How Singapore builds bridges across the divides

Racial and religious harmony is Singapore’s biggest achievement of the past 50 years. It is also the easiest to lose. Racism and discrimination against people on the basis of their race or faith have ancient roots and have led to many human tragedies. Fortunately, we now have more racial integration and tolerance, in part due to our HDB housing estates and neighbourhood public schools, where Singaporeans of all faiths and races interact.

Our little red dot is connected to the larger world and is not isolated from external factors. Racist rhetoric in other countries, while intended for domestic consumption, has global effects and sends ripples all the way to our shores.

Given Singapore’s interconnectedness with the rest of the world, our racial integration and tolerance are not enough to inoculate us from the nationalistic politics, bigotry, racism and hatred-driven rhetoric that seem to be brewing around the world, especially in the more mature democracies such as the United States, the United Kingdom and in other parts of Europe.

We need something deeper that will hold us together. Tolerance is the basic standard needed for a society with diversity like ours to thrive. Going forward, for the next 50 years, I believe we need to move up the evolutionary chain: From the lowest common denominator, tolerance, to embracing diversity; from an integrated society to an inclusive one.

Let me share a story. My father is Malay, my mother is Indian and their matchmaker was a Chinese man. The first time my parents met was on their wedding day in 1960. Marriage is one of the biggest commitments we make in our lives. My parents trusted their Chinese friend with this life-changing step.

Where and when I grew up also affected my outlook on integration and inclusion. During the racial riots of the late 1960s, my neighbourhood — MacPherson — was the buffer between a Chinese village and a Malay village. During the few racial fights that took place in this buffer zone, my Malay father and our Chinese neighbours joined forces to protect our families.

I grew up in an inclusive family and neighbourhood. We grew up seeing our Chinese neighbours as being part of our extended family. Our racial differences did not divide but united us.

My blissfully inclusive life received a rude awakening when I started working in the early 1990s. For the first time, I experienced being judged through a racial lens. For example, at job interviews, I was told that I was not of the race they wanted. To verify if my experience in the ’90s was purely anecdotal, I started interviewing a cross-section of Malay-Muslim individuals to collect their personal experiences. Several related having experienced such discrimination, too.

The inclusive life in my little neighbourhood did not seem to mirror the larger society. The terror attack on Sept 11, 2001 jolted me out of my indifference towards the diverse religions in Singapore — including my own, Islam. I felt I was now judged based on my faith. I remember being asked: “Why did your people do this?”, as if the actions of 19 men represented the beliefs of 1.6 billion Muslims, including me.

Despite the tension, suspicion and anxiety directed at some of my Muslim friends and me, this was a teaching moment. For the first time in my life, I engaged with friends and strangers in dialogues on race and religion. These were no longer taboo subjects but ones I tried to engage in with an open heart and mind. I noticed I was not alone— people of all creeds and faiths were engaging in dialogues to address ignorance and to deepen understanding. It seems that Sept 11, 2001 was a turning point (it could have been a breaking point) for Singapore, too. It was then that we, as a society, evolved and moved decisively towards deeper race and religious harmony. In place of hateful rhetoric, there were stronger commitments to combat ignorance that incited hatred and fear.

In addition to having to bridge the racial divide, Singapore has to bridge the social-class divide, too. This problem is compounded when race, religion and social classes converge.

When I moved to join the non-profit sector, I thought I would no longer see social-class divides, but I was wrong. One of my saddest days working in the non-profit sector was seeing one of its leaders organising “poverty tourism” trips for corporate donors. The leader, a retired-banker-turned-rich-socialite, showcased poverty to generate more donations. Unfortunately, this was done in a manner that treated the poor as exhibits — stripped of dignity. I realised that she was not alone in using ends to justify the means.

So how do we move up the evolutionary chain to bring about a more inclusive society? Two years ago, I co-started “New Life Stories”, a home-based reading programme for children of incarcerated mothers, most of whom happened to live in one-room rental flats. Several of the Singaporean volunteers who signed up confessed that they had never been inside a HDB flat, much less a one-room rental one. Almost all had never met anyone who been incarcerated, nor met a six-year-old child who could not read — the exact profiles of our clients.

While I did wonder how they could live in Singapore without having been inside a HDB flat, I felt this was not just a teaching moment but a turning point. Despite confessing their cultural shock, they chose to continue the volunteering journey. Volunteering took these Singaporeans into the homes of a social segment with whom they would not otherwise have interacted.

Being in these rental flats weekly for a year, reading to the children and having dialogues with the family, deepened their understanding of the lives of the lowest-income groups in Singapore. Such home-based, long-term volunteerism provides deep immersion that builds bridges between social classes. We need such bridges to deepen understanding, which in turn will bring about a more compassionate, inclusive society.

Just as negativity and divisiveness breed more of the same, a collective consciousness for peace has made a positive difference in Singapore. The confluence of political and social events, public policies (such as HDB’s Ethnic Integration Policy), protective measures against discrimination (such as the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices or Tafep), and deep community engagements (such as the New Life Stories volunteering programme) have provided Singaporeans with opportunities to grow and deepen bonds of diversity.

It seems we have started to move in this direction. All around, I see Singaporeans of various income groups reaching out to deepen understanding and building relationships: People of all faiths standing tall, together, against hatred. The beauty and strength of Singapore are in her people. I have seen over the years how we have evolved and are evolving as a society. I have faith in the people of Singapore. I know the next big thing for the Republic would be to shift our collective consciousness from racial integration to inclusion, from racial tolerance to embracing diversity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Saleemah Ismail is Partner at PCS, a consulting firm specialising in social development and corporate responsibility. She also serves on the board of Casa Raudha, a shelter for women and children. This piece first appeared in The Birthday Book 2016, a book of essays by 51 different authors on Singapore’s Next Big Thing.