When Lee Kuan Yew took Singapore out of the Malaysian Federation on August 9, 1965, he made English the new nation’s primary language of government and education, rather than Chinese, despite the fact that 75 percent of the population was ethnic Chinese. Ensuring that other ethnic minorities did not feel alienated, he also gave Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil official status.
After the race riots in 1964 that left 36 people dead, Lee dismantled the city’s deeply segregated colonial setup, where different ethnic groups lived in isolated enclaves, and introduced the Ethnic Integration Policy. This ensured that every building must have a mix of Chinese, Malay, and Indian residents that matches the country’s actual population.
These steps played a major role in remaking Singapore from a colonial city-state into a developed nation. For more than 50 years, the edifice Lee erected remained intact.
Given this background, the rise in racial attacks and derogatory slurs against the Indian community in the last few years look surprising, but the discontent against them has been simmering for a long time. The internet and social media have merely brought it to the fore. Suddenly, videos going viral about Indians littering beaches, misbehaving in public, or clashing with locals have circulated widely, sparking outrage and fueling stereotypes. For a country that prides itself on racial harmony, the intensity of this reaction is both striking and concerning.
