# Singapore: racist?



## physnerdonpiano

Hello,

I am a Hong Kong-born Chinese Canadian, who has now moved back to Hong Kong for several years now. 

My wife and I are thinking of moving to Singapore - mostly because we are finding Hong Kong more and more unsuitable to raise our kids in.

One thing I would like to find out more is the racism/ xenophobia in Singapore. We were in Singapore for a trip last month, and we were impressed by how multicultural the city appeared to be. But a friend of mine has warned me of how racist Singapore is. I have also read some articles that seem to echo that statement.

From your experience, how severe is racism/ xenophobia in Singapore?

Thanks very much in advance!

physnerdonpiano


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## simonsays

physnerdonpiano said:


> .
> 
> From your experience, how severe is racism/ xenophobia in Singapore?


Xeno what ?

That's no xenophobia here.

It's just the locals have become restless at too many foreigners landing, taking up jobs at lower pay, and in the process insisting that Singapore owes the new arrivals, as, apparently, minus the new arrivals and continuing arrivals, Singapore will be doomed ... or so they say.

Anger is sometimes directed at specific ethnic groups for their lack of interest in blending with the locals, snobbing the locals etc etc.

It's a world wide problem.. which is exacerbated in Singapore due to sudden increase in foreigners.

As for racism, racism, to some extent, exists practically anywhere in the world, its just whether people accept it as part of life or not.

Example ? Some Aussies shouting "go back to your country... " some parts in western world where darker skinned arrivals always miraculously randomly get selected for additional secondary screening in airports .. 

Should I go on ?

If you lived in Asia, those calling Singapore as racist place should pack up and go, says my 2 cents. There are worse places in Asia, compared to Singapore.

Example ? In a nearby country, not knowing the local lingo = price multiplied by 5 times. Fairer skin = price multiplied by 10 times.

Another country nearby, the fairer your skin, the better the service, darker it is, next to zero service.

And in another, people see through you, like you don't exist, if you step into any bar, if you are a darker skinned foreigner.

Well, Singapore isn't that bad, or even close to that 

Even if the guy expects first world Singapore to be on par with the west, in terms of tolerance, show me which western country has one or other form of anti foreigner sentiments popping up ?

It's there in almost any country that attracts foreigners, and Singapore being prosperous, attracts enough westerners too, so don't blame the locals if they feel being squeezed out.


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## BBCWatcher

It's somewhat difficult to quantify this particular form of human ignorance and stupidity. The Washington Post created a map a couple years ago based on the World Values Survey. According to the Post's map, Singapore is more racially tolerant than Hong Kong. So you'd be moving in the right direction on that score. In Asia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Pakistan rank comparatively well. Between 5 and 10 percent of survey respondents in these three countries answered "people of another race" when asked to pick groups of people they would not want as neighbors. By global standards that's fairly low -- but not as low as Australia, New Zealand, most of the Americas, and parts of northern Europe (all under 5 percent of respondents). And remember that these are survey responses. If you're both racist and less than honest -- a plausible combination, at least -- then you won't be counted as "racist."

One "interesting" aspect of Singapore's legal system is that, unlike even many "more racist" countries, if you are the victim of racial discrimination -- in employment hiring, for example -- you do not have any direct, private recourse. You can file a complaint, and the Ministry of Manpower might reprimand the employer or even (in serious cases) curtail certain employer privileges, but victims themselves are not entitled to legal relief. MoM also periodically clamps down on employers who advertise "Singaporean Chinese preferred," "Must be Filipino," etc. My view is that the government is content to avoid the _appearance_ of racial discrimination, but "quiet" discrimination is fairly common.

It's possible the survey results are an artifact of Singapore's unique approach to housing, so I would be cautious about interpreting this particular survey. Singapore doesn't have racial separation in housing as such. The Housing Development Board (HDB) enforces certain policies that are quite effective in preventing racial segregation in public housing, and most Singaporeans (80+%) live in public housing -- housing built by the government then (mostly) sold to Singaporeans with certain covenants. Oddly enough, the residents who live in something approximating racial "ghettos" are the foreign expatriates living in more expensive private housing and lower income workers (mostly men, mostly in construction) living in dormitories. If you find segregation objectionable (as I do), then you can work to avoid that by broadening your search for housing to HDB units and smaller private buildings. That's not to say there aren't _concentrations_ of certain races in certain neighborhoods, but I'd say the HDB's efforts are successful in preventing sharp color lines from developing along street boundaries. In turn, public schools in Singapore are not racially segregated to any significant degree, but many private schools have student bodies that are heavily skewed toward one or a couple groups. Unfortunately it's quite difficult for students who are not citizens and not permanent residents to attend public schools in Singapore, so you'll have to "shop carefully" if you're concerned about lack of diversity in private school student bodies.

There's a very large population of foreign domestic workers and (as alluded to) foreign semi-skilled workers in Singapore, and there's at least a great deal of class separation between those populations and much of the rest of Singapore. That's a whole other, complex topic.


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## physnerdonpiano

Thanks for the response.

It seems like racism is not something we should worry too much about. This is a relief.

But there is also the xenophobia aspect (i.e. anger towards foreigners regardless of race) that I want to hear more about, especially since simonsays says some animosity is forming in Singapore towards foreigners.

(Please correct me if I misunderstood.)

Do you think this animosity will make the transition for the expats settling in Singapore difficult?


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## simonsays

physnerdonpiano said:


> Thanks for the response.
> 
> It seems like racism is not something we should worry too much about. This is a relief.
> 
> But there is also the xenophobia aspect (i.e. anger towards foreigners regardless of race) that I want to hear more about, especially since simonsays says some animosity is forming in Singapore towards foreigners.
> 
> (Please correct me if I misunderstood.)
> 
> Do you think this animosity will make the transition for the expats settling in Singapore difficult?


Take any country, and start pumping in a lot of foreigners of different nationalities, how will the natives react ?

As I said, it's there, as it is in any country, but unlike in few other countries, in Singapore, it is a love hate relationship. Because their is some irritation about influx foreigner doesn't mean foreigners are being refused service or being harassed or facing violence. Singapore is very very far from anything like that. 

Now if your friend is scaring you, either a) stay out of Singapore or b) go and live in Malaysia or Indonesia or Thailand or any other South East Asian countries, and then come and live here.

You will feel this place is far from what the online bullies and the scaredy cats are making it to be.

And don't forget Singapore's efficient law enforcement.. as much as natives are taken to task for inciting racial troubles, same harsh rule applies to foreigners too.

Anyway, with your Chinese descent, unless you demand to be recognised as a foreigner, none will even bother about you.

Your "friend", is he of Chinese descent too ?

If he is feeling the heat I can only surmise that he's thinking too much about himself or is one of those foreigners who don't miss any chance to put down the locals, online or otherwise, and then wonder why the locals are being hostile.

Ps. Settling ? You meant to make Singapore your home ?


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## physnerdonpiano

Thanks, simonsays, for taking the time to reply.

I realise racism exists even in countries widely regarded as tolerant, so I am not looking for a place where there is absolutely NO racism whatsoever. That may be a tall order. But the extent of racism can affect how we cope with the new environment. If I were to get a job in a new country, I would like to know the living environment as well since my family and I will be living there. ;-)

The responses I got here are pretty reassuring.

BBCWatcher: thank you very much for providing me with facts on the topic. 

P.S. No, my friend is not of Chinese descent.


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## Laurahadin

I came here last year and I do think there is a certain treatment for foreigners, but I'm not sure I would go so far to say racism. I do think this issue exists in any country you go to, and that in Singapore it is relatively small. It also depends on what level of integration or treatment you are looking for - there is still a noticeable ex-pat population here, it's incredibly safe, and the government takes steps outwardly (if not just outwardly) to integrate everyone, and many places can't even say that. But if you're looking to be treated like you would from your 'home' country, you might be asking to be let down. My advice is to make the extra effort when speaking and meeting new people, you will find a lot of people to be very welcoming in my experience.


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## YingLin

I dont feel that SG is a racist place. I am currently based back in China but my children are both studying in Singapore under a legal guardian that i have appointed. Both of them seems very happy everytime I visited them and they always look forward to go back to SG. Though stress, but i am glad they are coping very well.


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