Yesterday (5 July), Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh engaged in a round of verbal sparring with Cabinet ministers over the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP).
The debate came after National Development Minister Desmond Lee responded to a question by MP Ms Cheryl Chan on whether or not the EIP is still needed in today’s context, as well as whether there have been any measures implemented to help minority homeowners having trouble with selling their HDB flats.
Here’s everything that you need to know about the debate.
What’s the trouble with the EIP?
Currently under the EIP, once the quota for the majority race has been reached, a minority homeowner can only sell their flat to another member of a minority race.
Consequently, the number of eligible buyers is decreased, which may result in minority homeowners having to lower their asking price.
They could also take longer to reach a deal and sell their flats.
What’s the WP’s Position on the EIP?
Mr Singh argued that the policy had a detrimental impact on minorities.
In response, National Development Minister Desmond Lee stated the policy is still needed to support racial integration, in spite of its “rough edges” which could make it difficult for homeowners who wish to sell their flats.
Mr Lee and Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah questioned Mr Singh on whether the Workers’ Party (WP) continues to support the abolishment of the EIP.
In response to this, Mr Singh said, “We still aim to remove it but until we get there, we have to, as Minister (Lee) said, even out the rough edges as much as possible. And at some point I hope, within our generation, we reach that place where we are race-neutral.”
Mr Singh said that the stance of the WP on the issue is founded on the basis of consideration of minority communities who have a hard time selling their HDB flats, resulting in economic losses.
“The current policy as it stands has a larger impact on minorities, penalising them in the pocket when they have to sell their flat.”
He added that the policy needs to be revised as there are now many families who do not fall under the Chinese-Malay-Indian-Others (CMIO) classifications. He raised the example of those in mixed marriages.
How did other ministers respond?
Mr Lee said that since 2006, the WP had taken the position that Singapore had achieved multiculturalism and therefore called for the EIP to be immediately abolished.
However, he said that the WP’s position today is that the EIP is still needed as we work towards a “race-blind society”, and hopefully someday the EIP will not be required anymore. Mr Lee called this “a clear change in political position”.
Ms Indranee observed that both sides wanted a race-neutral society in which everyone can live in harmony.
Mr Singh echoed her sentiments, saying that the debate should not undermine the fact that both sides are attempting to move towards a society that is race-neutral.
Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean declared his support for the EIP and asked Mr Singh whether the Government should permit the formation of ethnic enclaves “just to see what happens” by abolishing the EIP.
Mr Teo questioned, “Are we more likely to level everyone up if we are able to identify the issues that each of the communities in Singapore may face, and therefore have more targeted programmes for them or to ignore the differences, since the Leader of the Opposition says we should be race-blind or race-neutral, and just treat everybody as though they are exactly the same?”
Mr Teo concluded that the EIP is a way to boost integration within Singapore, saying that, “We’re more likely to get there with the policies that we have today, with EIP, rather than what the Workers’ Party is proposing.”
In addition, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong affirmed that the CMIO classification continues to be relevant because it is only with this classification that one is able to “track performance or relative segments of society to gauge the outcomes, and to gauge ourselves to efficacy and outcomes of these programmes that we have in place.”
Featured Image: YouTube (CNA)