Double-Barrel Problem On Ethnicity

I was compiling notes for Sociology mid-terms and happened to chance upon this article. Personally thought it was an awesome article!

By Richard Hartung

The Implications in Singapore (Part 2)

Rather than just making a choice based on family preferences, parents may actually decide that they need to take a variety of other considerations into account. And the change affects expatriates, too, since expatriates also need to register the race of their children who are born in Singapore and this decision can have a long-term effect for any children who end up staying here.

When new parents register their child’s birth at the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the first thing they’ll need to decide is which race to list first. As ICA explains it, “if the father is Indian-Chinese and the mother is Malay-German, the child’s race may be recorded as Indian-Chinese (follow father’s race), Malay-German (follow mother’s race), Indian-Malay, Indian-German, Malay-Chinese or Malay-Indian (combination of father’s and mother’s first component race).”

In the Singapore context, then, ‘race’ may in some cases refer to race, ethnicity or even nationality.

Once parents make that selection, it’s very clear how the child will be categorised. ICA says that “for relevant Government policies, such as the initial assignment to a mother-tongue language class in schools and the HDB’s Ethnic Integration Policy, the first component of a double-barrelled race will be used.”

It turns out that the decision can eventually affect the child throughout his or her life, since race is a factor in many aspects of public or social policy. And interestingly, anything other than Chinese, Malay or Indian may be categorised as “Other” for a number of the policies.

Mother tongue

One of the earliest times race will have a significant effect is when the child starts school. Students in Singapore schools must study a second language aside from English, called the Mother Tongue Language. The Ministry of Education says that “our Mother Tongue Language policy requires all students who are Singaporeans or Singapore Permanent Residents to study their respective official Mother Tongue Language: Chinese, Malay and Tamil.”

So for instance, while Mandarin may be more widely used, by the sheer fact of a majority Chinese Singaporean population, parents may consider other languages easier to learn. When selecting which race to list first, parents may then also consider whether their child should study the more prevalent language in the region or a potentially easier one where they could gain higher academic marks.

The effect on housing

Another place where race makes a difference is in housing. The Housing Development Board (HDB) has an Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) that is designed to “promote racial integration and harmony” and to “prevent the formation of racial enclaves by ensuring a balanced ethnic mix among the various ethnic communities living in public housing estates.” The policy sets maximum percentages for Chinese, Malays, Indians and Other races in each HDB block and neighborhood. Once an area reaches its quota, more sales to that race are not allowed.

Which race is listed first could then eventually affect where the children can buy an HDB flat and the price for it. As Yolanda Chin and Norman Vasu wrote in RSIS Commentaries, “for the minorities, a common grouse is that they have a depressed resale market in demographically Chinese dominant Singapore” and Chinese “may have to turn down willing Chinese buyers.” Parents may then consider housing in deciding which race to list first.

The selection could have a bearing on opportunities in the military too. When a Malay was promoted to general in 2009, The Straits Times noted that “his promotion marks a milestone in Malays' efforts to be fully accepted in the military, a controversial issue ever since it was disclosed in 1987 that the SAF adopted a cautious approach in placing them in key positions.” While policies are changing, listing “Malay” first could be seen as having an effect on promotion in the armed forces.

The choice of race could even affect whether the child becomes prime minister. Section 39 of the Constitution requires that at least one member of each Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Singapore belongs to either the Malay community or to the “Indian or other minority communities.” As far-fetched as this sounds, parents in effect could select a particular race could make it easier or harder for their child to participate in politics.

Along with schooling and housing and public service, there could well be other times when race matters, too.

It’s easy to say that considerations like housing or politics are so far in the future that they don’t matter. Yet the decision affects children from the age of seven when they enter Primary One on throughout their adult life.

Of course, the eventual effects of the new policy may not actually be seen for decades. ICA allows Singaporeans to change their race twice, once before they reach 21 and once after they turn 21.

What’s perhaps most surprising is how many effects a seemingly simple change can have when one digs just a little below the surface.