'Take the extra step' to make minorities feel comfortable, says Lawrence Wong in speech discussing racism in Singapore

  • 📰 ChannelNewsAsia
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 88 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 38%
  • Publisher: 66%

Singapore Headlines News

Singapore Latest News,Singapore Headlines

SINGAPORE: Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Jun 25) appealed to the majority Chinese community in Singapore to be sensitive to and be ...

On Jun 23, a Malay woman was sentenced to four weeks' jail for making racist insults at an Indian female commuter on a bus.

However, there have been significantly more cases than usual this year,"most likely" because of the stress of COVID-19, he said. "We are better than this. Whether online or offline, we must hold ourselves to higher standards, and tackle racism wherever it exists in our society. The question is: What do we do now?"Mr Wong said that Singapore must continue with its approach of"mutual accommodation, trust and compromise".

However, he warned against insisting on"maximum entitlements and rights" for one's own group or to"construe every compromise as an injustice that needs to be condemned", or"put the worst interpretation on every perceived slight or insensitivity". Some commentators have also questioned the CMIO or"Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others" categorisation of races in Singapore.

He said that Singapore has also worked hard to integrate new citizens, and to review and update work pass policies to ensure that such policies"fit into our social context". At the same time, Singapore seeks"common ground" among its communities, and aims to expand common space and strengthen a shared sense of belonging and identity, he said.

The Government established SAP schools in 1979 against a backdrop of falling enrolment in Chinese-medium schools. The stated aim was to preserve the best of these schools and promote the learning of Chinese language and culture. "We have found a balance that all can accept: No community has gotten everything it wanted, but collectively we have achieved much more together than what we would otherwise have attained by just focusing on our individual agendas," he said.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Singaporean are not racist. We love our country, we just don't like the FT shit you brought in. Most of them have no talent and behave like an idiot. It make us look like we are racist but we are not. If the importing carry on like this, it will errode us eventually.

Tell that to the west and Australia. They beat our Asian students

this you, buddy? suddenly when it's about race it's no longer a culture war?

So if minorities are not happy the majority give in then nonsense? Basis of racial harmony is about equality. Everyone is treated equally and have the same benefit. Then comes acceptance through understanding culture. Why would minorities have a harder time then? Ridiculous logic

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in SG

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

COVID guidelines for larger settings such as dine-in on track: Lawrence WongThe COVID-19 guidelines will be revised to allow for larger gatherings among vaccinated people while dine-in at five per group in food and beverage places is expected to proceed as planned next month, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

COVID guidelines for larger settings such as dine-in on track: Lawrence WongThe COVID-19 guidelines will be revised to allow for larger gatherings among vaccinated people while dine-in at five per group in food and beverage places is expected to proceed as planned next month, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

Covid-19: Singapore schools tackle mental health amid pandemic stressPrior to the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health was rarely discussed in Singapore's academically rigorous schools. But now, that appears to be changing.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

96% of students who registered for COVID-19 vaccination would have first dose before school reopensSINGAPORE: About 297,000 students in Singapore would have taken their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine before schools reopen on Jun 28, the Ministry ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Voyeur jailed for taking upskirt videos of colleague who felt guilty about reporting him to police
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »

Covid-19: Those fully vaccinated could be allowed to travel with fewer curbs, gather in larger groups, attend mass eventsSINGAPORE — Once a larger proportion of the population here are inoculated against Covid-19, those who have been fully vaccinated may see less strict infection control measures when travelling and be allowed to engage in a greater range of activities, such as gathering in larger groups and attending mass events. It’s not the companies don’t want to restart, how to restart if WFH is default?
Source: TODAYonline - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »