About Racial Harmony
 |
| Racial Harmony Forum 2007 - Miel's Comics |
All of us are living on the same planet but in individual countries, influenced by particular cultures and heritages.
Therefore, it is inevitable to have some conflicts and discords going on among countries due to many reasons, especially when it comes to a multiracial nation such as Singapore.
In the Singapore society, various races live and work together.
Each race speak a different language or may be using a common language, having their own unique traditions and cultures.
What is racial harmony after all?
It is when people of different races with the same nationalities come together to work and live harmoniously as one big family in a nation.
Any insensitive or unthoughtful decisions made by governments or an authorities will trigger a big load of racial issues such as racial riot, strikes, and even lawsuits, etc.
Hence, everyone should have been very clear of their counterpart" cultures and practices so as to avoid any unnecessary mistakes, whether it be a casual speech or in daily behaviour.
To ensure the peace and harmony of a multiracial society, we need to look before we leap whenever necessary.
Multiracial Culture in Singapore
Languages
Many Singaporeans, though not all, are bilingual. Most speak English and another language, most commonly Mandarin Chinese, Malay or Tamil.
English is the first language of Singapore. The standard form of English spoken in Singapore is Singapore Standard English, which uses British spellings and grammar. However, there is also a local dialect of English, Singlish, that is unique to Singapore.
Singapore is a multi-lingual nation and Singaporeans speak different languages as their first language. In 2005, 36% of Singaporeans speak Mandarin at home. 30% speak English at home and 13% speak Malay while 3% speak Tamil at home. Singaporeans who do not speak English as their home language normally speak it as their second language.
As part of the multi-cultural ethos of the nation, one language was also chosen to represent each of the four major ethnic or 'racial' groups. The 'national' language of Singapore is Bahasa Melayu. This is in recognition of the Malay people as the indigenous community in Singapore. 85% of Singaporeans do not speak Malay. Malay is used in the national anthem, national motto and military parade drill commands. Tamil is an official language as a majority of South Asians in Singapore are ethnic Tamils from India and Sri Lanka. While most Chinese Singaporeans are descendants of southern Chinese migrants who spoke a variety of regional languages, it is the northern Chinese language of Mandarin that is official in Singapore.
Language most frequently spoken at home (%) | |||
| Language | 1990 | 2000 | 2005 |
English | 18.8 | 23.0 | 29.4 |
Mandarin Chinese | 23.7 | 35.0 | 36.0 |
Other Chinese Languages | 39.6 | 23.8 | 18.2 |
Malay | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.2 |
Tamil | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.1 |
Religion
Singapore is a multi-religious country, the roots of which can be traced to its strategic location; after its declaration as a port, a wide variety of nationalities and ethnicities from places as far as Arabia immigrated to Singapore. More than 40% of the Singaporeans adhere to Buddhism, the main faith of the Chinese population of Singapore. Other Chinese are followers of Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity. Christians constitute about 14% of the population of Singapore. Most Malays are Muslims, who constitute about 15% of the population, while most Indians are Hindus, constituting 7%. There are also a sizable number of Muslims and Sikhs in the Indian population. As a result of this diversity, there are a large number of religious buildings including Hindu temples, churches and mosques, some of which have great historical significance. There are also some Sikh temples and Jewish synagogues. These interesting buildings often became prominent architectural landmarks in cosmopolitan Singapore. In addition, about 14% of Singaporeans do not belong to any religion and consider themselves as free-thinkers.
Attitudes and beliefs
Meritocracy
Meritocracy is a cornerstone of Singaporean society. People are rewarded based on their personal achievements, with no regard to their ethnicity or background. People of all races have equal opportunities to learn, achieve and excel.
This has indirectly led to a culture of striving for excellence and improvements.
Social and Religious harmony
Respect for different religions is heavily emphasized in Singapore. Social and religious harmony is treated very seriously by Singaporeans. It is common to see Christian churches next to Muslim Mosques.
Singapore is a secular republic. The main religions in Singapore are Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism
Festivals
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called "Lunar New Year", because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as chú xī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve".
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.
People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile; forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wishes peace and happiness for everyone.
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break fast"; and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated after the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the first day of Shawwal.
Eid ul-Fitr lasts for three days of celebration (or more, depending on the country) and is sometimes also known as the "Smaller Eid" (Arabic: العيد الصغير al-‘īdu ṣ-ṣaghīr) as compared to the Eid al-Adha that lasts three days (or more) following the Hajj and is casually referred to as the "Greater Eid" (Arabic: العيد الكبير al-‘īdu l-kabīr).
Muslims are commanded by the Qur'an to complete their fast on the last day of Ramadan and then recite the Takbir all throughout the period of Eid.
Diwali
Diwali (also spelt Divali in other countries) or Dīpāvali (Tamil: தீபாவளி, Gujarati: દિવાળી, Hindi: दिवाली, Kannada: ದೀಪಾವಳಿ, Konkani: धाकली दिवाळी, Malayalam: ദീപാവലി, Marathi: दिवाळी, Nepali: दिपावली, Oriya: ଦୀପାବଳୀ, Sanskrit: दीपावली, Telugu: దీపావళి, Urdu: دیوالی), also popularly known as the Festival of Lights, is an important 5-day festival in Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. Diwali is an official holiday in India [1], Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Fiji.
The name Diwali is itself a contraction of the word Dīpāvali दीपावली (Dīpāvali), which translates into row of lamps (din Sanskrit). Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (divas) (or Deep in Sanskrit: दीप) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. During Diwali celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with others. Some Indian business communities begin the financial year on the first day of Diwali wishing for good luck the following year.
In Hinduism, Diwali marks the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating (the demon king) Ravana, the ruler of Lanka in the epic Ramayana. It also celebrates the slaying of the demon king Narakasura by Lord Krishna. Both signify the victory of good over evil. In Jainism ,Diwali marks the attainment of moksha by Mahavira in 527 BC. In Sikhism, Diwali commemorates the return of Guru Har Gobind Ji to Amritsar after freeing 52 Hindu kings imprisoned in Fort Gwali or by Emperor Jahangir; the people lit candles and divas to celebrate his return, which is why Sikhs also refer to Diwali as Bandi Chhorh Divas, "the day of release of detainees".
Christmas
Christmas is a holiday observed mostly on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. The date is not known to be the actual birth date of Jesus, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived, the date of the winter solstice on the ancient Roman calendar, or one of various ancient winter festivals. Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.
Although nominally a Christian holiday, Christmas is also widely celebrated by many non-Christians, and many of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) is a popular folklore figure in many countries, associated with the bringing of gifts for children.
Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
Ethnic areas
Singapore has several distinct ethnic neighbourhoods, including Little India, Chinatown and Kampong Glam.
Little India is known and patronized by all races within the population for its thalis-- South Indian "buffets" that are vegetarian and served on the traditional banana leaves. These neighbourhoods are accessible by public transport, especially by Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).
Chinatown
Singapore's Chinatown is an ethnic neighbourhood featuring distinctly Chinese cultural elements and a historically concentrated ethnic Chinese population. Chinatown is located within the larger district of Outram.
A Look into the Past
The 1964 Race Riots
The 1964 Race Riots were a series of riots that took place in Singapore during two separate periods in July and September between Chinese and Malay groups. The first incident occurred on 21 July during a Malay procession that marked Prophet Muhammad's birthday. In total, the violence killed 36 people and injured another 556. About 3,000 people were arrested. The riots are also known as the Prophet Muhammad Birthday Riots, 1964 Racial Riots, and 1964 Sino-Malay Riots. At that time, Singapore was a state in the Federation of Malaysia.
July Riots
On 21 July 1964, about 25,000 Malays gathered at Padang to celebrate the Muslim prophet Muhammad's birthday. After the speeches, the procession went on to Geylang. Along the way, a policeman asked a group that was dispersed to rejoin the main procession. Instead of obeying the orders, the group attacked the policeman. This incident led to a race riot after the group of Malays attacked ethnic Chinese-Malay passers-by and spectators. The riots were reported to have started at about 5:00 p.m. between Kallang and Geylang Serai. The government declared a curfew at 9.30 p.m. to restore order, but in the first day of rioting, four people were killed and 178 injured.
After the curfew was lifted at 6 a.m. the next morning, the conflict grew even tenser, and another curfew was imposed – it was only lifted for short periods to allow people to buy food. The curfew was not completely lifted until 2 August, 11 days after the start of the riots.
After the riots, goodwill committees were set up made up of community leaders from the various racial groups. The main job of these leaders was to help restore peace and harmony between the Malays and ethnic Chinese by addressing the concerns of the residents. About 23 people were killed and 450 people were injured during the July riots. There was significant damage to property and vehicles.
The government arrested about 3,000 people, including 600 secret society members and 256 people charged with possession of dangerous weapons. The rest were arrested for violating the curfew.
September riots
A second race riot occurred just a month after the first on 3 September. This time, a Malay trishaw-rider was found murdered in the Geylang Serai neighbourhood. His attackers were believed to be a group of ethnic Chinese. The race riot ensued in the neighbourhoods of Geylang, Joo Chiat and Siglap, and the government again imposed a curfew. In this incident, 13 people were killed and 106 people were injured. With the presence of troops and imposition of curfews, these tensions eventually eased after a few days. Nearly 500 people were arrested.
Both Malaysia and Singapore have attributed the September riots to Indonesian provocateurs.
It was the Konfrontasi period and 30 Indonesian paratroopers had landed in Labis, Johor on 2 September.
Impacts of Racial Conflict
The impacts brought about by the racial issues are tremendous.
Strikes, demonstration, fights are likely to happen. Thus the government would lose its facilities, citizen. The economy will be pulled down too.
Foreign investors, in fear of racial issues, do not want to come to the country.
The rate of unemployments will thus rise, leading to social disorders.
Some people may engage themselves in crimes and illegal deals.
The whole nation's structure will tend to collapse.
When the racial issue could not be resolved peacefully, other country may get involved to help or even try to invade, when it does happen, the racial issues will trigger a global conflict.
Hence, we have to bear in mind the importance of racial harmony.
Why is Racial Harmony Day Celebrated?
Racial Harmony Day is celebrated annually on 21 July in Singapore.
The event is to commemorate the 1964 Race Riots, which took place on 21 July 1964.
As part of National Education, schools commemorate Racial Harmony Day on 21 July every year to mark the anniversary of the 1964 racial riots.
Racial Harmony Day also represents a day for schools to reflect on, and celebrate Singapore's success as a racially harmonious nation and society built on a rich diversity of culture and heritage.
In schools all across the nation on that day, students are encouraged to be dressed in their traditional costumes such as the Cheongsam and the Baju Kurung.
Traditional delicacies are also featured in the celebrations.
Traditional games such as Kutih-kutih and zero point are played in schools, where inter-class competitions are sometimes organised.
Since its inception, this commemorative event has helped to promote inter-racial understanding among our students.
The theme for this year's RHD is “Embracing Diversity, Building Community”. It reminds us of the different races, cultures and languages in Singapore, especially with the transformation of Singaporean society over the years. The RHD celebrations are a reminder that promoting social cohesion and racial harmony requires constant effort from our educators, students and stakeholders, such as parents.
The MOE Racial Harmony Logo
The MOE Racial Harmony logo is in the shape of a heart, representing both the brotherhood of Singaporeans and the deep emotional, visercal bond that we all share.
Red is also the colour of passion and energy, representing how we as a country are moving forward and boldly embracing our challenges and future.
This heart is also made up of four people, all joined together in a joyous embrace in a collective dance as they live in harmony.
Where they have joined hands, there is a wonderful coming together of energy and efforts, and the yellow represents a bright light shining forth that illuminates our way and progress forward into the future.
Achieving Racial Harmony
Government plays an important role in resolving the conflicts.
Only if a government is active in fostering racial harmony will, racial conflicts can be prevented and abolished.
In a multiracial nation, people of different races are distinguished by their own culture, practices, ethnicity, religion, languages and etc.
Those differences make the task of fostering racial harmony more difficult for the government.
The government should be very effective in carrying out their education campaigns to instil their people of different races with a sense of belonging to the multiracial society they are in, and take the people of different races as their fellow citizen and live and work together just like the way they usually do with their family members.
Discrimination, prejudices, insult or offence are strictly not allowed.
So government have a big problem in bringing their citizen of different races to cooperate and live together as one.
When the worse comes to the worst, a conflict will just break out.
People might be put on a curfew, which is a restriction on people’s activities.
A lot of people will be killed or injured.
A nation will be undergoing an emergency of the state.
A nation would suffer severely when it fails to make their citizens loyal to government and be united to the nation and the racial harmony will never be achieved.
The Singapore government is quite successful in the implementations of measures to keep peace and racial harmony.
These are some of the measures taken:
1 To solve the difference in languages, the government introduce English as its official language, other languages such as Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Urdu....are chosen to be learnt as
additional mother tongue subjects.
2 To ensure the racial harmony in Singapore, "RACIAL HARMONY DAY", an event to celebrate the harmony among different races, was introduced.
On the celebration, people of different race try to interact and dress in other race's costumes . By doing this, we are able to understand one another better.
3 Freedoms in speech and choice of religions are one of the approaches of the government. People are allowed to choose their religions, so there will only be satisfactions and praises for the acts.
4 All every citizen was given the equal rights in every aspects, citizens appreciate the mutual respects by other races as well as the fair laws set by the government.
Our Opinion
As everyone knows, racial issues are one of the main concerns nowadays.
All the authorities had left no stone unturned to eradicate the racial problems.
However, there are still some extreme racists or someone who make mistakes in their behaviours accidentally or deliberately will trigger the inevitable occurrences of riots among different races.
Therefore, we should be responsible for our own behaviours and become more aware of each other' taboos and special habits.
If we live in a multiracial society, we have to be alerted and able to spare thoughts for people of different races.
Yet, few people had really obeyed this idea. Most people tend to be hostile or less friendly to the races which they considered to be inferior.
When racial riot takes place, many people will likely be vulnerable to the riots.
There would certainly be a chain effect in which a series of mishaps happen.
All these will result in economic downturn, social chaos, loss of public facilities, even loss of lives .It is very significant to safeguard the multiracial coherence, if not appropriately tackled with, other countries may involve and this will lead to war if the worst comes to worst. So racial harmony is a priority after all.
People of different races could also been distinguished by their languages, religions and cultures.
A multiracial nation is characterized by people of different races migrating to other place to form one new society.
For example, people in Singapore learn and appreciate one another’s cultures and traditions.
Hence they could live in harmony.
On the other hand, if the people of different races were not willing to live harmoniously, a conflict or even a civil fight will be picked up.
History has taught us that most of the wars -past and present, were and are fought due to racial indifference. Only a tolerant, progressive and appreciative society can bring harmony to a country and not religion, which is the main cause of most wars-yesterday, today and tomorrow.
http://library.thinkquest.org
No comments:
Post a Comment