Nation Building in Singapore
Thesis Statement:
In this essay, I will argue that Singapore will always be a nation in the making. Although Singapore’s nation building efforts have been successful, there is still a continual need for nation building efforts to persist as Singapore is a vulnerable migrant society, aptly illustrated as “an 80-storey building standing on marshy land” by Lee Kuan Yew. This reveals continual nation-building is critical for Singapore as it ensures her survival amidst vulnerabilities.
What defines “a nation in the making”?
Singapore will always be a nation in the making as her social and political landscapes have been continually shaped to address issues that threaten Singapore’s vulnerability. With incessant challenges ahead like globalisation and Singapore’s ageing population, there is a crucial need to further shape these landscapes. This includes reshaping and redrawing the boundaries of Singapore’s nation, defined as an “imagined political community” .
1. Social
The Singapore government had been effective in nation building through measures like the housing policy, the establishment of Self-Help Groups and the top-down approach by the government to form a common national identity for “strengthening the ‘elements’ to solidify the ‘whole’” .
1.1 Housing Policies
Singapore is a migrant society that is “complex and multiracial”. Its population is made up of four races, the Chinese being the predominant race by more than 70%. The racial riots of 1964 in Singapore between the Chinese and Malays which caused much causality demonstrated the importance of racial harmony and social stability that would attract foreign investors vital to Singapore’s survival. In the early 1960’s the Singapore Government decided to integrate the races through the public housing they built, known as Housing Development Board (HDB) flats. They employed racial quotas to prevent a huge cluster of a particular minority, spreading the minorities such that no particular race cluster would
In this essay, I will argue that Singapore will always be a nation in the making. Although Singapore’s nation building efforts have been successful, there is still a continual need for nation building efforts to persist as Singapore is a vulnerable migrant society, aptly illustrated as “an 80-storey building standing on marshy land” by Lee Kuan Yew. This reveals continual nation-building is critical for Singapore as it ensures her survival amidst vulnerabilities.
What defines “a nation in the making”?
Singapore will always be a nation in the making as her social and political landscapes have been continually shaped to address issues that threaten Singapore’s vulnerability. With incessant challenges ahead like globalisation and Singapore’s ageing population, there is a crucial need to further shape these landscapes. This includes reshaping and redrawing the boundaries of Singapore’s nation, defined as an “imagined political community” .
1. Social
The Singapore government had been effective in nation building through measures like the housing policy, the establishment of Self-Help Groups and the top-down approach by the government to form a common national identity for “strengthening the ‘elements’ to solidify the ‘whole’” .
1.1 Housing Policies
Singapore is a migrant society that is “complex and multiracial”. Its population is made up of four races, the Chinese being the predominant race by more than 70%. The racial riots of 1964 in Singapore between the Chinese and Malays which caused much causality demonstrated the importance of racial harmony and social stability that would attract foreign investors vital to Singapore’s survival. In the early 1960’s the Singapore Government decided to integrate the races through the public housing they built, known as Housing Development Board (HDB) flats. They employed racial quotas to prevent a huge cluster of a particular minority, spreading the minorities such that no particular race cluster would