Darryl David wants English proficiency to be mandatory for new citizens
These newbie Minister of Parliaments (MP) sure know how to start with a bang.
First it was Ong Ye Kung, and now it’s Darryl David.
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Yesterday (26 Jan), MP Darryl suggested in his maiden speech to parliament that English proficiency and community service should be mandatory for new citizens in order to help them integrate into society.
The Ang Mo Kio MP explained that the inability to communicate in English would prevent them from assimilating into the community, and would also discourage them from attending community events.
He suggested that “it would be useful for the government to explore how we can make it mandatory for potential new citizens to attain a basic level of English language proficiency before they are given Singaporean citizenship”.
Language barriers hinder integration
Darryl also implied that these new citizens are unable to integrate as they cannot speak to people of different races.
Grassroots leaders have also provided feedback: Some of the new citizens tend to not get involved in community events and activities because they feel that they aren’t able to communicate with their fellow residents of different ethnicities.
English, Singapore’s lingua franca, is the main language used by different races to communicate.
Without a basic standard of English, new citizens cannot communicate effectively with Singaporeans.
Thus, this still poses a problem with integrating into the multi-racial society of Singapore.
Response to Darryl’s speech
Darryl posted a Facebook post advocating English as a common language for communication between Singaporeans.
As usual, the Internet had to reply. Let’s take a look at what netizens responded with.
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This lady seems to be supportive of Darryl’s call for mandatory English proficiency. She even made a reference to how Australia tests their new citizens.
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Another netizen thinks that besides learning the country’s language, new citizens should also try to culturally assimilate into Singapore, follow the laws and not wreck up social problems.
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Meanwhile, this netizen provides insightful comments on other policies which should be mandatory for new citizens.
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This guy have asked the right questions. Why are those who can’t speak basic English able to pass the interview required to become a Singapore citizen?
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This guy totally agrees with Darryl that language barriers prevent new citizens from integrating into society.
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Some netizens appear frustrated that they have to use only Mandarin to communicate with new citizens.
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Darryl David has a point
Overall, there is an overwhelming general consensus that in order to become a new citizen, it should be mandatory to have a level of proficiency in English.
Many have expressed support for this policy and voiced their frustrations at the abuse they get from new citizens who are unable to converse in English.
Thus, there should be certain pre-requisites before a new citizen attains Singaporean citizenship. It should also be made clear that these standards are for integrating and assimilating new citizens, and not for penalising certain groups of people.
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Featured image via Facebook
With reference to ChannelNewsAsia
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