Singapore’s youth should care about racial harmony
As a young person growing up in Singapore, it is easy to take our multi-racialism for granted. We have policies in place to ensure a mix of all races in schools and public housing.
Unlike in the 1960s when racial harmony was linked to security and safety issues, our concerns today are centred on building deeper acceptance and personal friendships across different races.
In my work as a community volunteer, I have personally benefited from and witnessed how we can be stronger as a whole when we embrace people from other races.
This is especially so when organising events for the community where we need to draw on the perspectives and experiences of people from different races.
As I reflect on recent incidents such as the debate on the reserved presidential election for Malay candidates, threats of terrorism and racial slurs online, I am reminded again on how race is a sensitive issue and a potential fault line that could divide us as a nation.
The world today is characterised by heterogeneity and those who thrive have the ability to build working relationships with people from different communities.
We need to understand that differences are not deficits, but that they make us complementary parts of a larger world.
We can also learn a lot from Hawaii about getting along as a society. There are at least seven races in a population of just over 1.4 million people living on the island. The people respect each other but more importantly, appreciate the differences that make them unique.
Similarly, we could also draw lessons from our environment. Think of our community as an evolving biodiverse habitat, where the success of each species, each with different roles and strengths, helps create a strong and resilient ecosystem for every species to thrive.
As we mark Racial Harmony Day on July 21, I am reminded of Singapore’s strength in diversity and how we should continue to care for one another as an inclusive society and should never let history in the form of the 1964 racial riot repeat itself.
