CHAPTER 3 SUMMARY

Maintaining internal order and external security

Internal order:
Eg.
- Little india riot in december 2013. Riots broke out after a private bus accidentally
ran over an indian national. The special operations command( SOC) arrived and
the crowd was immediately dispersed.
Maintains External security by
1. Forging strong partnerships at the bilateral and multilateral levels

2. Ministry of foreign affairs maintains security through diplomacy

Eg,
- singapore played a key role in the negotiations at the United Nations Convention
on the law of the sea during the 1970s to safeguard the country's maritime and
economic security.
- When sg and malaysia had a territorial dispute, they agreed to resolve their
differences through the international court of justice.

Ensuring justice

With the presence of the judiciary, sgs will have the confidence that the courts will judge
people fairly.
Eg.
- Family justice court provide guidelines on what is defined as family violence, who
can apply for a personal protection order (PPO) how to apply as well as the
actions that can be taken by the courts. PPO will be granted if the court is
satisfied that family vip;ence has been committed or likely to be committed.

Providing goods and services for the public.

- Provided or subsidised by governments so that all citizens can have access to

them.
- Eg, transport, - gvt has worked towards creating a people centered public
transport system. / housing
- 4 taps

Safeguarding the interest of citizens

Sense of security living in the country.

- No abuse by employers as well as sense of security in old age
- Eg.
 - gvt introduced the work right initiative to help both employers and
employees understand their rights and responsibilities. - awareness of
employments rights amongst low wage workers
- Central provision fund (CPF) to prepare for retirement. Allows sgs to
finance housing and healthcare needs and have a source of lifelong
income in retirement.
- Increased life expectancy - save more
- Besides personal contributions, employers also contribute to their
retirement savings

Role of citizens in society ( working for good of society/ contribution)

- Influence gvt policies by providing feedback through platforms such as online and
offline communication channels.

Individuals :
- Volunteering their time, effort and money towards meaningful causes they are
concerned about.
- Can benefit many people directly and inspire others to make similar
improvements.
- Eg. ‘ a litter at a time” when one lady and her children decided to pick up any litter
around their neighborhood.

Organised groups:
- By directing collective efforts, ideas and resources towards their causes, they
complement the role of the government in working for the good of the society.
- Help in refining government policies and point out areas which require more
attention.

Formal groups - continued long term efforts to support a specific cause.

- Clear objective and formally Registered with the government.
- Government approval to campaign for their cause.
- Eg, NGOS and voluntary welfare organisations( VWOs)
- Eg of ngo :
- MINDS- movement for the intellectually diabled - helps to ensure equal
opportunities for children with intellectual disabilities to receive education
and are integrated into society.
- Mercy relief - established to respond to human tragedies in asia
- Humanitarian org for migration economics (HOME) - improving working
conditions of forwign domestic workers in sg.

Informal groups
- short term objectives related to issues that suddenly arise
- Not registered with the government
- Respond in a timely manner
- Eg. ‘ SG HAZE RESCUE” - asking people to donate extra masks and giving to
the elderly and others in need.
Influencing government decisions
Individuals:

- Feedback and suggestions can influence decisions made and plans for sg
- eg . in 2012 PM Lee Hsien Loong announced a national level conversation where
citizens can come together to share their views and ideas about what matters to
sg
- ‘Our singapore conversation” - focus groups and dialogue sessions throughout
the year also through social media
- As a result of the OSC government learnt about what sg wants. And sgs also
learnt about each others hopes for the future.
- Common hopes and desires collated and used to chart future plans for sg.
- Citizens who participated in OSC voiced out their desire for a more holistic
education system that focuses less on exams. In 2018, moe responded by
reducing the weighted components of sec 1 and 3

Organised groups:
-workwith government to better identify issues on the ground and enhance policy
implementation.
- Eg. 2011, two ngos ( HOME) AND TRANSIENT WORKERS COUNT TOO
( TWC2) - put forth their recommendations on improving the working conditions of
foreign domestic workers in sg. Recommended that workers be given a day off a
week in reginsition for the work they do. This was eventually approved by the sg
government
- VWO - MINDS - runs special education schools

Organised groups more effective as they are able to provide concrete research,
represent a larger proportion of citizens hence more effective in influencing gvt

CHAPTER 4 SUMMARY :

NATIONALITY;
- Legal citizenship status
- Sense of belonging to a country - shared history, common traditions/ practices /
language
- More comfortable with other members of same nationality because of common
experiences.
- Likely to have a stake in their country such as ownership of properties or having
family based there
- Individuals will identify with their countries dominant cultures and norms. Due to
individual having grown up there or having been influenced by fellow citizens
- Eg sg national day, singlish bonding over local food
- New zealand haka dance

Race and ethnicity

Race - classification of people according to physical characteristics that are biological in
nature., colour of skin, hair
Ethnicity - ancestry, cultural practices, languages , customs, food
Double barreled race options since 2011 eg. indian-malay

Religion
- Organised collection of attributes, beliefs , practices, world views and often
worship of a single or multiple gods.
- Shapes identity significantly
- Sgs are free to practice and propagate their religion in sg
- Main religions in sg promote attitudes of compassion , sensitivity in believers
interaction with others, and in helping others. values
- Believers of religions keep to belief and practices regardless of their nationality
and ethnicity. - shape the way we think and choices we make. - shapes our
identity
- Eg. influence one's decision regarding life partners.
- Inter religious organization ( IRO) has worked quietly to promote peace and
religious harmony in sg. Iro organises activities and participates in local and
international forums to learn more about what is being done in the region to
promote religious harmony. ( consist of 10 religions recognised in sg)

Socio-economic status
- Refers to an economic situation shared by a group of people and some
determinants are occupation , income , education and ownership of wealth
- In sg an individual or household income level is used as the indicator for socio
economic status.
- Shapes one's life experience as it affects the choice of housing , food,
entertainment and activities. Can influence the circle of friends that one interacts
with.
- Activities such as polo, golf for people with high socioe-conomic status.
- Activities like swimming, soccer and basketball can be enjoyed by individuals
from all socio-economic groups because they are easily accessible to the public
- Gini coefficient measures how income is distributed in a country : number closer
to 1 indicates more unequal distribution of wealth.
Religion likely to be more important as itis lifelong while socio- economic can change
throughout life due to social mobility
CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY

Factors leading to greater diversity in sg now

1. Immigaration policies
2. Economic opportunities
3. Socio- cultural environment

Immigration policy
- Linked with manpower needs to the country.
 - since Independence our immagigration policy welcomes highly- skilled foregin
manpower to support our knowledge- based economy.
- Due to sgs low birth rates and highly mobile population who do not always stay
rooted in sg, govt has as openimmigration policy that allows eligible foreigners to
come easily snd live and work here. ( brain drain- migration of highly educated
people from 1 part of country to another )
- At current birth rates and without immigration, the number of working age citizens
is projected to decline from 2020. Singapore's overall citizen population is also
predicted to decline from 2025 onwards if the low births rates persist.
- These foreign workers can eventually choose to make sg their home and become
naturalised citizens or permanent residents if they meet the requirements.
- Migrants build a diversity of culture.
- Immigrants bring different cultures practices and Customs from their countries of
origin
- their skills and valuable experiences also contribute to Greater diversity of the
host country

Economic opportunities
- Ease of doing business, growth potential, stable political environment and well-
established judiciary system.attract global investors such as multinational
corporations. (MNCs)
- Resulted in sgs reputation as a business hub, and its world- renowned efficiency
has attracted about 7000 mncs to set up operations here.
- Sg has a stable political and economic environment where mnc can earn profit
thus attracting them.
- Singapore has ample job opportunities due to the prevalence of mncs such as
Google and Facebook.- attract foreigners to Singapore
- Sg is an easy place to do business as it makes it simple to establish a company
and register for taxes using the same online form.
- One of the Least corrupt countries .
- Need both higher and lower skilled manpower to remain attractive.
Increase in migrants and immigrants seeking employment here may have led to greater
socio - economic diversity. They can be highly skilled which raises the incomes of top tier
earners while lower skilled workers keep wages at bottom tier low.

PMETS - professions managers technicians etc. higher paying jobs

Socio-cultural environment
- Features that appeal to potential immigrants include community support, safe
environment and quality education

Community support:
- Wide range of ethnic communities and cultures from around the world
 - May helps foreigners feel more at home in sg
- Cobregate in same area
- Eg, mini thailand - golden mile complex
- Little india - serangoon
- Lucky plaza - filipino
- Japanese hang out - liang court
- Korean community - bukit timah plaza - added to the diversity of sg. K
drama and k pop. some people even take up korean classes to learn the
language.
- eg. (ANZA) australian and new zealand association formed to support australian and new
zealander family based in sg

Safe environment:
- Knowledge that there is safety in sg makes foreigners willing to settle down with
their families
- In 2015 sg was the 9th safest country in the world due to its low crime rates and
strong system of criminal justice.
- Crimes rates decreasing since 2005
Education system :
- International students add to the diversity in schs as they are able to share their
experiences and learning with their fellow students.
- well recognised education system and admired for its effectiveness
- Universities also been popular for international students
- Options available have made sg a well - known hub for quality education which
attracted about 76000 international students in 2017.

CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY

Interaction in a diverse society

- Common space important to cultivate and enlarge an overlapping sphere among
people of different racial groups to promote more social interaction, collaboration and
a stronger national identity.
- Common space provides opportunities for people of different nationalities, races and
ethnicity to work , play, live together and have common experiences.
- Eg . social , cultural and sports events

Exchange and appreciation in a diverse society

- Attitude of openness allows people to respect and appreciate diversity, which
facilitates meaningful exchanges.
- Openness can be shown in trying variety of food, understanding meaning behind
cultural practices of other socio cultural groups

Culture:
 - Learn and interact
- Result in fusion between local and foreign ideas
- food , music , fashion
- Increases The variety of goods available in sg
- Eg hayden ng is a designer that has created fashion wear inspired by rich cross
cultural influences

Knowledge:
- r&d with experts
- Foreign scientists share their knowledge and expertise to help strengthen research in
sg
Eg . dr sydney brenner is a distinguished 2002 nobel prize winner who helped to start the
molecular engineering lab in sg in 2009
Openness to learn and collaborate with oversea scientists has led to robust search, which in
turn has led to significant discoveries made in sg , like the h1n1 flu vaccine

CHALLENGES IN DIVERSE SOCIETY

Prejudice and misconceptions
- Negative sentiments arise when people jump to conclusions about others and make
incorrect judgements due to insufficient understanding and incorrect assumptions
- Stereotypes are beliefs held by one social group about another social group.
- Religious and racial prejudice has led to discriminatory behaviour towards certain
groups of people.
- Eg, arabas and muslim- americans became victims of hate crimes in america after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Many arabs and muslims were stopped for questioning by
public officers because of their appearance or muslim names
- Have causes unnecessary hurt, much inconvenience and deepend prejudice against
people of a different race or religion
- Rental discrimination in sg : denial of rental accommodation to some foreign races
and nationalities in sg.- inconvenience to foreigners seeking to find accommodation
in sg and create the impression that many sgs are xenophobic ( dislike or prejudice
agaisnt people from other countries)

Competition for resources

Standard of living
- Employment , housing , transportation - impacted by the inflow of foreigners
- With an increasing number of foreigners in the workforce, singaporeans fear the
foreigners are taking jobs away.
- PMET positions holders with a valid employment can come to sg and work
- may have caused loss of jobs for some white collared workers
- Lower skilled foreign workers also could be employed - usually jobs in challenging
conditions that sgs rather not do
- Believe that employers would rather hire foreign workers than to pay more for locals
because of the lower pay earned
- Inflow of these work permit holders was seen as a reason for wages to remain low for
sgs in the lower income group
- Government tightened immigration framework and put in place more stringent forigne
workforce controls to reduce the inflow of foriegn manpower in sg.
- Congestion of public transport
 - Competition of healthcare , public housing
Concerns over social mobility
- Refers to the movement of individuals between different socio- economics status.
- Income gaps have increased
- Emphasises retraining and the learning of new skills to enable sgs of lower income
group to stay relevant to economic demands.
- Upholding meritocracy , where one is rewarded based on merit regardless of race
language or religion
- Allows students regardless of socio economic status an opportunity to excel at what
they are good at
- Npt denied opportunities to progress due to their financial circumstances
- Eg. edusave scholarship and merit bursary schemes that reward the top 10 % and
25% of students in schools.