Multilingualism and Culture

QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION – The State intervention of a carefully engineered tripartite approach should be introduced to encouraging integration and cultural pluralism in Singapore.

I agree with the statement above as Singapore is a multi racial country. We have people of different backgrounds living together and therefore it is important to have integration and cultural pluralism in our country so that we can understand each other and live harmoniously together.

As mentioned, singapore is a multi racial society where we have people from all walks of life living together. There are people of different races and culture living around each other and misunderstandings could be caused easily if they do not have the rapport. This is where a tripartite approach, referring to the Government, the community and the private sector, would come in place.

The government has to be the one that takes the initiative to promote integration and cultural pluralism as they are our leaders. Without the government’s actions, most people would stick to their own race and cause social segregation which would lead to no cultural pluralism. Therefore Government has to take the extra steps to campaign for cultural pluralism actively so as to ensure that everyone of all kinds of race are treated fairly and to make everyone feel wanted. Singapore’s government has done many things to encourage culture integration. The public housing policy applies that the flat owners have to be of different races so that not all people of the same race would live in one estate. This encourages the people to communicate and live with their neighbours of different races with different cultural backgrounds. Singapore also celebrates Racial Harmony Day to commeorate the 1964 Race Riots and to celebrate Singapore’s success as a racially harmonious nation and society built on a rich diversity of culture and heritage.

The community sector refers to the public where individuals play their own part in maintaining racial harmony. There is an appreciation for the different cultures in Singapore as we celebrate different types of festivals for every race. A cultural understanding is developed individually when neighbours of different cultures sees the other one celebrating their festival. Neighbourhood community centers also host celebrations for different festivals where all residents are encouraged to participate. At the event, they are given the chance to learn more about other cultures and have fun at the same time. Activities such as yoga, knitting, cooking lessons or even foreign language classes are held and people can take this opportunity to make new friends from other races. Being mutually tolerant and respectful to each other’s race and culture is also a way on how to maintain multi-racial harmony.

The private sector also plays an important role in cultural pluralism and integration as there is an increasing number of foreign companies setting up offices and headquarters in our country. Therefore there is an influx of foreign talent and The companies should encourage more social bonding and also assign people of different backgrounds to work together so as to not create friction between the local and foreign employees. It is important for the private sector to encourage integration so that we can all learn from each other and make Singapore a better place to live in.

In summary, the tripartite approach should be introduced so as to encourage integration and cultural pluralism in our society. It does not matter whether we are of different cultures because we are all Singaporeans. The tripartite approach would integrate us into one and ensure harmony in our country.