Terence Chong - Navigating Differences: Integration in Singapore

The ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) is an autonomous organization established in 1968. It is a regional centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security, and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment. The Institutes research programmes are grouped under Regional Economic Studies (RES), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), and Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS). The Institute is also home to the ASEAN Studies Centre (ASC), the Singapore APEC Study Centre and the Temasek History Research Centre (THRC).

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First published in Singapore in 2020 by

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ISEAS Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Names: Chong, Terence, editor.

Title: Navigating differences: integration in Singapore/editor: Terence Chong.

Description: Singapore: ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: ISBN 9789814881265 (soft cover) | ISBN 9789814881616 (PDF) | ISBN 9789814881623 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Social stratificationSingapore. | Social integrationSingapore. | SingaporeSocial conditions.

Classification: LCC HN700.67 A8N32

Typeset by Superskill Graphics Pte Ltd

Printed in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd

Acknowledgements

This book was mooted in 2017 by then Director of ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, Mr Tan Chin Tiong, as a contribution to Singapores Bicentennial Commemorations. The aim of the book was to take stock of Singapores socio-cultural progress through the decades and to offer insights into the potential mid- to long-term challenges facing the country. After some deliberation, we decided that the theme of integration would be a highly relevant one. In a multicultural society open to global trends, it is clear that the tensions between different values, beliefs, worldviews, identities, and ideologies will remain with us for the foreseeable future. These tensions have only become more complex, and it is increasingly necessary to understand integration as a multidimensional issue that warrants a multidimensional examination. This volume is an attempt at such an examination.

Such a book will not be possible without key individuals. It has been my privilege to identify local scholars whose work I admire to contribute to this volume. I have benefitted immensely from their learned perspectives. I am grateful to Mr Tan for the opportunity to work on this volume as well as the advice offered along the way. My thanks also goes to ISEAS Publications Unit and the editorial team for their professional work. My colleagues Daljit Singh, Benjamin Loh, and Hui Yew-Foong helped to sharpen the arguments and ideas in the chapters with their valuable feedback and critical comments. Research Officer John Choo Rong Hui was a very reliable and extremely competent assistant, and was instrumental in the coordination of the project. Last but not least, the kind support of Mr Choi Shing Kwok, the current Director of ISEAS, also went a long way in ensuring this book came out in a timely fashion.

List of Contributors

Ja Ian CHONG is Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. He previously worked with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC and the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies. He held fellowships from the Harvard-Yenching Institute, East-West Center, and the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program. His book External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation: China, Indonesia, Thailand, 1893-1952 (Cambridge, 2012) received the 2013/14 International Security Studies Section Book Award from the International Studies Association. Dr Chongs work crosses international relations, comparative politics, and political sociology, and focuses on security issues in the Asia-Pacific.

Terence CHONG is Deputy Director and Senior Fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. He is a sociologist who works on religion and the middle class in Southeast Asia, as well as multiculturalism in Singapore. He has published in journals such as Modern Asian Studies, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Asian Studies Review, Pacific Affairs, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, among others. He has edited books on Singapore, Thailand, and Christianity in Southeast Asia.

Vincent CHUA is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore. He received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Toronto, in 2010. His research areas are in the fields of social networks (and social capital), labour markets, social stratification (gender, race, education and class) and neighbourhoods. His research is featured in journal publications such as Social Networks, Social Science Research, Current Sociology, Sociological Perspectives, American Behavioral Scientist, and Sociology of Education.

Fang Yu FOO graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Major in Geography (BSc Hons). Her graduating research thesis focused on the Chinese diaspora and new immigrants in Singapore. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and is currently teaching Geography and Social Studies at the secondary school level in Singapore.

Daniel P.S. GOH is Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore. He studies state formation, postcolonialisms, race and multiculturalism, urbanisms, and religion. His recent co-edited books include Urban Asias: Essays on Futurity Past and Present (JOVIS Verlag, 2018) and Regulating Religion in Asia: Norms, Modes and Challenges (Cambridge University Press, 2019). His current work focuses on the cultural politics of history, heritage and global city making in Hong Kong, Penang and Singapore. He has published over fifty articles in journals and books; these can be found at www.danielpsgoh.com.

Elaine Lynn-Ee HO is Associate Professor at the Department of Geography and Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore. Her research addresses how citizenship is changing as a result of multidirectional migration in the Asia-Pacific. She is author of Citizens in Motion: Emigration, Immigration and Re-migration Across Chinas Borders (Stanford University Press, 2018), which received the American Sociological Associations (ASA) award for Best Book in Global and Transnational Sociology by an International Scholar in 2019.