What concerns the Indian community in Singapore - The Narpani dialogue
(from Newzzit; the original story is here http://newzzit.com/stories/what-concerns-the-indian-community-in-singapore-the-narpani-dialogue)
Quick Summary
General concerns such as high immigration, healthcare affordability and PSLE were mentioned.
Specific concerns such as job discrimination, housing issues due to HDB's ethnic quota policy and educational under-performance were also brought-up.
Theminister for environment and water resources Vivian Balakrishnan andPeople's Action Party (PAP) MPs Hri Kumar Nair, Vikram Nair and JanilPuthucheary, recently attended a dialogue with about 300 grass-rootleaders and residents organised by NarpaniPearavai,or “Good ActivityCouncil”, which is an umbrella organisation of People's Association94 IndianActivity Executive Committees spread all over Singapore.
Vikram Nair, who represents Sembawanggroup representation constituency in Parliament, explained the issuesconcerning the Indian community in Singapore.
“TheIndian community like any other race in Singapore is also concernedabout high immigration which may lead to job losses for Singaporeans,affordability of healthcare, and increasing competition in theprimary education. The government has already acknowledged theseconcerns, which is why the PM in his National Day Rally speechproposed various strategic shifts in policies,” Nair said.
Regardingissues specific to the Indian community, he added, “Iwouldn't say that the issue of employment discrimination is aprevailing perception in the Indian community across the board. Butwe keep hearing few cases here and there. The ministry of manpower(MOM) takes a strong view on such cases and acts immediately.”
“Forhousing, I can say only about my constituency, where because of theethnic quota, it has become harder for the Indian community to buy aHDB flat. We have few such appeal cases as well. Educationalunder-performance has always been a issue for the community but I amheartened to note that self-help groups like SINDA are doing awonderful job on this front.”
Thoughrepeated attempts to contact the minister Vivian Balakrishnan wereunsuccessful, earlier media reports notedhis comments that “employment discrimination is a key concernraised by Indian community leaders” during the dialogue.
Eventhe recent survey findings by Instituteof Policy Studies and OnePeople.sg have highlighted such concerns.[Pleaseread Newzzit's story under the section The Fourth Estate for detailedsurvey findings]
NarpaniPearavai, whencontacted declined to comment on the matter as “the informationrequested do not come under their purview”, it said. Hri Kumar Nairand Janil Puthucheary were also not available for comments. On theconcerns expressed relating to employment discrimination, the MOM wasapproached, which declined to comment.
Note:We will publish the ministries' replies as and when we receive them.
UN Special Rapporteur to Singaporeon contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobiaand related intolerance, 2010
The UN Special Rapporteur on racism,Githu Muigai, visited Singapore on Government's invitation betweenApril 21-28, 2010, to gather “first-hand information on the mainissues facing people living in Singapore in relation to racism,racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.”
Aftereight days, and a series of meetings and discussions withSingaporeans from all walks of life, Muigai said,“The authorities have continuously and actively promoted socialcohesion, religious tolerance and what they refer to as racialharmony, through a number of commendable policies and measuresemphasizing tolerance, understanding and respect among the diverseethnic and religious groups living in Singapore.”
“Whilethere may be no institutionalised racial discrimination in Singapore,several policies have further marginalized certain ethnic groups,”he added, “this is a situation that must be acknowledged and actedupon in order to safeguard the stability, sustainability andprosperity of Singapore”.
Acknowledging the peacefulcoexistence of diverse communities in Singapore as a remarkableachievement, Muigai raised various concerns relating to some “blindspots” in the policies and measures pursued by the Government inits quest for racial harmony. These include “restrictions on publicdebate and discourse on the issue of ethnicity, and the importance ofethnic identity in daily life, housing, education and employment”.
Theministry of foreign affairs (MFA), on its part, issued a pressstatement and clarifiedsome issues raised by the UN expert.
Regardingrestrictions on discussion of sensitive issues, the MFA said, “Here,wemust emphatically disagree with Mr Muigai. Race, language andreligion will always be sensitive issues in Singapore. This does notmean that they cannot be discussed, but a balance must always bestruck between free expression and preservation of racial andreligious harmony. This balance is only for the Singapore governmentto determine because only the Singapore government bears theresponsibility should things go wrong. The UN bears no suchresponsibility and we see no reason to take risks for the sake of anabstract principle. We believe most Singaporeans agree with thegovernment's approach.”