Is there racial discrimination in Singapore?

Dr Lily Zubaidah Rahim



Is there racial discrimination in Singapore? A personal opinion by Kelvin Tan
Reading the doctoral thesis of Lily Zubaidah Rahim, The Singapore Dilemma, has made me think about the issue of racial discrimination.. The conspicuous absence of this book from the shelves of Singapore bookstores is yet another sad example of the practice of self-censorship among people running bookstores in Singapore. Our NUS Central Library is even cuter, the book is available only in the Singapore-Malaysia Collection and the 'Closed Stacks'! Imagine, a book that was published in 1998 ending up in the Closed Stacks; what was that common NUS joke again about girls in their first year being like RBR books, girls in their second year being in the Main Shelves, and finally in the Closed Stacks when they are in their third year J? But again, we are talking about NUS, where its bookstore played a mini hide and seek with James Gomez's book on self-censorship, best described here.

There were many important points raised in this book, that perhaps made the distributors uneasy. For example, the public housing scheme that the PAP is so proud of, has the effect of splintering the Malay community into housing estates throughout Singapore. Ethnic residential quotas in HDB blocks were also introduced in 1989, in the pretext of preventing the emergence of ethnic enclaves that might harm racial harmony.

All these measures undertaken ensure that the Malays in Singapore, no matter how dissatisfied, can never gather enough electoral support to push for their agenda. This is the classic 'divide and conquer' strategy. With such a strategy, Malay interests would now be primarily articulated and represented within parameters determined by the PAP government and its Malay MPs (pp. 72-76). It also ensures that the government can afford to continue its minimalist approach to the Malay community without suffering any electoral backlash.

In choosing that title for her thesis, I suspected that Lily is trying to relate her study to the book by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir, The Malay Dilemma. I believe the important conclusion from the latter book is that the Malays are constrained by their culture, to be less inclined towards competition and more inclined towards a sedate lifestyle. Thus, Mahathir believes he has to practice favourable treatment towards them to protect the native Malays, which he call the 'bumiputras' from being driven out by the other races. Lily regarded this analysis as the 'cultural deficit' model, and she clearly feels that it needed to be reappraised for Singapore (p. 248).

The discussions on racism in Singapore

Discussing the issue of racism in Singapore is particularly sensitive, with signals coming for the PAP that it is one of those 'out of bound' markers of Singapore discourse, a fact that Lily herself acknowledged (p. 8). If you ask a Chinese about the subject, he or she will probably reply that there is no racism in Singapore. It was particularly enlightening for me to hear from Dr Lee Tsao Yuan, sharing in Parliament during her time as an NMP, on the issue of the Singapore Heartbeat. Dr Lee said that she could have stayed in Canada permanently but she chooses to come back to Singapore since it is only in Singapore that she feels treated as an equal.

In all these rhetoric, it is ironic when I have yet to see any Malay proclaiming the same. I was thinking, "what does a Chinese knows about racial discrimination in Singapore?" When Fandi Ahmad announced that he may be emigrating to South Africa with his wife, because he is worried that his son may not be able to cope in Singapore, many Singaporeans, all Chinese I remember, were quick to criticize his decision for being an ingrate. A discussion in the newsgroup, soc.culture.singapore, in 1998, had an Indian sharing about how his Chinese wife and him has decided to emigrate to Australia because his wife, for the first time, realized the racial discrimination in Singapore.

It is insightful that, before they got married, he had warned the wife that there will be such discrimination but his wife did not believed it to be true. After she was the victim of it, facing snide remarks from her fellow Chinese ladies, about having 'contaminated herself', when she fetch her mixed son from school, she decided to leave Singapore. When other netters responded that Australia is also well known for discrimination, the Indian replied quite sternly that, although there are, it is nothing compared to Singapore.

Thus, I have learned to read Singaporeans' proclamations of Singapore, either being a country free of racism unlike other countries, or being a country where you have 'the freedom to walk tall with head held high regardless of the colour of my skin' with a pinch of salt. Whenever I hear or read of such proclamations, I would first check the person's identity. Up till this present moment, my results shows that every such person would be a Chinese Singaporean. It just shows how ignorant we Chinese are about racial discrimination in Singapore.

I would state my own observation that, while it may be true that there are racial discrimination in the US, at least they are aware of it and are still trying to decide the best way to resolve it. Here in Singapore, we are discouraged from even mentioning this issue under the constant threat of having racial riots breaking out the moment we attempt to.

Interestingly, the PAP government, in the period between 1959 to 1964, fought hard to be part of the Malaysian federation with the well-known slogan 'Malaysian Malaysia'. This slogan, I believe, is trying to defuse racial tensions by stating that only Malaysians matter; whether they are Chinese or Malays should not be an issue of contentment. After we were expelled from the Malaysian Federation despite all these efforts, there was never an equivalent promotion of a 'Singaporean Singapore' after that, which to me, is a significant difference that might shed light into the marginality of the Malays in Singapore. In contrast, Singapore has all these social institutions like the SAP schools, the setting up of self-help groups among races such as CDAC and the Medakai, and the focus on Confucianism that seems to reinforce the differences between the races.

My conclusion

Yes, I agree unequivocally that there is racism in Singapore. I first realized this explicitly in 1998 when I participated in my church walkathon. I remember the week before that event, my pastor announced to us that he has warned the MRT staff that there will be a huge crowd of people arriving at Marina Bay MRT station in the morning of the event. I was among the crowd of people who had to move at a snail's pace from the train exit to the booths in order to leave the station. As I was edging towards the ticket booths, I notice many MRT staff, a few with loud-hailers, giving directions on which way we should proceed.

It then suddenly hit me, what a contrast their attitude was towards us, compared to the Indian workers at Bugis MRT station on Sundays! The MRT staff were smiling at us, making conversations and so on and so forth. If you visit Bugis station on Sundays, you will see that many Indians spend their day off in the popular haunt, Serangoon Road. There would be some mobile railings segregating them from the rest of us, and the way the MRT staff shout at them or the expression in their faces, I was surprised to see that they were smiling at us now.

Actually, it is quite obvious why there is a different treatment towards us. The MRT staff identify with us, almost all of us being Chinese. Even among some of my university friends, I heard many racists complains about the smell coming out of the Indians. I guess that walkathon was to me what Damascus was to Paul, my scales were finally removed from my eyes. I begin to take note on other puzzles, such as the numerous Malay staff manning the counter in the NUS Central Library. Lily's thesis is thus an important contribution in my understanding to this subject, and I hope to also make a contribution in this area.




Book Note :

The Singapore Dilemma
The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community
Lily Zubaidah Rahim
Publisher - Oxford University Press Feb 1999(out of print) 322 pages

Lily Zubaidah Rahim is a Senior Lecturer in Government and International Relations. She lectures on Southeast Asian Politics and Islam in the Modern World. The Singapore Dilemma: The Political and Educational Marginality of the Malay Community, (KL: Oxford University Press, 2001) established Lily Zubaidah as a leading researcher on political and social developments in Singapore. The book precipitated a public debate on Singapore’s nation-building paradigm particularly after the prominent coverage it received in the Malaysian and Singaporean newspapers in 2001/2002. The policy significance of The Singapore Dilemma prompted the Malaysian National Institute for Translation to translate it to the Malay language in 2004. Building on the major themes advanced in The Singapore Dilemma, Lily Zubaidah is completing a book on Singapore’s mercurial relations with neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia. This book will be followed by a global project on gender justice in Islam. Another project funded by an ARC Discovery Grant (2003-2006), successfully culminated into an edited book entitled ‘Paths Not Taken’, published by the National University of Singapore Press in early 2008.

Lily Zubaidah’s international exposure includes extended periods of teaching and research in Malaysia, Singapore and The Netherlands. In 2001, she presented a paper on indigenous minorities in Southeast Asia at the historic UN Conference on Racism and Public Policy in Durban, South Africa. In 2003, she was commissioned by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, to prepare a report on ethnic minorities in Singapore and Malaysia.

Her multidisciplinary research interests have been published in numerous international journals and book chapters. They include an eclectic range spanning from governance in authoritarian states, democratisation, development, ethnicity, regionalism and political Islam. She is on the Editorial Advisory Board of the referred journal Policy and Society and Co-Convenor of the 2008 Malaysia-Singapore Society Colloquium at the Australian National University.

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The Singapore Story! Haram!

11 May, 2001
H. Nasution
Surabaya

Melayu Singapura bagaikan menumpang di negara sendiri
Sebagai sampah di-tengah laut, terapung apung tanpa tujuan.

The Malay langauage edition of LKY’s "The Singapore Story" has hit the market. Few Malays will show much interst in the book, as it is written by a man considered by many to be very ant-malay and anti-Islam. In fact a "fatwa" should be decreed that any Malay reading the book should be condidered an "apostate(murtad)".
LKY had softetened his approach towards all things Malays by stating that the Integration process between Malays and other Races are progressing well. On a scale of 1 to10, he claimed that Malays will achieve the scale of 7 or 8 within 20 years. The scale of 10 indicates that Malays are no longer Muslims. They will drink hard liquor at the same table as the Chinese and will be relishing pork meat dishes. Mayhaps LKY’s optimisim is stemmed from the Straits Times article (28/4/2001) "Malay Dancer" fined S$1000/- for showing(bared) her breasts (Buah Payu, the Bertita Harian calls it), at Venom discotheque on 18/11/2000.

What is MUIS or the Shariah Court’s action on this "Buah Payu" issue? Nothing.

All Malays should read instead the book writen by Dr. Lily Zubaidah Rahim "The Singapoe Dilemma- The Political and Educational Marginilty of the Malay Community". An abridged version of the book in Malay and English will be available shortly.

Watch the Harimau Organization website for the annnouncement.

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Indian, Malay job seekers complain
of discrimination in Singapore


Hindustan Times
August 9, 2005
Singapore
Indo-Asian News Services


INDIAN and Malay job seekers have complained of discrimination by employers who ask if they are proficient in Chinese, not if they can do the job, labour chief Lim Boon Heng said in a report on Tuesday, August 9.

Unfair recruitment practices that discriminate against minority race applicants will lead to tension, warned Lim, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress.

Some of the job interviewers ask if the Indians and Malays speak Mandarin, Lim said in the report.

"The few who responded that they could were then asked if they could write Chinese," the Straits Times quoted Lim as saying.

He urged employers to wipe out the ignorance that persists despite the high level of racial integration in the city-state. "Businesses thrive here because we have a harmonious society," he said.

Lim made the comments at a National Day observance marking Singapore's 40th birthday.

"If any minority group feels strongly that there is discrimination, there will be tension," he warned.

Singapore's population is predominantly Chinese. It includes 14 per cent who are Malays and six per cent Indians.

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Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Lee Kuan Yew's racial discrimination should be condemned.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I hear Singapore government encourages young infant children from People's Republic of China to attend schools in Singapore. Several thousand, already in Singapore; are given scholarships of $500.00 per month including free schools fees and books. Their mothers, for some strange reason, not their fathers, are permitted to immigrate to Singapore to care for them. These mothers who are usually divorced or single mothers usually find work in Singapore in massage parlors and as sales girls where the clientele is entirely Chinese, since they or these children, speak no English.

These scholarships are given only to Chinese children from the PRC. Not Malay children or Indian children even though Malays and Indians are also Singaporeans!

As the Singapore press is both state owned and controlled, it is impossible to read any independent opinion on this. The government censors suppress any information about this. Lee’s reason for this policy should be obvious. Lee Kuan Yew wants to keep the Singapore population subservient to him. And for subservience, you cannot beat Communist Chinese. No political dissent is allowed in China.

Secondly Lee Kuan Yew has decided, it appears; as if Singapore belongs to him alone; and as if he can do anything with Singapore; that Singapore must become a Chinese country, peopled by Chinese people. And since the Chinese in Singapore are not having enough children, he will import them from China.

In accordance with Lee Kuan Yew’s game plan, these Chinese infants from Hunan and Hubei or wherever else they come from in China, will be taught some English, kept in the dark about democracy and liberty, and give them jobs like automatons in a factory. It is the hope that as they were in China, they will grow up completely submissive and obedient. With a sufficient population like this, Lee Kuan Yew and his descendants will rule forever. If all goes according to plan.

The Malays, the Indians and native Singapore Chinese should condemn this policy. First, it is illegal. It goes against the constitution which demands racial equality. Second, these Chinese children do not further Singapore’s interests. Singapore is becoming an international city. Such a city requires English. Not Mandarin. Third, you need a sophisticated and informed population. One that is well versed with western norms and cultures. With western spontaneity and western daring.

I am a product of western education and therefore not afraid to speak my mind. In Singapore I criticized this government when criticism was needed. And challenged them at 2 general elections. It seemed a natural thing to do. If something is wrong, one stands up to it. I still do the same from here. And I will be a critic for as long as needed. I have no fear. Just as any other Australian, American or Belgian. What Singapore really needs is more Gopalan Nairs. But Lee prefers Francis Seows, Tan Wah Piows and Gopalan Nairs to stay as far away as possible. Life is easier for him that way. For him and his children.

You see there are Gopalan Nairs all over the Western world. In Australia USA Canada. All with Western education, western thinking and western experience. If all these Gopalan Nairs, these Francis Seows, and these Tan Wah Piows these Edgar De Souza’s can return, Singapore will be a very different place.

But Lee Kuan Yew will not allow it. If he did, it will be the end of him. These overseas experienced men and women will be boisterous spontaneous and will not jump, as and when Lee demanded.

When I was in Singapore, I could see it for myself. Those who had lived in Singapore all their lives have an inbuilt fear of authority. This fear is ingrained in them in schools, in the families and among their society. They fear to speak, fear to complain and fear to stand up. A life as if Lee Kuan Yew was their father. Unable to think in unconventional terms.

Such as population, like the imported Chinese children who will go through brainwashing will eventually end up the compliant and submissive Singaporean that Lee wants.

This racial preference for Chinese infant children from China paid for by the Singapore taxpayer, who are also Malays and Indians, is unacceptable. Since Lee Kuan Yew is determined to do anything including illegality, such as blatant racial discrimination, the Malays and Indians should act. I am sure the Singaporean Chinese would also support the Malays and Indians in this. The Singapore Chinese have much more in common with a Singapore Malay or Indian rather than a child from Hunan province in China.

This is not inciting racial hatred. This is seeking the truth. And the truth is, Lee's policy of favoring Chinese over Malays and Indians is illegal. It is not provided for under law.

Do not forget the national language is Malay. It has now included the other languages, but in 1963, the national language was Malay. It should be so, since the Malays were there before anyone else. I am an Indian by ethnicity, not Malay. But I can appreciate the special position of the Malays in Singapore.

Malays must now act. The country that belongs to all of us; Chinese Malays and Indians is being destroyed by Lee with his deliberate policy of artificiality changing the ethnic mix. This cannot be tolerated.

Jufrie Mohd Mahmood was a Workers Party member and opposition politician. He is a Singapore patriot as well as a Malay patriot. He feels the pain in him to see his country being destroyed by Lee with his ethnic restructuring policies of changing the population mix.

Jufrie Mohd Mahmood has to act. Now. He must do it. Inaction is ruination for Singapore. He should speak to his Malay friends in Geylang, to the Indian friends in Serangoon, get help from Malaysia and for the Indians from India; get foreign funding, speak at mosques, Indian and Chinese temples; and get everyone, Indian Chinese and Malay to galvanize, organize, collaborate and stand up to this.

Jufrie Mohd Mahmood should not be afraid of the ISA or anything of the sort. When justice is on your side, men should have no fear. I hope there will be movement forward.

A Singaporean in Northern California. With best wishes. And hope for the future.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: gopalnair@us-immigrationlaw.com
Posted by Gopalan Nair at 6:24 PM

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Obama: Police acted "stupidly" arresting black scholar
By Matt Spetalnick, Reuters 21 July 2009

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said on Wednesday police had acted "stupidly" in arresting a prominent black Harvard University scholar at his own home, weighing in on escalating debate over the treatment of minorities by U.S. law enforcement officers.

Obama, the United States' first black president, acknowledged at a prime-time White House news conference, he did not know all the facts about the arrest last week of Henry Louis Gates at his residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

But Obama, reciting details from news reports, left little doubt he felt Gates had been wronged in the incident, which has created a media furor.

Gates, a renowned expert on race whom Obama described as a friend, was detained for alleged disorderly conduct -- a charge that was quickly dropped -- after a confrontation with a white police officer inside his own house.

"I don't know -- not having been there and not seeing all the facts -- what role race played in that, but I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said when asked about the case.

"Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home," he added.

While stressing that his own election last November was a testament to progress in race relations, Obama pointed out there was a "long history" in the United States of blacks and Hispanics being singled out disproportionately by police.

"That's just a fact," he said.

He said Gates' arrest was a reminder that the race issue "still haunts us."

'I'D GET SHOT'

The incident took place last Thursday when a woman called Cambridge police to report that a man was trying to force his way into the house.

Obama joked that if he ever tried to "jimmy the lock" at his current address -- the White House -- "I'd get shot." The digression drew laughter from journalists who until then had peppered him with questions about healthcare and the economy.

Gates, 58, had found his front door jammed after returning from a trip to China, according to his lawyer. But police said Gates exhibited "loud and tumultuous behavior," including accusing police of racism.

A statement on the Cambridge police department's Web site said, "The City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Police Department, and Professor Gates acknowledge that the incident of July 16, 2009 was regrettable and unfortunate."

Gates is director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African & African American Research and is one of the most prominent black scholars in the United States.

(Additional reporting by Jason Szep in Boston and JoAnne Allen in Washington; editing by Chris Wilson)