Social Studies
IPW Project
Task A
Question 3
What were the measures taken to foster social cohesion ( unity among people ) in multi-ethnic Singapore?
Singapore as we know is a peaceful nation bursting of possibilities and prosperity.The social cohesion in Singapore consist of racial harmony and equality among others. There are over hundreds of races , cultures and religions for each and everyone to respect in Singapore. Within each system lies an array of many problems or difficult situations .So, how does Singapore manage this peace ? What were the measures taken to hold this bond within each Singaporean and at the same time strengthening it ? There are absolutely multiple ways to counter these so called 'problems'. Let's take a look at a few examples them shall we?
Some of these measures could have a very big impact on the social cohesion whereas some of them are of a small scale. Examples of 'big impact' measures would be a member of the parliament speaking of its importance and advantages, celebrating a Diversity Parade ( where it represents the social fabric of Singapore)and having the right leaders . While examples of a measure in a small scale would probably be the wide variety of food from all cultures available throughout the country ,community projects for people living in that community and having newspapers in different languages.
I would be talking about 3 of these measures and their significance to the social cohesion . The first measure I would like to talk about is the past numbers of talks by people of importance on the social cohesion of Singaporeans.These people, during these talks , would mostly focus on the cruciality of the strength of this cohesion and the benefits it would be bring by empowering it.
Since most Singaporeans watches the news , it would be broadcast throughout Singapore sending everyone that message.The reality is that some people might buy it , or some might not . However the important thing is that the seed has been planted .Meaning people would at least start to make an effort to be more gracious , courteous and kinder in public.
The second measure i would like to talk about is the variety of foods from different cultures ( namely the Chinese , Malay , Indian , Western , Japanese , Korean etcetera.. ).If for example , Chinese food were only available at Chinatown , wouldn't all the Chinese head over there and live there? Food stalls are dispersed so that everyone could enjoy a variety of food at their local coffee shop / kopitiam and that we can accept other cultures because of food.
The third measure is having newspapers in different languages . If there was only English newspapers available in Singapore , people who are only good in a certain other language would not be able to understand the newspaper and cannot keep up with current affairs . Another advantage of having the newspapers printed in different languages is so that people can discuss about the current affairs within groups and can boost the social cohesion by a small bit
There are still many ways to foster social cohesion .
Darren Lee Yong ( 27) 3-10
