To claim Chinese privilege in multi-racial Singapore baseless, says PM Lee
It is entirely baseless to claim that there is Chinese privilege in multi-racial Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday, pointing out that the city-state treats all races equally with no special privileges.
However, he said that racial harmony may be taken for granted following decades of peace, with some Chinese Singaporeans being unaware of how ethnic minorities feel.
Lee, who was delivering his Mandarin speech at the National Day Rally, raised two areas where ethnic minorities continue to face difficulties in renting a home and finding a job.
These issues involve the common space that all races share and directly affect race relations, he said, according to a provided translation in English.
Such preferences by some home owners and employers could build up to become prejudice and if left unaddressed, would gradually deepen the fissures in Singapores society, he said.
Therefore, all of us must uphold the principle of racial equality to build a more inclusive society, the Prime Minister said.
Lee said a few race-related incidents have generated much discussion and debate over the past few months.
Such incidents have occurred sometimes in the past but did not attract as much attention, he said. “Now with social media, they can be easily played up and blown out of proportion, affecting relations between races,” he said.
Fortunately, most Singaporeans understand the importance of racial harmony, said Lee, noting that many people of all races have spoken up against racism and rejected racial discrimination.
Singapores founding leaders stood firm on the over-arching policy of racial equality in the early years of nationhood. The Pioneer and Merdeka generations, who lived through the countrys turbulent times, also greatly supported Singapores multiracial policies, he added.
The government was impartial when drafting our laws and administrative measures, and did not favour any race. This fundamental founding policy was supported by the Chinese community and became the bedrock of our multiracial harmony, Lee said in his speech.
Chinese Singaporeans made some concessions for the greater good, for instance by adopting English as Singapores lingua franca to put ethnic minorities more at ease.
The use of English put those who spoke only Mandarin and dialects in a disadvantageous position. Therefore, it is entirely baseless to claim that there is Chinese privilege in Singapore, Lee said.
We treat all races equally, with no special privileges. Few countries have made this their policy, and even fewer have actually managed to make it a reality.
What the country has seen after 56 years is testament that this fundamental national policy has benefited all races, including the Chinese, added the prime minister.
It brought about racial harmony and social stability, which has enabled us to live peacefully. It has also helped to strengthen our relations with our neighbouring countries, and built trust, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by Channel News Asia at a National Day Rally, an annual address to the city state where COVID-19 has delayed some of the national celebrations including the National Day Parade on Saturday a week ago on August 21. Singapore has a popualtion of 5.9 million with four official languages – Malay, Chinese (Mandarin), Tamil and English (a working language).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)