A couple of days ago, there was a debate in parliament between the Worker’s Party’s Pritam Singh and the PAP’s Teo Chee Hean. The subject of the debate? The need for the EIP, or Ethnic Integration Policy.
For those who don’t know, the EIP is in place for all public housing.
It basically is a cap that limits how many units of a block or housing estate is allocated to races. There are a varying number of reasons behind this, but the most used is that it allows all races to mingle and harmonize with one another, to eliminate misunderstandings and also prevent racial enclaves.
In practice though, not everybody agrees that it’s a good thing.
While they’re not united in their reasoning, all of them advocate for the nixing of the EIP as they think it is an archaic practice that should be removed. Their reasons do have some merit and require some thought…but then again, the recent uptick of racists incidents in Singapore suggests that we’re still quite a ways from being one people.
That’s one of the reasons proponents of the EIC argue that it should remain.
Like most of us, I’ve lived in HDBs all of my life. Has EIP helped with me being understanding about other races?
Perhaps, but I also credit that to being in a multiracial school and having multiracial friends.
A few forward looking Netizens even suggest enforcing the EIP in workplaces.
It’s a sensible idea but one I fear is too idealistic. There is simply no way private companies will want to be shackled by the government in this way.
That’s pretty much the case for condominiums too, though that hasn’t stopped people from asking.
While it might seem weird, there’s a reasoning for quite a number of people wanting this. There are certain condos in Singapore (such as Melville Park in Simei), where the residents are predominantly Indian.
With CECA always bubbling on the lips of Singaporeans, it’s easy to see why this isn’t sitting well with some.
It is certainly a possibility that these condominiums will become racial enclaves. The fact of the matter is the Government can’t do much about it as these are privately owned properties.
However, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t already somebody tasked with finding a loophole or the feasibility of introducing new legislation to counter this.
Private or not, racial enclaves are a really bad idea.
Unfortunately, idiots are also present in every rational debate.
According to Candice Hong, it’s the Chinese who are responsible for Singapore’s successes. Every other race did nothing because only the Chinese majority is acceptable. It’s not a surprise then that when you check her page, it’s all filled with bullshit CCP propaganda and denials.
As a Singaporean, it’s a shameful state of affairs to see something like this. We really need to weed out these hardcore PRC/CCP supporters and do something about them.
That’s a problem for the future though…because the subject of EIP has also brought in many detractors of the Worker’s Party.
Some view the antics of Pritam Singh on this issue as ‘wayang’. That he’s pretending to raise the issue to appease his voters, while doing pretty much nothing about it.
He’s just making a show of it all, wasting everybody’s time on theatrics.
Of course, the majority of those bashing the Worker’s Party aren’t tactful at all about what they think is happening.
In fact, out of the tons of comments I’ve read, this is by far the most popular take.
Blaming the Worker’s Party and Pritam Singh seems to be the general consensus of the Netizens who commented, though I’m not sure whether these are PAP supporters or disillusioned Worker’s Party voters.
Still, the Worker’s Party does have its defenders.
They’re in the minority when compared against those who are against the party, but they are there.
Surprisingly, the flak going the PAP’s way is severely reduced this time around. There aren’t a ton blaming them, at least in regards to the EIP.
That hasn’t stopped the odd conspiracy theory posts like this one though…
Would political enclaves be better than racial ones?
I don’t know and I don’t think anybody is in a rush to find out.