Minister of State of Home Affairs, Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said that they are aware of the need to maintain racial balance in Singapore to preserve social stability and harmony. He added that Singapore have been and will continue to calibrate immigration intake to preserve this racial balance. This statement is made in response to Member of Parliament (MP) Gan Thiam Poh’s question about immigration policy to maintain existing racial proportions.
“Race-blind society” was first brought up in the parliament by Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim on September 1. She understands that CMIO system was necessary to safeguard minority rights, but the concept of minority rights is in itself “problematic” and it would be better to discuss “citizenship rights”. In addition, she wondered if the CMIO system can “withstand the test of time” with more inter-racial marriages.
Two days after MP Lim’s speech, 2nd Minister for Foreign Affairs and Education Maliki Osman said that to allow for a positive sense of racial identity to develop, existing “genuine differences and contexts” across races need to be recognised and accommodated. He also touched on the CMIO system, saying that getting rid of it does not mean “we will become more Singaporean”, but respecting and understanding these differences allow us to be “truly Singaporean”.
Singapore’s immigration intake to be calibrated
to preserve racial balance: Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim
