Chapter 6: What are the Experiences and effects of living in a diverse society?

Question 1

Why are interactions in a diverse society important?

Answer 1

1. Essential to ensure harmonious interactions
2. There must be willingness to live together and build harmony as a society
3. While disagreements will happen, interactions need to remain meaningful in order to strengthen harmony in society
4. Immigration leads to diverse society, leading to more opportunities for cultural exchanges between residents and non-residents, enriching learning and understanding of one another
   Eg: Common space, advocated by former PM Goh Chok Tong. Suggests that our country should endeavour to create an overlapping sphere among people of different racial groups to promote more social interaction, collaboration and a stronger national identity. Common space refers to physical space, shared values and common experiences that build our national identity. Governments and NGOs create and provide common space to bring people together. Provides opportunities for people of different nationalities. Examples of common space include social, cultural and sports events. (Inter-racial and Religious confidence Circles, which promote racial and religious harmony./People’s Association that promotes racial harmony and social cohesion to act as a bridge between the government and the people)

Question 2

Explain the importance of attitude in a diverse society (Explain why it is essential)

Answer 2

1. Attitude towards interaction is important
2. Attitude of openness allows people to respect and appreciate diversity which facilitates meaningful exchanges to ensure rich exchanges between groups of people, allowing for deeper appreciation and understanding.
3. Openness can be shown in different forms such as being open to the idea of trying out different varieties of food

Question 2

Explain the importance of exchange

Answer 2

1. Creates distinct experiences of diversity in nationality, race and ethnicity, religion and socio-economic status
2. Provides opportunities to learn and interact with others and can thus result in fusion between local cultures and foreign ideas
   Eg: Chef Willin Low specialises in fusion food between Singaporean and modern European dining. He has won awards from the New York Times and Financial Times/Priscilla Shunmugam and Hayden Ng are two fashion designers in SH who have created wear inspired. by rich cross-cultural influences.

Question 3

Explain the importance of exchanging skills and knowledge (Between foreigners)

Answer 3

1. Areas of research and development with overseas experts
2. Foreign scientists can share their knowledge and expertise to help strengthen research competences and collaborations with Singaporeans.
   Eg: Biomedical Research council of the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research funds and supports public research initiatives in SG./Foreign scientists come to Singapore and provide leadership to local research institutes and mentor young local students.

Question 4

How do misconceptions negatively affect a society?

Answer 4

1. Misconceptions happen when we interact with people from different backgrounds
2. Especially so where differences in cultural background can lead to differing and conflicting views on values, beliefs and customs.
3. Negative sentiments can arise when people jump to conclusions and make incorrect judgements due to insufficient understanding and erroneous assumptions
4. Stereotypes are beliefs held by one social group about another social group

Question 5

How does prejudice negatively affect a society?

Answer 5

1. Negative stereotypes are negative conclusions about people, and can lead to discrimination against victims, who end up being hurt or excluded from interactions in a society
2. Can arise from misconceptions linked to nationality, race and ethnicity
3. Can take the form of hurtful remarks made
4. Dangerous and can create an environment where discrimination can happen more often
   Eg: In America after the 9/11 attacks, Arabs and Muslim-Americans became the victim of hate crimes and many were stopped by public officers for questioning because of their appearance./In February 2012, a university student from China referred to Singaporeans as “dogs”. This led to much debate on social media about prejudices of various nationalities.

Question 6

Explain the challenges in competing for resources

Answer 6

1. Increase in the number of foreigners have created tensions and these tensions have caused prejudice and discrimination
2. One of these sources of tensions is due to the competition of resources
3. Resources could be in the form of opportunities/availability of infrastructure.

Question 6

Explain the concerns over standard of living (employment)

Answer 6

1. Increasing number of foreigners lead to the fear that foreigners are taking jobs away
2. Foreigners who come to SG on a valid employment pass and S pass are eligible to work here based on their relevant qualifications and a specific salary criterion
3. Foreigners can also be employed as lower-skilled foreign workers that Singaporeans prefer not to work in
4. Some believe employers would rather hire foreign works than to Pau more local workers because of the lower pay earned
5. Although Singapore’s unemployment rate of residents was at 2.6% as of 2015, many still continue to express their frustration and resentment over immigration and its impact on jobs.
6. this the government tightened immigration framework and put in place more stringent foreign workforce controls to reduce the inflow of foreign manpower into Singapore.
   Eg: The quotas for S pass and employment pAss Golders have been reduced/ Monthly levy for Work Permit holders have been increasing since 2010.

Question 7

Explain concerns over living space and infrastructure

Answer 7

• Increasingly congested public transport system, competition over healthcare resources as well as availability of Public housing
• Thus, rail network to expand by about 100KM to a total length of 280km by 2021, more public housing and healthcare facilities will be built

Question 8

Why Singapore needs foreign manpower

Answer 8

1. Needs high-skilled foreign manpower to add value to the economy (knowledge-based economy)
2. Bring in skills, knowledge and expertise to the fields of technology, academia
3. The other group who add value are the foreign entrepreneurs who set up firms here
4. Lower-skilled foreign manpower keep wages at bottom tiers low and higher-skilled foreign manpower raise the income of top-tier income earners

Question 9

Explain the concerns of social mobility

Answer 9

1. “Social mobility” refers to the movement of individuals between different socio-economic status, from hight o low or vice versa
2. Improvement in income level is usually seen as a sign of social mobility
3. However, income gaps between the lower and higher income groups have increased over the years, and Singaporeans feel that social mobility is being limited
4. Loss of jobs also affect the ability to progress up the socio-economic ladder (especially for the lower income groups)
   Solution 1: Government emphasises re-training and the learning of new skills to enable Singaporeans of a lower income group to stay relevant to economic demands to improve their social mobility
   Solution 2: Upholding the principle of meritocracy, allow people to achieve their best, equal opportunities regardless of race, language, financial circumstance. No denial of opportunities