Comments, opinions and an occasional ramble
Racism in Singapore
After reading a blog entry by a Malay guy called Ridzwan (I presume that is his name, going by the name of his URL), I must say that racism in Singapore is something that is still very much alive, although in appearance, everything looks nice and well.
I am not sure why some Singaporeans, especially the Chinese Singaporeans, take such a negative view towards fellow Singaporeans of another race. I speak from experience. I graduated from The Chinese High School, a school where you almost have no students from other races. I went on to Hwa Chong Junior College, where the situation is slightly better, but not much. I do notice that many of my friends who have been through 6 years of education in both Chinese dominated schools are somewhat racist.
I must say that the kind of racism I’ve seen is not the extreme kind (by that I mean actual and negative physical action against someone of another race). More often, it’s an extremely strong opinion about a race having certain characteristics and making unsavoury or even derogatory remarks.
Despite 6 years of schooling in institutions where there were few students of other races, I somehow didn’t turn out racist by any measure. I don’t know why, but I just think that it’s not right to make certain conclusions about people based on their race. While it is true that people of a certain race have slightly different habits and customs, it does not make them any less a human being.
It’s just plain unfair to think of certain races as inherently being more lazy, more unpatriotic, more prone to causing social problems etc. It’s always easier to demonise others because that makes self-reflection unnecessary. By casting others as the problem, we escape from having to consider whether we are problematic. Face it, for whatever labels that are cast on non-chinese Singaporeans, I bet to my last dollar that you will find many Chinese Singaporeans that fit the label exactly. Before Chinese Singaporeans think badly of other races in Singapore, they ought to make sure that they have the moral authority to do so.
I had the benefit of being in the minority when I went to the UK for 3 weeks in 2004. When I was there, I truly understand how it feels to be in the minority. You are always conscious of yourself because you look different from most people around you. It gave me an invaluable lesson. I think that most Chinese Singaporeans should go spend some time in a place where they are the minority and see how it feels. Nothing teaches better than actual experience.
Of course, that’s not a feasible option for everyone. I don’t think that having Racial Harmony Day is a feasible option either. What can one day of celebrations do? What is really necessary is for people of different races to come together for an extended period of time. Understanding is not forged in a matter days. It takes years. And, it better start from young. As the saying goes, old habits die hard.
Perhaps the first step in the right direction is to dismantle the SAP school system. The SAP schools focus on teaching excellence in Chinese, and students are usually Chinese. How can we reduce racism if we have such schools? I came from one such school, and I see for myself that such schools, more often than not, produce students that harbour some form of racism. And, it doesn’t help that most of these schools are academically strong institutions that attract smart students. This means that their graduates are likely to be future leaders of society, and I am not comfortable with these future leaders harbouring some form of racist ideas.
I think I’ve stirred a hornet’s nest by suggesting the dismantling of the system that I went through. I have to admit that there are exceptions, and not every graduate from an SAP school is racist. However, the odds of producing a somewhat racist person is higher in an SAP school. By the same token, I think that muslim schools (called madrasahs if I am not mistaken) should also be looked at. These schools should be confined to strictly teaching religion, and learning other subjects should be done in government schools. If we want to tackle the problem of racism and maintain racial harmony, we really need to take the necessary steps, even if they might not please certain groups of people.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Aaron Ng on 17/10/2006 at 7:50 pm, and is filed under Perspective. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 5 days ago
Having born and bred here, all i can say is that we need a change – government change. Have you all not had enough of 45 years of authoritarian, totalitarian, corporate and nepotist rule? Never mind if you are Chinese, Indian or Malay – each and every racial group is aware of our Dear Leader’s agenda of ‘pay me more and make my seeds richer’. He’s definitely pro-Chinese with his puppets in ministerial positions – regardless if they include ministers who are Malays or Indians. Who wouldn’t lick the shoes of a man who pays them millions?
His time will come and soon – but his sons will have to go too, otherwise Singapore will always be Singapore – “Uniquely Nepotist”. Are you prepared to vote for his party again? Or you going to live by his threats again? I have always found his rationalization of increasing ministerial pay packages amusing, “If you don’t, your wives will end up working as maids” (paraphrased).
Seriously Singaporeans, the bunch of you are living in the 21st century. We are not living in Confucian’s era – which he adopts by the way. Singaporean Chinese need to reclaim their dignity again – if you choose to lead by LKY’s example and his pro-Chinese views and comrades, where will your sense of empathy go to? Have you all not realized how our media is quick to raise more awareness and have regular donations poured in via ‘charity shows’? And who does this benefit? China! I ask you, how often have you seen charity shows on Mediacorp channels asking you to donate to victims of natural disasters in other countries? – Say perhaps Afghanistan, India, Turkey, Pakistan? And do you know why China is de facto country for Singapore charities? Business of course!!
The Chinese are not the only citizens of this nation. Indians and Malays are not second-class citizens – we have every right to this nation and will defend to our deaths for it.
Already the Chinese are disliked by many Australians; for example, buying and selling lands in many Australian cities, thus raising housing costs and land prices. The Chinese are also not well-liked by the minorities here because they play the victim when all the high paying jobs are always reserved for them.
By the way, someone posted an innuendo about Malays getting huge subsidies for education, etc. Singapore is actually called Singapura (a Malay word in case you didn’t know). You think that came by chance? Our island’s indigenous inhabitants are Malays – we at least owe them that much, much less make them feel like 2nd class citizens in their own land. So now you know – go weep in the corner you punk.
Btw, I’m a 2nd generation North Indian Singaporean – Mother Tongue – Hindi…but never got the chance to learn the language…(during my time of studies, i was only given the choice to learn either Malay or Tamil) thanks to our arcane laws that decide who studies what and who lives where. If this is the type of government you want your children to grow up with – Vote PAP…otherwise, i suggest Vote for the Reform Party. Hail J.B Jeyaretnam!