Mathew Mathews – författare

Singapore society is increasingly becoming diverse. During the first few decades of nation building, policies were designed to homogenise aspects of Singaporean society while enshrining principles to allow restricted amounts of diversity. Fast forward to the present, and fifty years after independence, the number of areas where diversity is profoundly apparent remains copious, and its manifestations more varied.This book provides an updated account on the tensions posed by diversity in Singapore and how this is being managed, primarily by the state through policies and programmes but also by communities who attempt to negotiate these tensions. Such an enquiry is crucial especially at this juncture when the nation is finding ways to embrace the different forms of diversity brought about through external impetuses, as well as manage internal reactions from the various communities. The book chapters highlight important considerations if Singapore's diversity management strategies will hold promise for the future.

Singapore's success as a global city is in no small part attributable to its stance on foreign labour and immigrants, illustrated by a largely welcoming but discerning immigration regime to fulfil vital socio-economic needs. However, this fairly liberal policy on immigration has been met with substantial disquiet over the last decade. Xenophobic tendencies have surfaced periodically and have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.This edited volume spotlights these contemporary issues on immigrant integration in Singapore, and adopts a functional approach by explicitly bridging academic and practitioner perspectives. The chapters are organised into three sections. The first section on Challenges discusses various dominant trends — obstacles to immigrant integration based on ethnicity, culture and religion, and the fear and associated emotions that characterise reactions to immigration. The second section focuses on Communities, their perspectives and lived experiences in Singapore society. The latter differ substantially depending on migrant statuses and are contingent on social capital defined in relation to locals in the city-state. The last section seeks to illustrate the various Solutioning endeavours in tandem with the contentious nature of immigration. These concrete efforts range from ground-up initiatives, community-based collaborative approaches and government programming; all seeking to advance immigrant integration in Singapore.

Far from being a melting pot, multi-racial Singapore prides itself on the richness of its ethnic communities and cultures. This volume provides an updated account of the heterogeneity within each of the main communities — the Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Others. It also documents the ethnic cultures of these communities by discussing their histories, celebrations, cultural symbols, life cycle rituals, cultural icons and attempts to preserve culture. While chapters are written by scholars drawing insight from a variety of sources ranging from academic publications to discussions with community experts, it is written in an accessible way. This volume seeks to increase intercultural understanding through presenting ample insights into the cultural beliefs and practices of the different ethnic communities. While this book is about diversity, a closer examination of the peoples and cultures of Singapore demonstrates the many similarities communities share in this Singaporean space.