Ultimately, what’s not surprising about the PR campaign is its predictability. When inequality emerged as a contentious issue in 2018, the government’s response was to point the finger at Singaporean attitudes, whilst wilfully ignoring any mention of policy.
Now, with Covid-19, they are trying on a different version of the same PR strategy: complain about Singaporean attitudes towards migrant workers as if it were the sole instigator.
Yes, nobody will deny that some Singaporeans hate migrant workers. Yes, many want to deport them just to lower the case count. However, let’s not pretend our labour policy is crafted with just xenophobia in mind. If you want to take credit for this economic model’s many successes, then they should also take responsibility for its occasional pitfalls. Don’t hide behind ‘society’ and ‘everyone’ when it’s convenient to do so. After all, unity and accountability are not mutually exclusive concepts.