HWA CHONG INSTITUTION (High School Section)

INTEGRATED HUMANITIES CORE

SECONDARY THREE
TOPIC : BONDING SINGAPORE
NOTES

Name : ___________________ ( )/3__ Date : ________

Background

 Singapore is a multi-ethnic society with people with different race, religion,

language and culture (77% Chinese, 15% Malays, Eurasians and Indians 8%)
 So it is important to promote and maintain the racial harmony so that there is
social cohesion.

How might problems arise?

Perceptions of different racial groups

 When there is a lack of understanding, perceptions such as suspicion can

arise and lead to unhappiness and if this is not corrected, it can lead to
violence and chaos.
 One example was the 1964 race riots which started because PAP did not give
special privileges to the Malays. UMNO felt threatened and incited anti-PAP
sentiments by focusing on the Malay poverty. This was further heightened by
Utusan Melayu which played up on the resettlement programme of the Malays
from Kallang River and West Coast. The paper claimed that about 3,000
Malay families were affected by the resettlement programme stretching from
Crawford, Kampong Glam to Rochor. In reality, on 200 out of the 2,500
families were Malays. Even though the government made the attempt to
explain the situation to the Malays, UMNO had an earlier meeting which
incited anti-PAP feelings. This then erupted in the 1964 riots.
 So the different perception held by the Malays and the government was
manipulated by the political party and media.

How was this difference in perception managed?

 Goodwill committees were set up. The goodwill committees were made up of
community leaders from the various racial groups. The main job of these
leaders was to help restore harmony and peace between the Malays and
the Chinese by addressing the concerns of the residents.
  Also the Deputy Premier, Dr. Toh Chin Chye, suggested on 2 August 1964
that legislation be introduced to prohibit newspapers from publishing articles
which incite communal strife.

Further reading and comparison : Paris riots in October 2005

Perceptions of different religious groups

 Differences in religious beliefs and practices can create tensions if they are
not managed well.

Case Study

 Maria Hertogh riots which took place between ethnic Malays and the
European and Eurasian communities in Singapore occurred on 11 December
1950. It was sparked by the controversial custody battle between Maria's
adoptive Malay family and her Eurasian parents. Maria was born to a Dutch-
Eurasian family in Java but when her father was arrested by the Japanese
during the war, her mother gave her to a Malay lady, Aminah to care for her.
In 1947, Aminah moved to Trengganu and raised her as a Muslim by the
name of Nadrah. At the age of 13, she was married off to a Malay teacher.
After the war, the Hertoghs found out about Maria and lauched a legal battle
for the custody of their daughter. The custody battle attracted intense media
attention worldwide. Photographs in newspapers of a Muslim girl in a Catholic
convent and claims that she had bowed down to the Virgin Mary affected
religious sensitivities and whipped up emotions. The Muslim side was
championed by Indian Muslim Karim Ghani. As editor of the Jawi daily, Dawn,
Ghani instigated emotions within the Muslim community by publishing
controversial reports of the case. He also worked out an extensive plan for
1,500 girls to protest in a procession. Exhortations were made at the Sultan
Mosque to wage a holy war to force the return of Maria to Aminah. At the
appeal hearing on 11 December 1950, the Judge dismissed Aminah's appeal
and custody was given to Adeline Hunter, her biological mother. Upon hearing
the judgement, huge crowds outside the court rioted, convinced that the
colonial laws, the courts and the legal system were prejudiced against
Muslims. For three days, mobs of Malay and Indian Muslim rioters attacked
any European and Eurasian in sight. They set up barricades along major
roads, set cars and houses on fire and took control of districts in the vicinity of
Sultan Mosque, North Bridge Road and Jalan Besar. Rioting was stopped
only after two troops of the Internal Security Battalion were called in,
supported by several Malays within the troops. Even so, scattered attacks
continued over two days. A 24-hour curfew had to be imposed for two weeks
before British and Malay troops and the Constabulary regained control of the
situation.
 Altogether, 18 people were killed and 173 were injured. Nine were killed by
rioters while the others were killed by policemen. Aside from a Police
Inspector and a Special Constable, those killed by rioters had little to do with
the Hertogh case and their murder was motivated more by fanaticism and
racial hatred.

Lesson Learnt

 Religious issues must be handled carefully otherwise hostility and distrust will
occur which may affect social cohesion and racial harmony. Eventually may
lead to violence and chaos.

Further reading and comparison : 2005 Southern Thailand conflict and

Lebanon conflict in 2005.

Threats from external forces

 Transnational terrorism – acts of violence which are global in terms of aims,

organisation and impact.
 These can affect the social fabric in our society and so we have to handle this
situation carefully and with sensitivity.
 These groups can use any aspect – ethnicity, religion, language or culture.

Case Study

 Jemaah Islamiyah is a militant group active in several Southeast Asian

countries. The ultimate goal of JI is to create a region-wide Daulah Islamiyah
or "Islamic State" made up of Malaysia, Indonesia, southern Philippines,
Brunei and Singapore.
 34 JI members were arrested under the Internal Security Act for their
involvement in terrorist-related activities from 2002-2003 and these included
fund-raising and purchase of materials for making bombs.
 The plan was to attack six different targets simultaneously in Singapore.The
potential targets included the US and Israeli embassies, the Australian and
British high commissions, Sembawang Wharf and Changi Naval Base (as
these were used by the US military), as well as commercial buildings housing
American companies. ISD later discovered that JI had at least five other plans
to attack foreign and local assets in Singapore and these included Changi
Airport, the Ministry of Education building at North Buona Vista Drive and the
Ministry of Defence headquarters at Bukit Gombak.
 In 2006, they arrested another JI member who was trained in handling
weapons and making bombs – Mas Selamat.
Why Singapore?

 Is an open and cosmopolitan society so it has many foreign establishments.

 Singapore was also strongly anti-terrorist.
 Is friendly to the West which the Muslim terrorists see as their enemy.

How was the situation managed?

 Political and religious leaders called for people to remain calm and be
committed to living in harmony with other religious and racial groups.
 In a united voice, Muslim leaders condemned JI and emphasised that it did
not have the support of the Muslim community.
 Declaration on Religious Harmony was introduced in 2003. This was used to
ensure religion is not used as an issue to create conflict or threaten
Singapore’s harmony, encourage Singaporeans to respect one another’s
freedom of religion and supports the building of common space between
races and religion and fosters inter-religious communications.

Lesson Learnt

 Urgent need to ensure that social cohesion was not affected by the JI arrests
 Crucial to ensure that the different racial and religious groups continue to live
and work harmoniously.

Managing Ethnic Diversity

Reasons

 To promote social cohesion through understanding, tolerance, respect and

acceptance. So that Singaporeans can live harmoniously.

Policies to manage ethnic diversity

(a) Building a national identity

 Policy of multi-racialism
 Policy that promotes equality among races with no special privileges given to
any racial or religious group. The Constitution prohibits favouring certain
group of people because of their race or religion.
 Every person is seen as the valued member of the Singapore society, so this
creates a sense of national identity as Singaporean.

(b) Common Practices

  Are practices that Singaporeans carry out together.
 Include attending the flag raising ceremony, singing the national anthem and
taking the pledge which are in place in schools.
 These are meant to foster national identity, loyalty and national pride so that
Singaporeans see themselves as one people

(c) Bilingualism

 Introduced in schools in 1966. Students were to learn English and

Mother Tongue
 English is used as the lingua-franca – language linking the different
ethnic groups. Since it is a non-native language, it does not have any
advantage over any other ethnic language so it helped promote
communication between the races.
 Mother Tongue is used to impart moral values and cultural traditions.
 Some schools promote a third language – and if the students learnt
Chinese or Malay it would allow for better communication.

Safeguarding the interest of the minority groups.

(a) Minority Representation

 This policy is to give minority groups a say in governance and protect their
interest
 Presidential Council of Minority Rights – made up of members from
minority and religious groups. It ensures that no law that is passed in the
Parliament is disadvantageous to any racial or religious group.
 Sedition Act – law that prosecutes those who promote feelings of ill will
and hostility between races or classes of the population of Singapore.
 Group Representation Constituency (GRC) – ensures that at least one
member in the team contesting in the General Election is from the minority
races so that the interests of the minority race is represented in the
government. And their concerns are made known to the government.

(b) Self-help Groups

 Self-help groups are to give help members of their community who are less
fortunate to get aid in studies or training for jobs. Also to give them moral
support.
 In this way, all members of the society have an equal footing to compete with
one another. That way, their economic and social position will be improved.
  Examples of self-help groups include CDAC, SINDA, Mendaki and Eurasian
Association.
 Since 2002 the self-help groups have joint tuition programmes so that
students from different ethnic groups can interact and get along so as to
promote social cohesion.

Developing Common Space

Common space refers to the time and place the people come together. This provides
opportunities for Singaporeans to interact and deepen understanding.

(a) Events and programmes organised by grassroots organisations

 People’s Association organises a wide range of programmes and activities

to cater to the needs and interests of every Singaporean so as to create a
common space
 One activity is the home visit or home stay for students to a host family
from another ethnic group. This is to gain a better understanding of the
culture and customs and this way have mutual respect and build
friendship.

(b) Opportunities offered by educational institutions

 Open to every Singaporeans, regardless of their race, language or

religion. This allows students from different ethnic group to study and work
together and so cultivate friendship and strengthen social cohesion.
 Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) promote closer bonds amongst youths of
all races through the various activities conducted. The activities allow
students to work closely and understand one another and build teamwork.
They also learn to appreciate each other’s talent and respect one another.
 SAP schools make effort to create common space by organising cultural
activities like Dikir Barat and sepak takraw.
 (c) Common living space provided by public housing

 In the 1980s, it was observed there were too many people from the same
racial group living in the same housing estate which could hinder social
bonding.
 In 1989, the ethnic integration policy was introduced. It puts limit on the
proportion of races in every neighbourhood and block to ensure that there is
an even distribution of the different races. This is to provide opportunities for
people from different ethnic groups to interact.

(d) Activities conducted by Inter-Racial Confidence Circles (IRCCs) and

Harmony Circles (HCs)

 The IRCCs were introduced in January 2002 to provide the common

space to foster greater inter-racial understanding. The activities include
visits to places of worship and inter-racial and inter-religious activities at
workplaces.
 These activities are to create opportunities for Singaporeans to appreciate
their differences and develop strong bonds. They are also to build
confidence and friendship among people.

(e) Shared experience through National Service

 Introduced in 1967, requires all able-bodied men to serve in defence of

the country
 Shared experiences like going through military training during National
Service help to strengthen bond among men.

Why is it important to manage ethnic diversity?

Security and Peace

 Everyone deserves to live in a country where there is security and peace.

Where ethnic diversity is not managed, people will feel insecure and there will
be no peace especially when riots and chaos occur.

Economic Growth

 When there is no peace and security in a country, economic development will

be affected.
 Tourists will not want to visit a country that is unstable.
  Foreign investors will shy away from which are torn apart because of ethnic
problems in the country because they do feel secure. They fear that they may
not get their investment returns.
 So when there is no economic development in a country, it may remain
backward and undeveloped.

Sources :

Social Studies Secondary 3, Longman

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_45_2005-01-06.html

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_83_2005-02-02.html

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna/arrests/

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1411_2009-01-20.html

S.J.Ranee/HCI’11/ IHC Sec 3/Notes