Living in A Diverse

Society:
Is Harmony
Achievable?
Overview of Chapter 7
7.1: Managing socio-cultural diversity
▪ Assimilation (France) [Lesson 1]
▪ Integration (Singapore) [Lesson 2]

7.2: Managing socio-economic diversity

▪ Healthcare approaches of Singapore, Sweden, USA
[Lesson 3]
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Recap
Let’s recapitulate what you have learned so far
for Chapter 7.
Recap of Lesson 1
In the previous lesson, you learned
about one method of integrating
new immigrants into a society,
known as assimilation.
Assimilation policies expect new
immigrants to adopt the culture of
their new country.

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Recap of Lesson 1
You learned about how France practices its approach to
assimilation, known as Laicite. Laicite expects all French
citizens to put their national identity before all else, including
religion. This has produced tensions in French society between
those who support Laicite, and those who do not. Those who
support it tend to argue that immigrants should conform if
they choose to migrate to France; those who do not support it
tend to argue that it discriminates religious identities.
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Today, you will learn about another approach to
integrating new immigrants, known as
Integration. This is Singapore’s approach.
Integration
What is integration?
▪ Immigrants retain their unique identities

▪ At the same time, immigrants forge

common ground with groups already
living in the host country. In Singapore,
this common ground is based on shared
values such as upholding law and order,
respecting racial and religious harmony,
and a commitment to work together for a
better future.
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Integration - Case study of Singapore
This video, which talks
about what it means to be a
Singaporean, reflects the
common shared values that
bond citizens together, such
as respect for
multiculturalism.
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Integration - Case study of Singapore
So how does Singapore help new immigrants integrate into the
country?
▪ Education
▫ Bilingualism policy in schools -
learning of English and one official
Mother Tongue language.
▫ The compulsory learning of English
has given different ethnic groups a
common language to communicate
with one another, promoting
integration 9
Integration - Case study of Singapore
▪ Housing
▫ Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP)
▫ The EIP ensures a balanced
ethnic mix in HDB estates to
provide people of different
ethnicities with opportunities
to interact, thus promoting
social cohesion and a respect
for multiculturalism
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Integration - Case study of Singapore
▪ In addition, there are policies to ensure that minorities are not
discriminated against, such as:
▫ Presidential Council of Minority Rights (PCMR)
▫ Ensures that laws are not discriminatory against any racial
or religious community.
▫ Group Representation Constituency (GRC)
▫ Ensures that minority racial groups are represented in
Singapore’s parliament to ensure their concerns and
needs are represented.
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The GRC system is
the reason why in
the posters you see
during election
always has a
mixture of
different races, as
it ensures that
minority racial
groups are
represented
regardless of which
political party
comes to power!

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 Integration - Case study of Singapore
▪ Lastly, just like any country, new citizens have to
undergo a Naturalization process:
▫ Singapore Citizenship Journey
▫ A compulsory induction programme for
new citizens that aims to enrich their
understanding of Singapore's history,
culture and values, and provides them
with opportunities for interactions with
the local community
▫ Common experiences, such as National
Service, to help forge a bond with fellow
Singaporeans
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 How successful is Singapore’s
Integration policy in integrating
new immigrants?

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Source A: A video about a family who migrated
to Singapore from Tanzania.

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 Source B: A view of an immigrant from China.
Jin Zhuoyan came to Singapore from China 11 years ago
to study, and appreciates how welcoming her
Singaporean schoolmates were and the effort they put
in to help her settle into Singapore.

“In secondary school I was assigned a local guardian. I

was invited to visit her family for Chinese New Year. On
Racial Harmony Day, the whole class dressed up in Indian
sarongs,” she says.

When asked about her favourite thing in Singapore,

Zhuoyan, who is now a Singapore Permanent Resident,
says: “The international and open environment in
Singapore. (Also the fact that) at the same time I can still Jin Zhuoyan (fourth from right) at a gathering with her
keep in touch with my Chinese heritage.” Singaporean friends.
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 Source C: A view of an immigrant from India.
I don’t know if I am touching a raw nerve but I wonder whether the divide is actually more
financial. I found that the Indian expat community consisted of people who were coming in
and living in a certain part of town, going to a certain school, and entertaining themselves
in a certain part of town. They were not mingling with the people who are living in the
heartlands, which tended to be the local Singaporean Indian community. So was it because
of lack of integration because of a connection between them or was it just that the
financial division kept them at different ends of the island?

I live in Lorong Chuan and some of these friends of mine, when I invite them and I tell them
where I live, they don’t know where I live. A lot of these people don’t know anything north
of Newton Circus. I don’t say this with pride, but these are my friends: they live in River
Valley Road, work in the CBD, their kids go to some international school and they
entertain at Clarke Quay and they are members of Tanglin Club and that’s it. Their lives
revolve around that part of the island. 17
 Source D: Findings from a survey conducted by
the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in
2018.
A significant 87 percent of those surveyed said they agree that
there is “a lot to learn” from the culture of immigrants. Ninety
percent of respondents agreed that it’s good for people from
various countries to stay in one neighborhood, while 72 percent
said that they enjoy interacting and meeting with new immigrants.
However, 67 percent said they believe immigrants are not doing
enough in order to integrate into the country.
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Conclusion of Chapter 7.1

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