Management

Building a national identity is another factor managing ethnic diversity. By having common practices
like taking the pledge and attending the flag raising ceremony, students in schools will come to see
themselves as one people, as Singaporeans. (Point)
These practices foster a common identity among the youth of Singapore. Multi-racialism is a policy
that the government uses to promote a national identity. (Example)
This policy ensures equality among the races, with no special rights given to any group.Since
everyone is seen as a valued member, a national identity as Singaporeans is created.
By having such common practices in school and promoting multi-racialism, Singapore have managed
to managed it ethnic diversity without making a particular ethnic group feel threaten, unfairly treated
or favoured. In this way all the different races can co-exist peacefully together (creating social
harmony) (Link)
Self-help groups provide opportunities for social harmony.. It aims to help Singapore to cope and
compete with each other on an equal footing. The government encourages different racial groups to
form their own self-help groups such as MENDAKI, CDAC, SINDA and Eurasian Association to
improve educational status of those in their groups and help them get aid in training for their jobs.
(Example)
In this way, the social and economic position of people from the minority groups can be improved. It is
favourable not to have any group lagging far behind the others. This provides an opportunity for
social cohesion as no group will ever feel left out or feel discriminated because of their economic
status and will interact on equal footing with each other. Furthermore, the different self-help groups
have embarked on joint projects such as a joint tuition programme. (Explanation)
These joint efforts provide the opportunity for youths from different ethnic groups to interact and get
along with one another. Such interaction promotes understanding respect for each other which bring
about social cohesion. (Link)
In Parliament, the Group Representation Constituency system ensures that at least one of the
candidates in the team General Election is from the minority racial community. This ensures that the
concerns of minority groups will have a hearing in Parliament. (Point)
Such a policy gives minority groups a say in governance and to safeguard interests of minority
groups. Without such a voice, minority groups could feel excluded. Safeguarding the rights of the
minority groups is another way for Singapore to manage its ethnic diversity. (Explanation)
By doing so, the various ethnic group including the minority group do not feel threaten and know that
the welfare of all groups are looked after in Singapore enhancing social harmony. (Link)
One of the method to foster social cohesion in Singapore is through the Ethnic Integration Policy.
(Point)
The Housing Development Board of Singapore (HDB) has succeeded in bringing about greater social
bonding in Singapore through this policy which was introduced in 1989. The policy ensures that there
is an even distribution of the different races in all the housing estates. Living together in the same
neighbourhood provides opportunities for people from different ethnic groups to interact. (Example)
The regular use of estate facilities on such as community centres or playgrounds brings the residents
into frequent contact with one another. As people in the same estate interact on non-threatening
platforms, they begin to understand one another better. Such interaction brings the different races

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closer together and encourages racial tolerance and understanding thus helping build social cohesion
within the society. (Explanation)
Therefore the Ethnic Integration Policy is effective in fostering social cohesion in Singapore as it allow
Singaporean from different race, religion and culture to mix around and develop friendship over time.
(Link)
National Service is an example of the common experience of military training which helps forge
social cohesion. National Service requires able-bodied men to serve in the defence of Singapore.
(Example)
Through national service, Singaporean men get to interact with one another while going through
difficult times together. Helping one another out during the daily military training helps to create
greater understanding among the various races for they are now more exposed to the various cultural
habits of their platoon mates. This thus enables social cohesion to be built. (Explanation)
Therefore, National Service is another way in which we can effectively foster social cohesion as
young men form different race, religion and culture are asked to work together for a minimum of two
years. (Link)

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Perceptions
Multi-ethnic states are vulnerable to misperceptions and misunderstandings between different
races. As race is a sensitive matter should a race feels that it is threatened or insulted by another
community, it will become defensive. This is a challenge to manage as it can turn one community
against another. It becomes difficult to correct the perception once a person feels his/her race has
been treated poorly. Therefore once the sense that ones race has been insulted, it is hard to dismiss
or remove the feel of unhappiness. As different races have cultural differences, races can
misunderstand the intentions of another race which can in turn lead to tension.
Misperceptions that one race is ill- created/discriminated by another can create suspicion and
unhappiness between the races sparking violence and hatred. For example: In the 1960s, PAPs
resettlement of the housing areas affected all races but Malays believed it was targeting them.
Consequently distrust and hostility between the Malays and Chinese arose. Hence, how one race
perceives its treatment by another can affect the relationship and affect social harmony. Hence, this
is why the management of the perception between races in a multi-ethnic state is challenging.
Singapore is a multi-ethnic state which implies we have multiple religions. As such it is easy
for misperceptions and misunderstandings to arise between different religions Religion is a highly
sensitive issue as it is sacred to its believers. Religion tells of a communitys belief in a superior being
and about issues like the afterlife. It is difficult for the government to manage these sensitivities
once a religion feels that it has been insulted by another community or by the government. For
example in the 1950s, the Maria Hertogh riots made Singaporean Muslims believe that the British
Government had disregarded Muslim feelings and that the British sided with Marias Dutch parents in
giving custody of Maria to them. Muslims believed that the British were anti-Muslim and so rioting and
violence occurred. When some religions feel that their welfare is not looked after by the
government, it is challenging for the government to make sure that all religions feel cared for. If
an insult to a religion is perceived or a religion feels that it is under threat, it creates a sense of
hostility between the religion and other communities or the government.

Transnational Terrorism is an external threat that may make a large impact on multi-ethnic states.
Transnational terrorism is hard to manage as it comes from outside of the country and
can influence the members of the same religion via the internet which is hard to control.
Transnational Terrorists can misuse religion to influence those of the same religion by twisting
religious facts. Terrorist acts can divide the people damaging social cohesion if citizens in a multiethnic state view all the members of that particular community from which the Transnational
Terrorists come from as also being terrorists by association. The government cannot fully control
such wrong perceptions. For example in Singapore, 43 Malay Muslim Singaporeans were
arrested in connection with the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group. They had planned to bomb parts
of Singapore. The challenge is in making the other community groups feel safe in the presence of
Malay Muslims and that 43 deviant individuals should not be considered to be indicative that the entire
Muslim community is deviant. Other races and religions in Singapore may become distrustful of
the Malay-Muslim community and this can negatively a affect Singapores national unity.

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