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Shanmugam warns Singaporeans not to be ‘anti-foreigner’
August 18th, 2011 | Author: Temasek Review
Instead of reassuring Singaporeans of their freedom to cook whatever dishes
they like at home without interference from foreigners, PAP Law Minister has
issued a veiled warning to them not to be ‘anti-foreigner’ over the ‘currygate’ saga.
A massive outcry was sparked in cyberspace following a report in a local paper
last week that a Singaporean Indian family was disallowed from cooking curry
when their PRC neighbors are at home following a mediation session conducted
by the Community Mediation Center (CMC) under the Ministry of Law.
Following the article, some Singaporeans went on Facebook to launch
‘Cook A Pot of Curry’ on Sunday. Their post went viral and as of last night,
more than 46,000 people in Singapore and abroad – including many
non-Indians – supported it.
Shanmugam did not explain why CMC bothered to entertain the PRC
family’s frivolous complaint in the first place and went into a tirade
against “some people” who are ‘reacting to a set of facts which are
wholly inaccurate’ and therefore are allowing emotions to run high.
“Let’s not turn this into a xenophobic attack on foreigners in general….
This sort of differences exist between Singaporeans, among foreigners
and between foreigners and Singaporeans and not just in Singapore,
but elsewhere as well,” he said.
In other countries, foreigners are expected to conform to the social
norms of their adopted country. It seems to be the other way round
in Singapore.
Not only did the PAP splurge $10 million dollars of taxpayers’ monies
on a ‘Community Integration Fund’ to make the foreigners feel welcomed,
happy and accepted in Singapore, PAP leaders have been exhorting
Singaporeans to ‘embrace’ the newcomers with an ‘open heart’ to the
extent of organizing cultural festivals of foreigners to show our ‘respect’ to them.
The crux of the matter here is not about Singaporeans turning xenophobic,
but in CMC opening a Pandora’s box in its handling of this complaint which
will embolden other foreigners to lodge similar complaints against locals.
What will CMC do if it receives a deluge of such complaints from
foreigners in the next few weeks?
August 18th, 2011 | Author: Temasek Review
Instead of reassuring Singaporeans of their freedom to cook whatever dishes
they like at home without interference from foreigners, PAP Law Minister has
issued a veiled warning to them not to be ‘anti-foreigner’ over the ‘currygate’ saga.
A massive outcry was sparked in cyberspace following a report in a local paper
last week that a Singaporean Indian family was disallowed from cooking curry
when their PRC neighbors are at home following a mediation session conducted
by the Community Mediation Center (CMC) under the Ministry of Law.
Following the article, some Singaporeans went on Facebook to launch
‘Cook A Pot of Curry’ on Sunday. Their post went viral and as of last night,
more than 46,000 people in Singapore and abroad – including many
non-Indians – supported it.
Shanmugam did not explain why CMC bothered to entertain the PRC
family’s frivolous complaint in the first place and went into a tirade
against “some people” who are ‘reacting to a set of facts which are
wholly inaccurate’ and therefore are allowing emotions to run high.
“Let’s not turn this into a xenophobic attack on foreigners in general….
This sort of differences exist between Singaporeans, among foreigners
and between foreigners and Singaporeans and not just in Singapore,
but elsewhere as well,” he said.
In other countries, foreigners are expected to conform to the social
norms of their adopted country. It seems to be the other way round
in Singapore.
Not only did the PAP splurge $10 million dollars of taxpayers’ monies
on a ‘Community Integration Fund’ to make the foreigners feel welcomed,
happy and accepted in Singapore, PAP leaders have been exhorting
Singaporeans to ‘embrace’ the newcomers with an ‘open heart’ to the
extent of organizing cultural festivals of foreigners to show our ‘respect’ to them.
The crux of the matter here is not about Singaporeans turning xenophobic,
but in CMC opening a Pandora’s box in its handling of this complaint which
will embolden other foreigners to lodge similar complaints against locals.
What will CMC do if it receives a deluge of such complaints from
foreigners in the next few weeks?
