Racial and Religious Harmony in Singapore

There are many ways in which the Singapore government upholds racial and religious harmony. This mainly comes in the form of ensuring equality amongst the different races and providing opportunities for them to mix while celebrating their differences. To ensure equality, the Singapore government has taken on a system of meritocracy. In this system, people are rewarded based on their personal achievements, with no regard to their ethnicity or background. In such a system, people of all races have equal opportunities to learn, achieve and excel. There are also ample opportunities for the different races to mix. For example, most public schools are racially integrated. The younger generation starts interacting with members of different ethnic groups at a tender age. This will strengthen their ethnic ties in the future. Another example would be the HDB Ethnic Integration Policy implemented in 1989. The policy makes sure that there is a minimum percentage of each race living in every HDB block. This acts as a regulatory tool in preventing a worsening of the ethnic imbalance in public housing estates and promotes racial integration and cohesion. As for celebrating the differences between each culture, Racial Harmony Day is celebrated on 21 July annually to commemorate the 1964 race riots. In schools all across the nation, this is celebrated with performances and games promoting ethnic cohesion. Students are also encouraged to wear traditional costumes to school. All these efforts made by the government reflect the importance of racial and religious harmony in Singapore.

In conclusion, Singapore has achieved social security and stability despite the fact that different ethnic groups exist. However, the people cannot afford to be complacent and take this harmony for granted. They must be continually reminded of the importance of racial and religious harmony through public National Education and must also practice respect and tolerance for other ethnic cultures in their day to day activities. After all, you wouldn’t want to live in the social insecurity which comes with racial and religious discrimination in the form of race riots, would you?