Virus exposes inequality, deepens racial disparities in Singapore
By Pattharapong Rattanasevee
A month ago, the Singaporean government was praised domestically and internationally, along with those of Hong Kong and Taiwan, for its quick response and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several efforts were taken to minimize the risk of transmission: strict border control, an intensive contract-tracing program, a home quarantine system and free vigorous testing for all citizens.
As of March 21, Singapore had only recorded fewer than 390 infections with zero deaths. But the drastic spike in cases over the past weeks has made it become the largest infected population in Southeast Asia and now among the highest number of cases per capita globally.
In fact, this “island” nation does have a number of advantages in countering the spread of the virus such as having a small population, limited land area and a single border, a forceful government, police force and laws as well as having an excellent healthcare system.
However, the grave mistake that Singapore made was the fact that it overlooked the potential transmission within its community of 1.3 million migrant workers.
Singapore's migrant workers, mostly from India, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries, are generally seen as the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in the country. Being Singapore's lowest-paid workers, they work in essential services such as at construction sites, shipyards, petrochemical refineries, or as cleaners in neighborhood estates.
They live in dormitories located almost hidden from view on the outskirts of the city, with poor and overcrowded living conditions and have limited access to healthcare and personal protective equipment. They sleep on bunk beds, 12 to 20 people packed into one room, poorly ventilated by small fans, and have communal toilets and showering facilities shared by hundreds of men on each floor. Typically, they earn about $430 a month, while the median monthly income for Singaporeans is $3,227.
The outbreak among the migrant worker community should not come as a complete surprise because these workers have continually received little attention from the government. Amnesty International issued a warning on April 6 about possible mass infection among migrant workers in quarantine and urged for more attention and better treatment, without discrimination.
Labor rights groups have even been warning for years that such poor and unsanitary conditions one day could bring disaster. Also, there have been reports of the spread of dengue, rubella and Zika among migrant workers in recent years.
Furthermore, the surge in cases among migrant workers has fanned the flames of criticism and scapegoating within society, and prevailing racist attitudes now seem to be on full display. Recently, a viral letter published in the country's largest Chinese-language paper straightforwardly blamed foreign workers' bad personal living habits for spreading the virus.
There have also been a large number of xenophobic comments on social media, including some calling for the deportation of sick workers and excluding the dormitory cases from the country's daily tally of COVID-19 cases.
This proves that the view from the letter is not uncommon among Chinese Singaporeans and could be a clear reflection of how poorly the government and most Singaporeans treated migrant workers, never mind that they have been and are a vital part of the country's growth and economic boom.
In fact, racism toward Indians is not a new story. Although Singapore has sought to project an image of being a metropolitan multicultural society, anti-racist and accepting of all races and religions to the world, there is still significant racism which sometimes cannot be easily noticeable in daily life routines but is more visible on the internet.
Even in some eccentric government policies such as intermarriage of different races, the racial quotas on public housing, the Chinese prime minister policy/(but) race-based presidency and the Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others (CMIO) classification system inducted into the national registration identity cards, these schemes show some degree of racial inequality.
The Sedition Act of Singapore and the Penal Code Chapter 224, two laws that prohibit racism, appear useful only in silencing debate and restraining overt displays of racism, but unable to grapple with the protracted racial disparities in education and economic status. Racial Harmony Day, celebrated every July 21 in Singapore to mark the progress made since the 1964 race riots, is literally fruitless.
According to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a press release, “to our migrant workers, let me emphasize again: we will care for you, just like we care for Singaporeans. We will look after your health, your welfare and your livelihood. We will work with your employers to make sure that you get paid, and you can send money home ... This is our duty and responsibility to you, and your families.” These promises have to be kept and monitored closely.
On the whole, the COVID-19 pandemic reveals some ugly truths about Singapore's racial inequality. It also gives valuable lessons to Singapore. Despite improving living conditions in dormitories and the well-being of these workers, the government still has a lot to do with racial disparities in society.
Every Singaporean knows that they have to rely on these workers because they serve the country by doing essential jobs that they do not want to do. Once the pandemic is over, the racial rift will still remain and likely to be deepened, but Singapore cannot maintain such an exploitative format.
Therefore, constructive measures and more engagement are required to erase these deep-rooted prejudiced sentiments from the general Singaporeans' mindset. However, racial conflict once caused Singapore to split from Malaysia in 1965, and it will significantly continue to hamper its society at least in the foreseeable future.
Dr. Pattharapong Rattanasevee (p.rattanasevee@yahoo.com ) is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Science and Law, Burapha University, Thailand.