Reviewer: Alyssa

CC0001: Op-Ed Draft 1

It is Saturday again. I reach my final stop: a quiet refuge nestled away from the hustle and The descriptions (it’s
bustle of the urban city, leaving only timeless rhythms of nature. Sauntering past the large really vivid and good)
grey-brick pavement, I took great care not to trip over the occasional garden snail that could seem long compared
to the analysis – it may
taint the soles of my blue Havaianas in a split-second crunch. All clear! Then I took a slow
limit how many words
inhale of damp earth and fresh leaves, mingling with a light gentle breeze. By itself, the you have for your
reservoir stretches out like a vast mirror, reflecting the surrounding deep green canopy. thoughts and
After dawn, her glassy waters are often shrouded in cooling mist, giving an ethereal, dream- arguments.
like quality that is quickly shattered by the rippling of kayakers, or the sudden splash of a
snake fish.

Continuing on my journey, I made a left turn across the bridge and narrowly dodged a
thundering horde of runners, their rhythmic strides echoing like a relentless drumbeat
across the creaky wooden floorboard. Just in front, a small crowd had gathered along the
entrance of Mushroom Cafe, murmuring with soft gasps and wide-eyed wonder like Jane
Goodall on the brink of discovering some new wildlife revelation. But it is not chimpanzees
captivating the audience—it was a troop of long-tailed MacRitchie macaques. Their dark,
soulful eyes glimmered beneath soft tufts of sable fur as they sat with a quiet patience, their
I feel like the
fixed gaze full of predatory intent. A lady clad in pastel Lululemon activewear, blissfully
descriptions leading
unaware of her fate, stood in the primates’ line of sight, her fingers clutched around a thin up to the question start
grocery bag that crinkled in her grasp. Breakfast was imminent. around the end of
paragraph 2 onwards.
The lady pointed towards a baby monkey, cooing over in excitement. But before her
laughter could echo, a streak of brown fur shot through the air with lightning speed, and the
plastic bag was gone—snatched mid-flight, its contents sent tumbling. She shrieked in
dumbfounded surprise, her voice cutting through the dense greenery like the sharpest
blade. Half-amused and half-indifferent, the other park visitors reached instinctively for their
own phones, more keen to capture the unfolding chaos across tiny screens.
I actually didn’t know
Among the onlookers stood a young Chinese father, his son perched cheerfully on his back. what that term meant.
“Ah, see! Next time if you’re naughty, the apunehneh—he points towards the macaques Would be good to put
—”will come and catch you too!” His son giggled with innocent delight, but the sound felt out a little side note of
what it means.
of place as heads turned, faces stiffened over with discomfort. The woman’s panicked cries
had now faded into a more awkward, oppressive silence settling over the crowd.

The father’s smile faltered as the weight of his careless words finally sank in. His eyes fell to
the ground, shame rising in his throat. Clutching his son tighter, as though shielding him
from the very thing he had said, the man hurried away towards the nearby toilets. There,
perhaps, he could wash his hands—though no water could cleanse the bitter aftertaste of
his thoughtless remark.

Gazing after the duo, I found myself mourning the inevitable loss of innocence awaiting the
young boy, who would one day inherit the cumulative weight of society’s racial prejudices—
seeds already planted by the careless words of his father which would harvest into a tainted
future burdened by long standing division. Yes, the father’s comment was not a violent
outburst or overt show of racism—it was a casual, offhand remark, one that likely went
forgotten by many in the crowd later that day. And yet, this is precisely a threat: it reflects
how racial biases can seep into daily interactions through the mask of humour or even
indifference.

The scene serves as a stark reminder of how deeply ingrained racial narratives can be,
even in a modern society that has, for decades, prided itself on racial harmony. Despite the
government’s well-meaning efforts to foster interracial ties through decades of policies and
initiatives, moments like these reveal the cracks. This disconnect between the ideals of
multiculturalism promoted in public discourse and the very reality of casual prejudices have
been passed down, often unconsciously, within families. While Singapore’s structured
approach to fostering racial harmony has enjoyed certain successes in maintaining peace
and avoiding open interracial conflicts, I couldn’t help but wonder: does Singapore’s Starting it with “does”
multiculturalism feel more like a facade of unity papered over deeper unaddressed issues? feels like a yes or no
question. Substituting
the “does” for a “why”
or how” could make it
Firstly, let us navigate the complexities of multiculturalism through the lens of most
sound more open
Singaporeans living in the Housing and Development Board (HDB) “heartland areas”. In ended.
2023, a whopping 77% of Singapore’s residential population resided in HDB public housing
(Statista). While racial quotas were introduced in 1989 with the good intention to curb the
formation of ethnic enclaves and foster racial harmony, the structured framework of these
Ethnic Integration Policies (EIP) are rigidly based on proximity. In a widely circulated 2021
study conducted by Associate Professor Leong Chan-Hoong, a psychologist and statistician Source 1:
May need to
from the Singapore University of Social Sciences, he highlights that the “clustering effect” of
summarise the source
races in certain HDB neighbourhoods is largely influenced by differences in purchasing a bit more to give way
power among the main ethnic groups. For instance, Malays would congregate in Tampines to more analysis and
and Woodlands, while Chinese homeowners set up homes in more central districts such as personal thoughts.
Tiong Bahru and Bishan East. Among Indians, Admiralty and Boon Lay were two of the
most commonly brought up areas. In addition, these racial quotas end up restricting the
housing choices of individuals from minor ethnic groups. For example, if the racial quota for
a particular group has already been met in a given neighbourhood or HDB block, residents
of that ethnic group are barred from purchasing or renting a flat in their desired area, often I like this idea of how
facing a reduced selection of homes that makes finding suitable and affordable housing they unintentionally
spaces more difficult to come by—especially for those coming from larger families, or discriminate against
disabled needs. “And then minority ethnic groups will move to other places, perpetuating races in an attempt to
be more
this ethnic clustering effect,” Leong added. accommodating to
other races. It
True inclusivity then becomes an elusive challenge that may even create a sense of accentuates the irony
of the situation and it
tokenism, by which the presence of different races is seen as nothing more than fulfilling a
would be interesting to
quota rather than fostering genuine integration and interaction between ethnic groups. This elaborate on this part
sparks further concern for Assistant Professor Laavanya Kathiravelu from the Nanyang in analysis. It also
Technological University (NTU), who dug deeper into the implications of ethnic clustering by suits your question
highlighting the decreased chances of people meeting others from a different race or socio-
economic class. In her words, “this could create more insular living environments and
everyday experiences in interacting with fellow residents…[and] also be heightened since
many of us now work from home and have less opportunities to interact with people outside
our immediate residential neighbourhoods”.

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largely-due-purchasing-power-disparity

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