Issues of race were in the spotlight a few months back, after a spate of unsavoury race-related incidents in Singapore.
While they were addressed by more than 1 minister, it’s no surprise that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has decided to say something about it too.
In his annual National Day Rally (NDR) speech, he decried the notion that there’s Chinese privilege in Singapore.
That’s because all races are treated equally here, with no special privileges for any, he added.
In the Mandarin version of his NDR speech on Sunday (29 Aug) night, PM Lee said the claim that there’s Chinese privilege in Singapore is “entirely baseless”.
That’s thanks to our founding leaders, who insisted on this policy when the nation was young.
When drafting laws and administrative measures, they made sure not to favour any race.
This ended up being the bedrock of our multiracial harmony, he added.
One of the way that ethnic minorities were put at ease was by adopting English as the lingua franca.
This policy was supported by Chinese Singaporeans as well, even though it disadvantaged those who spoke only Mandarin and dialects.
In fact, this compromise made the Chinese community decades ago resulted in some feeling that they had made a “huge concession”.
However, he opined that the policy has benefited all races, including Chinese.
It’s also helped strengthen our relations with our neighbouring countries.
Mr Lee pointed out that few countries were like Singapore in making it a policy to treat all races equally.
However, the PM also called on the majority Chinese Singaporeans to be understanding and accommodating of the concerns and difficulties faced by ethnic minorities here.
This is especially when they have issues in renting homes and looking for jobs.
Chinese Singaporeans might be unaware of the miniorities’ feelings due to the decades of peace we’ve experienced, leading to them taking racial harmony for granted, he added,
Some Chinese Singaporeans may be unaware of how our ethnic minorities feel… While the different communities have become closer, racial emotions still exist.
If these are left unaddressed, personal preferences will gradually deepen societal divides.
Mr Lee also acknowledged that the recent spate of race-related incidents had prompted debates.
But he also said the incidents can be blown out of proportion due to social media.
This is something that’s different compared with how it was like in the past.
When these incidents are played up, emotions can be stirred and race relations may be affected.
Thankfully, most Singaporeans of all races understand how important racial harmony is, and have rejected racial discrimination, the PM said.
He called on Singaporeans to uphold the principle of racial equality, adding,
I hope Singaporeans of all races can continue to work for the greater good in the spirit of mutual compromise. Only then can we achieve lasting harmony and unity as a country and society.
Watch all PM Lee’s NDR speeches here:
As Singapore’s a multiracial society, it’s important to address race-related issues head on.
Thus, kudos to PM Lee for talking about it during this year’s NDR.
Now that he’s said that everyone is treated equally, we hope ordinary Singaporeans will take this to heart and treat all our fellow citizens the same way.
Do you agree that there’s no Chinese privilege in Singapore? Do share your thoughts with us.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from YouTube.
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