“Chinese privilege” : a flimsy accusation or neglected reality in the case of Singapore?

• Main Author: Rubaneshwaran
• Other Authors: Kim Soojin
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia::Singapore
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76697
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In light of the growing prominence of the concept, “Chinese privilege”, within the Singaporean society, this study aims to assess Singapore’s current progress in its pursuit of multiculturalism from the perspective of Singaporean youths. Using mixed methods from surveys, focused-group discussions and phone interviews, this study seeks to evaluate both the validity of the “Chinese privilege” allegation and also assess the impact the Singapore government’s current approach of managing ethnic diversity has on the country’s minorities. Survey findings helped to extract the following underlying themes with respect to the research topic; insufficient propagation of minority cultures, institutional constraints on expression of minority identities and the perceived existence of “Chinese privilege”. Findings from the focused-group discussion and phone interviews reinforced these themes and highlighted that the constitutional equality of the different ethnic and religious groups may not be holistically translated in practice. Together, these findings indicate that multiculturalism in Singapore remains a work in progress and that constant evaluations and improvements of existing government approaches are necessary to sustain the quality of multiculturalism in the country.