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Beyond punishment: Singapore’s proposed racial harmony law a forward-looking approach
The Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill provides a more holistic approach to promoting responsible speech on race with pathways to reconciliation.
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Amid such pluralism, racial harmony is not preordained, says the writer.
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Our history and nation-building experience demonstrate that thoughtful and deliberate policies, and even-handed treatment of racial issues, are essential. Muscular and nuanced laws are also required.
Singapore’s approach to multiracialism has been described by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam as a “very intrusive model of integration” incorporating shared experiences and common spaces such as the national school system and public housing. He noted that Singaporeans want “to retain their sense of identity, their faith, a sense of their own culture”, even as they are “part of a common fabric of Singapore society”.
