One Nation, One Singapore” against a backdrop of cultural diversity (cf. Rex 1996, p. 148).

Singapore has had its share of ethnic conflict in the sixties and before. The ethnic dimension has not in any way receded into the background or faded away. Indeed, it still figures prominently in public policies and public discourse, sometimes in response to political developments in the region or events in other parts of our ever-shrinking world. One perennial question is the extent to which Singapore has achieved ethnic integration, thereby resulting in a blurring of ethnic boundaries, rendering it less of an issue in matters relating to housing, education, employment, business, and politics. Another important question is whether ethnicity remains a weak spot vulnerable to influences emanating from outside Singapore.

It is against this backdrop and in terms of Singapore's nation-building and multiracial vision and effort that various studies have been commissioned over the years to gauge and monitor the extent of ethnic integration in Singapore. A study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) released in 1990 reported that, in terms of several indicators — neighbourly interactions, friendship ties, and colleague preference — the ethnic relations situation has witnessed vast improvements since the 1960s. But improvements, manifested in racial harmony, does not mean that ethnicity matters very little.