Speech by Mr Zainal Abidin Rasheed, Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Mayor of the North East Community Development Council of Singapore at the Fourth Summit Conference of the Mayors of the World, 13 April 2007

Your Excellency Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul
Fellow Mayors and Governors,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

1 It gives me great pleasure to be here today. I would, first of all, like to congratulate the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for spearheading this important initiative on the importance of multicultural understanding and the role of local governments and cities in promoting it. I would also like to express my appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to us by the municipality and people of Istanbul.

Mr Chairman,

2 Globalisation has connected all of us more closely than ever before. It has also brought on the worldwide movement of people. All over the world, people of different cultural and religious beliefs now live side by side in mixed societies. The map of the world can no longer be colour-coded based on our cultural, religious or racial identities. Instead, each part of the world is now marbled with the colours of the whole. The social fabric of our communities has become richer by this fusion of colours. But yet, as evidenced by recent global events, also more delicate.

3 In our post September 11 world, we cannot afford to allow discrimination and prejudices, which form the faultlines in a multi-religious and multi-racial society, to fester. Extremist groups are seizing every opportunity to sow distrust and hatred in our communities, especially between the Muslims and non-Muslims. Managing relations between the different racial and religious groups have therefore become a pressing issue for many governments.

Mr Chairman,

4 Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-religious society. Our three main races are the Chinese, Malay and Indians. Many foreigners also live and work in Singapore. Taoists and Buddhists make up 51% of our population, Muslims 14%, Christians 15% and Hindus 4%. The rest of our people either have other religions or none. Like many nations with such diverse populations, Singapore has not been spared from the possibility of ethnic or religious strife. The racial riots of the 1950s and 1960s attest to the fragility of ethnic and religious relations in Singapore.

5 Having experienced first-hand the crippling effect which communal tensions can have on our peace and prosperity, Singapore has placed utmost importance on promoting and maintaining racial and religious harmony. Over the years, the Singapore government has taken many steps to strengthen the social fabric of our small city-state by building trust and confidence within and among the different racial and religious groups. By building these linkages in times of peace, we hope that we will have a strong and resilient network to hold our society together in times of distress.

6 Singapore believes that the most practical approach in building a multi-racial and multi-religious society is by integrating all races within a national framework. We do not adopt the melting-pot approach of trying to assimilate the different races into one single entity. Instead, we adopt an overlapping circles approach. Each community is like a circle with its own values, beliefs and culture. Where the circles overlap is the common space where all Singaporeans, work and play together. We are constantly trying to expand and maximise this space, but at a pace which is acceptable to everyone. The space which does not overlap is the community's own playing field. This is the space where people are free to speak their own language, practise their own religion and have their own way of life. Through our overlapping circles approach, each community is therefore able to retain its distinct identity and yet, remain bonded to other communities as Singaporeans through shared national values.

Mr Chairman,

7 Racial and religious harmony in Singapore is based on the fundamental principle of meritocracy, where no one is discriminated, in any way, on the basis of his or her ethnic or religious identity. Instead, every Singaporean progresses and is rewarded according to his or her own merit. This has been enshrined in our Constitution. Within this framework of meritocracy, we have put in place several institutional and legal measures to promote racial and religious integration. While Singapore recognises four official languages, we have English as our common language. Most of our students also go through the national education system where they are exposed to and interact with other students from varied backgrounds. In addition, with more than 80% of Singaporeans living in public housing, we have introduced an ethnic quota scheme, which sets out guidelines on the ratio for races in each housing estate, to guard against the formation of racial enclaves as well as provide residents with an opportunity to interact with fellow Singaporeans of different races and religions in their daily routines. Further, Singapore's electoral system is based on the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) scheme. Under this system, political parties contesting for GRC seats in parliament are required to field at least one candidate from the ethnic minorities. This system ensures equitable minority representation in Parliament. It also compels political parties to practise multi-racial politics rather than to campaign on a particular race or religion.

8 We have also established a multitude of platforms for the different communities to come and work together towards common goals and benefits. Established in 1960, the objective of the Peoples Association (PA) is to connect Singaporeans from all backgrounds so as to promote active citizenry and multicultural understanding. PA manages more than 100 community centres which cater to the diverse social and recreational needs of the population. In addition, Singapore is divided into 5 main districts managed by Community Development Councils (CDCs). The CDCs function as the local administration within their respective Districts. They initiate, plan and manage community programmes to promote bonding and social cohesion. The CDCs also support new grassroots initiatives which promote multicultural understanding and interactions between the races.

9 To further enhance ties, `Inter-Racial Confidence Circles' (IRCCs) were initiated in 2002 to promote better inter-racial and inter-religious understanding among the different communities. IRCCs were formed in each of the 84 constituencies in Singapore. They provide a regular platform for various key community leaders to interact in order to build confidence, understanding and trust. In 2003, we also involved the Inter-Religious Harmony Circle (IRHC), comprising representatives from all religious groups, in the consultation process for the Declaration on Religious Harmony. The Declaration affirms the values that have helped to maintain religious harmony in Singapore and serves as a reminder of the need for continued efforts to strengthen bonds across religious groups in Singapore.

10 More recently, Singapore launched the Community Engagement Programme (CEP) to provide a platform for greater interaction across ethnic and religious communities in Singapore. The CEP builds on the existing strong base of goodwill and level of interaction within the community, and brings community leaders together to discuss social cohesion issues. Under the CEP, we established a National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony which will set new directions for inter-racial and inter-religious cooperation. It will guide the IRCCs which will focus on activities at the local level where most people-to-people interaction takes place.

11 Promoting dialogue among the different racial and religious groups is a priority for the Singapore government. Such dialogue is not aimed at achieving agreement, but at building relationships. When we get to know one another, we not only appreciate how others in different communities define themselves, but also enhance our understanding of our own unique identities. In the process, we will widen the common space which we all share together. We have also found that by empowering local communities, we are better able to address the concerns and needs of people as well as engender collective ownership over community challenges.

Mr Chairman,

12 As the Mayor of Istanbul has so eloquently put it in his explanation of the themes for this Summit, "A city cannot grow unless it provides equal opportunities for learning, unless it accepts the 'other', unless it adopts policies that shelter the weak". Indeed, Singapore is a city that has grown because it has invested in its diversity. For example, last year, our small city of only four million people made about 18 million overseas trips, and received over nine million visitors of which one million were from China. This number is expected to grow. Through interacting with foreigners, we hope that Singaporeans will be able to use our connectivity as a global city as another platform to further our multicultural understanding of other communities as well as ourselves.

Thank you.

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