Celebrating "Harmony in diversity"

Ms Janet Ang, President of IWF Singapore Chapter                            

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

The role of diversity in the Singapore story

1.  The theme of “Harmony in Diversity” for this gathering is very apt, for in Singapore, diversity has always been a part of our history.

2. After the British established a trading post here in 1819, people from various lands came here to trade and make a living: these included traders, labourers and explorers, from across the Malay archipelago, China, India, the Middle East and Europe. There was a myriad of communities and cultures: Malay, Javanese, Bugis, Peranakan, Chinese, Indian, Arab, Armenian, English, Portuguese and many more.

3. They spoke different languages and practised different beliefs. Over time, they sank roots on this island but largely remained in their own communities. In the hopes of preventing racial conflicts, the British administrators separated and placed the ethnic Chinese in Chinatown, the Malays and Arabs in Kampong Glam, and the Indians where Little India is today. And even within Chinatown, Cantonese, Hokkiens and the Teochews from different provinces in China lived and socialised along different streets. United by kinship, these sub-communities were tied by commonality in language and often, the deities that they worshipped. Their unity was enforced in an era of resource constraints and the need to find space economically and socially in a society where the inflow of people outstripped the capacity to house them.

4. Singapore grew as a prosperous city, but not yet as a harmonious society. Then, World War II broke out, and from 1942 to 1945, Singapore came under the Japanese rule. The Japanese treated the people of Singapore differently according to their race. The Chinese and Europeans were given the most and the harshest of punishments as the Japanese believed them to be the most of a threat, while the Malays and Indians were treated better and some of them were placed into administrator roles in the government. This generated distrust between the communities.

5. The war ended, and we started on a path towards self-governance, away from the British colonial rule. But our society remained fragile. A custody battle in 1950 over a young girl born to Catholic biological parents but raised in a Muslim family turned into the Maria Hertogh riots that pitted the Malay Muslims against the Europeans and Eurasians. In 1964, a group of Chinese willfully threw rocks and bottles at a procession of Muslim Malays celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, igniting riots between the Chinese and the Malays. These riots caused great casualties and reflected the racial fault lines in the society.

6. These painful experiences taught our pioneering leaders that as an immigrant society, we could never hope to survive, let alone thrive, if we were divided against ourselves. A society where a group dominates by virtue of being the majority was not the way to go.

7. So in 1965, when Malaysia chose communal politics and race-based governance, we had to leave and make our own destiny as a multi-racial nation. As declared by our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew at the moment of our independence,

   “We are going to be a multi-racial nation in Singapore. We will set an example. This is not a Malay nation; this is not a Chinese nation; this is not an Indian nation. Everyone will have his place, equal: language, culture, religion.”

8. So, despite the deck of cards history has dealt us with, we are determined to draw harmony and unity in our diversity in race, religion and culture and not let it divide us.

Diversity can be a source of strength

9. We believe that diversity can be a source of strength.  The melting pot of cultures from talents drawn across the world creates an environment where new ideas and innovations inject vibrancy into the economy and society.

10. Our culturally diverse and cosmopolitan makeup makes Singapore an attractive location for companies to gather consumer insights to better design and deliver solutions for expansion into Asia.

11. An example is Procter & Gamble (P&G). In 2014, P&G set up a research facility in Singapore and cited our social diversity as one of the key reasons. The facility conducts research that cover their company’s entire innovation value chain, from consumer research, brand, product and packaging design to counter design, for some of their biggest brands such as Pantene for hair care, SK-II and Olay for skin care.

12. The diversity in Singapore’s food culture has also helped us expand our external economy. By leveraging a diverse culinary heritage that blends the best flavours from the East and the West, Singapore’s food manufacturers are able to attract global retailers like Sainsbury’s Supermarket and Tesco, and bring uniquely tasty Singapore food products to the world.

Expanding the common space across society

13. However, building and harnessing harmony from diversity is not easy, and there are challenges ahead of us. In Singapore, we must keep a lookout for emerging fault lines in our society – between the haves and the have-nots; between locals and foreigners; between the locally born and bred and the new citizens.

14. Outside Singapore, Brexit and the U.S. presidential election last year are two examples that illustrate widening gaps between segments of the population and an increasing nativism and nationalism. The rise of ISIS has engendered fear of Islam and Muslims in Western societies. In the online world, social media can place people in echo chambers and create closed communities. These pressures may create rifts in society and threaten social cohesion.

15. To strengthen and safeguard our social harmony, we need to build a common space that is as large and as open as possible across our society.

16. We see the importance of keeping the state secular, while allowing the space for each community to freely practise their faiths and beliefs. We consciously develop our infrastructure, policies and programmes in ways that can bring people together.

17. We design and build our childcare centres, schools and playgrounds so that our children from different family and cultural backgrounds can get to learn and play together. The Ethnic Integration Policy seeks to prevent racial enclaves and aims to enable people of all ethnicities to live as neighbours in our public housing estates. The corridors, void decks, hawker centres and wet markets are kept open and public, to maximise interaction.

18. In our electoral system, a key feature is the Group Representative Constituencies (GRCs).  A GRC is an electoral division that grouped a team of 3 to 6 Members of Parliament (MPs), with at least one of them representing a minority race. This ensures that the minority races are represented and their voices are heard in Parliament.

19. At the grassroots, we hold various activities, from large-scale celebration events to small interest groups on a daily/weekly basis that build trust between races and religions through regular interactions.

20. At my Ministry of MCCY, our institutions in arts, culture, sports and youth sectors are enhancing their spaces and programmes to bring people of different backgrounds, generations and abilities together. The National Gallery Singapore has tours that are open to both the hearing and the hearing-impaired, while the Singapore Art Museum has exhibited tactile works of art for visitors of all abilities to enjoy. Large-scale cultural events such as the PAssionArts Festival, the “Got To Move” dance festival, and the Night Festival, reach out to Singaporeans of all ages, races and faiths.

21. Our common sports facilities are accessible to all, and the Singapore National Games welcomes everyone – regardless of age, gender, and country of origin – to participate in sports and games together.

22. Through Youth Corps Singapore, we are empowering youth to lead their peers in bridging communities and serving society. Similarly, the new national movement Singapore Cares will engage and support all Singaporeans in their effort to build a more caring society that leaves no one behind.

23. There are also more ground-up efforts to expand the common space. Associations for new immigrants are helping to integrate new citizens with Singapore society. More individuals, groups and organisations are coming up with ground-up projects that seek to bring communities together and bond people over food, heritage, sports, and so on.

Women as agents of change

24. Let me now speak on the potential of women as agents of change. In our roles as a mother, wife, business owner or employee, we can be agents of change to spread the values of social cohesion and harmony.

25. We are role models to our children and we should demonstrate the values of care, kindness and civic responsibility through our daily interactions.

26. We actively serve the community by leading groups and organisations, sitting on various councils and committees and in these roles, we can make it our business to enlarge the common spaces for people from different groups to interact and connect with each other.

27. Some of us are doing outstanding work in this regard. Let me share several examples.

28. Dipa Swaminathan is a working professional with a family to take care of, like many of us. In 2014, she was driving home during a heavy downpour one day when she saw some construction workers stranded and shivering in the rain as they were not provided with any umbrellas or raincoats. Dipa stopped her car, asked the workers to hop in, and brought them to her house where she gave them some food and dry clothes.

29. That simple and spontaneous act of kindness sparked off the #itsrainingraincoats initiative. Today, that initiative has galvanised people from across society to help migrant workers. And it has gone beyond distributing raincoats to giving out phone cards and food items during Deepavali, and inspiring corporations to contribute.

30. The second story is about Fion Phua, who founded an informal volunteer group called Keeping Hope Alive. It began in 2007 with just one person – herself – but it has now grown to a community of over 50 volunteers from all walks of life.

31. Every Sunday, Fion and the volunteers will go door-to-door to help needy families and elderly living in rental flats with their daily needs. They distribute food – such as porridge which is welcomed by the elderly – clean and paint their rooms, check on their medications to ensure that they are not expired, trim their nails and cut their hair if required. The volunteers also fix cupboards, buy new mattresses, raise funds for surgery, and help the residents apply for assistance schemes if they are eligible.

32. A small step by Fiona has inspired others to step forward. One of them is a trained nurse. She in turn gathered more people with medical training and they now provide basic medical care to the residents. Several companies have also come forward to donate food and paint. Humble actions, but big impact.

33. Another example, Rebekah Lin and Cheryl Chong, two young women who started the “50 For 50” campaign for SG50 by rallying young individuals/companies to raise funds for 50 causes. Rebekah and Cheryl eventually raised a total of $4.5 million to help 58 local charities.

34. More recently, Rebekah and Cheryl initiated The Social Pantry. Here, you can shop online for your favourite snacks, beverages, stationery and household items, and beneficiaries from the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) will pick and pack your order for delivery. Through this social enterprise, the beneficiaries are employed and receive an income.

35. Yet another example, several ladies – Elaine Kim, Marilyn Lum, Tjin Lee and Mei Chee – came together to form CRIB, a social enterprise dedicated to creating opportunities for women to start a business and find employment in start-ups that allow them to work around their schedule as mothers and wives.

36. These and many more women-for-women and women-for-society examples give me great optimism that indeed, we as women can be exceptional change makers. And we are capable of bridging communities to create a better society where our commonalities far exceed our differences.

Conclusion

37. I believe the past two days have been a fruitful journey for you and I would like to thank the organising committee and volunteers, Janet, Laura of IWF (Singapore), for making this evening possible.

38. To our friends from overseas, Teresa, thank you for joining us. I hope women leaders in IWF will form a strong network so that collectively we can improve the lives and standing of women across the globe.

39. Thank you and I wish you a pleasant evening ahead.