Where does Singapore stand on race relations? | Regardless Of Race | Full Episode 

I have lived in 5 different countries for the last 20 years as a Singaporean, I was almost always racially discriminated as an Asian. I understand how they feel n wish that the elitism culture will not give way to bullies, pls do not take our racial harmony for granted. Address the minority ethnic groups n give them the same chances like everyone else without judgements

As a Filipino, I have experienced extreme racism from Singaporeans and Chinese Permanent Residents. They were really rude to me and constantly bullied me at work. I resigned and moved to England instead (best decision). Racism is definitely a huge problem in Singapore.

Coming from a Sri Lankan ethnicity in Switzerland I feel happy being the minority of the minority because I feel special and privileged. Asians are rare and seen as model minority in my country.

This is an absolutely fascinating yet incredibly thought provoking programme. Kudos for actually challenging and discussing this important topic. I hope racial harmony isn’t just a surface level ideal and a real aspiration to live and thrive by.

I’ve faced a lot of racism in Singapore, far more than what I faced in US,Australia and UK combined. Being a Singapore-indian, we as a society need to do better.

I have been in singapore for the past 20 years, faced racism in getting jobs, getting a home on rent etc. Racism is everywhere and does not surprise me anymore. Sadly, I have accepted it.

As a Singaporean Eurasian, I am more accepted in the UK or US than in my home country. Sad isn't it? But that's Singapore for you. Unless you're a Tan Ah Kow or Lee Ah Lian, then be prepared to be discriminated against. Even the ang mohs are made to feel unwelcome. I'm starting to understand why some people think Singapore is part of China.

the government should heavily fine those damn companies that keep requesting u need to understand mandarin in able to work for their company.. this have been going on for more than 20 years

Key is for people to learn to accept indifference and work towards the good virtue that human being should show to each others .

This is so educational! I never knew the end result will be like this. I’m a supervisor role in my company but I never judge anyone by race, religion or language. If he or she can perform, equal chances are give to everyone of them.

long time ago theres a saying 1 malay take drug 2 indian alcoholic 3 chinese gambling

if only Malaysia could come out with such in-depth documentaries. Bravo CNA for exploring this rather taboo/sensitive topic

I lived and worked in Singapore and have couple of instances of racism against me. There is a lot of hidden racism in Singapore. This old Chinese Lady I sat next to in the MRT went away making face when I boarded the train and sat next to her as the seat was vacant. Couple of Singaporean Chinese youngsters did notice what the old lady did and they both quietly smiled at each other.

Iam very proud of u sir for discussing this matter with our 4 main original group of race in Singapore But still It happens till today, its just that people are willing to accept and discuss to a common platform to a harmonious manner and move on. Ultimately we are all human beings but as you've discussed in a topic of "Privelage" I think that issue really make us feel uneven in all level of aspects. Thats the truth...

What a stupid Question, are you racist? Even if there's someone who are racist, will they admit that. All country in the world are racist whether is minor or major. It is because the some people know how to hide their expression.

"The garden is more beautiful when the flowers are many-colored and different; the variety lends charm and adornment. In a flock of doves some are white, some black, red, blue; yet they make no distinction among themselves." - Baha'i Faith

It’s almost impossible to eliminate racism. It’s everywhere. Majority will be racists every corner of the world .

You see the indigenous people of Singapore were the most tolerant and understanding people and race. People make fun of us, called us lazy and many more. We swallow it and try to improve ourselves. Yes many taxi uncles tryst the malay community because they can converse in malay plus we are not too troublesome. After all take taxi you pay accordingly

When I see the gap my eyes were filled up with tears.

In Malaysia, most Malaysian like to live with race boundary. As Malay, In my school period, I experienced as minority. My best friend is Christian Indian. Thats why I try to get along to each other. Eventhough I'm not understood what they was saying I just stick around with them and pretending like you understood what they saying. But, What actually I saw student more comfortable get along with thier group of race. School is where new generation start to understand and what is future all about. What happened on the past is the reason what happenings now

A good honest start to the Race discussion .Every multi racial country has go through these hard questions/discussions to find the courage to treat people equally ...

Recently I sit at bus stop... There were 3 seats. Next seat in bus stop was a Indian guy... Another seat was Chinese uncle. Suddenly this Chinese lady came & wanted to sit.... she look at Indian guy & Refused to sit then she look at me also refused to sit. I was watching her behaviour while waiting for bus. So I stood up & told her to sit. But she didn't. Her bus came shortly. After she left I went back to my sit. I was a fool to believe that our National Pledge is True....

The racial riots that happen in the 60's must be a very strong reminder for all sporeans that it is a lesson that we must never forget.All of us are created equal.

Harmony is about tolerance and respect for one another and yet recognizing and accepting the differences in culture and views of another without hate. Singapore is made up of different races and all who are wise will understand that together we stand and divided we fall. So, let's be wise and continue to keep Singapore strong and live in harmony through love, respect and acceptance of one another. That's what makes a great country, a great home! :)

Mathew Mathews is an interesting name. So when I called out Mathew Mathew! I am really using his full name

Quite happy this show up on my feed. Personally, racism is a problem that stems from ones' choice of being ignorant to others who belong to a different cultural identity. Every individual is responsible to internalise inclusivity without the prejudices and judgement of any person based on their exterior. I think if we educate ourselves to judge others based on actions and intentions, racism will cease to exist.

A good start...public awareness and education through social, broadcast and other mass media is critically required to evoke empathy amongst and between citizens..kudos to the producer of this documentary!

Its almost 2020, just say NO to racism! I Love Singapore! I am from New York originally, it is the melting pot of the Globe. Perhaps thats why I have never been racist and will never be.

"Singapura" stands for the 'Lion City' and is derived from the Sanskrit words 'Simha' or lion, and 'Pura' or city or Hindu religious place, and the story of how the name came about is probably one of the more famous Singaporean legends.The majority Chinese prefered 新加坡 (Xīnjiāpō)If you based on earlier name of Singapura is most appropriate in historical records. Lion from the "King of the forest" and "pura" meaning city or elaboratively, "pur" and "pura" are suffixes meaning "city" or "settlement." Used in several place names across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Afghanistan. The word "pura" is the oldest Sanskrit language word for "city", finds frequent mention in the Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism. To interpret it from Chinese character 新加坡 will be different, as "Singapura" meaning where historically inclined into Forestcity, Greencity or environment ( friendly or religious city) "pura". "Majulah Singapura" best fit the historical facts and legends against the majority oversea Chinese in Singapore preference, Republic of Xīnjiāpō. However, the influence of overseas Chinese is greater to the inclination towards China as "Qiblat" or direction and cultures. Kudos.

The fact that we can leisurely do this kind of self-examination is already proof of how good the harmony in Singapore is. Looking out for flaws and striving for perfection is admirable, but we need to keep everything in the right perspective.

A government official plainly said that “Singapore is not ready for a non-Chinese PM”. If the country’s own government doesn’t go by the pledge then how do you expect the people to?

different races come with different cultures, skin tones, religion and values... so racial harmony can only be achieved by being able to appreciate such differences and being able to joke & laugh at each racial sterotypes including our own.

In school I can say among classmates, we do make some jokes directed at people of certain race that may actually be VERY inappropriate to a unknown person. But ultimately we joke about, we still treasure friendship, we still understand we are humans. I think that is what it is, be happy and light hearted to the right people, but be sensitive towards the right ones too. And as long as these views do not get into the professional field.

Yes, take this Further & deeper on the very obvious issues that also touch on national security, tolerance & social bias. Then only we can protect & be proud of our beloved nation😎🌹😎

There are some crucial questions that are missed out in view of current situations in the world. I agree that there will always be inequalities in this world. Everyone cannot be equal but should be treated equally. However, until Singapore's society has matured to a more critical thinking, objective population, it would be very risky or tough to have open discussions on race, not to mention for some races, it comes tightly package with religion. Thus, it might more helpful to heighten awareness of common racists acts, remarks, jokes and comments through mini social experiments to highlight its negative sides to citizens, especially our young and hope that they will be more considerate in interacting with their friends of different races. Last but not least, we should also emphasize the point that we are all Singaporeans, regardless of race and religion, we all share common space and national identity. Let us all focus on working together with a common goal for the betterment of our society as a whole. Mr Janit, this documentary was done pretty well, though I think more can be shown in a positive manner. I could not help but feel that you started this with a mindset to prove there is racism in Singapore rather than approaching this matter with a more neutral and open minded manner. I'd like suggest to all my fellow countryman to cross the causeway and stay for a period of 3 mths to see for yourselves how rampant and government-supported racism can fracture a society and render its national efficency a joke, before we start to beat ourselves up for being that bit of a racist. I'm not saying we are not, we are, but recognise that we have achieved some progress and that we are well poised to be on the right track to be better. To have sociel stability and economic competence, multi racial harmony is a must. To ensure a country's viability and development, race and religion cannot be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Understanding this statement would then propel us to strive towards greater, deeper racial harmony amongst us.

I saw a smile on the reporter when taxi driver said he likes Malays......

“My jokes are not Racist if You make Fun to all races, you are fine. Everyone must have a Fair share” i like his statement.

From what I observe, Singaporeans are largely peaceful and accepting, I think. I mean, no society is perfect. but I think Singapore comes close. :)

That’s scene with the kids made me tear up, they just built up a tougher skin and accept to discrimination and bullying. We can do definitely better as humans.

Brilliant research. Thanks for sharing. As a child from Surinamese parents that are of Indian descent this has been quite the eye opener for me. I’ve been growing up since the 80’s in the Netherlands where the Caucasian is the majority thus the group setting the moral standard. Racism in multiple forms(direct, indirect, institutional) has been widely normalized and accepted in the Netherlands for years being the majority is white and all else being the minority. Migrants here back in the late 60’s/ 70’s were being ‘tolerated’ as workers serving the Dutch community doing labour that is considered of low regard. In ‘22 there is still a ‘tolerant’ perspective towards minorities and even 2nd or 3d gen migrant children at the same time, are still not being considered real Dutch. Trying to compare the Singapore situation with the Dutch one seems to be impossible. One thing is something that is quite interesting, correct me if I’m wrong but every culture in Singapore do consider themselves and each other as being Singaporean. Very interesting though how the racial ‘perspective’ is within an predominantly Asian demographic and how type of skin color and/or religion plays as a factor in to defining status. I’ve visited Singapore back in ‘17 and I have to admit that it’s a wonderful- and remarkable feeling to be part of a multicultural majority. I’ve never experienced something like that and I hope to visit soon in the future.

Good documentary there is no place in this world without racism To escape from this must be highly educated and make ourselves rich

It actually hurt when that little boy said "people say my culture is bad."

Very open and informative! Looking to more discussion like this to reach the non superficial racial harmony.

In other countries, churches and mosques are getting fire bombed. I'd say Singapore is well ahead

my eyes open... I thought only Chinese in Singapore have Siglish assent. The host and the first interviewer also has it.. wow

Nicely Done. Congrat - I believe education plays an important role.

A wonderful but bittersweet documentary. The social experiment with the group of adults walking forward or backwards was particularly heartbreaking. If you only performed that experiment in different places and had small, mixed group conversations afterwards for one to 1-1/2 hours (with a snack!!!!), I think that the privileged group would be able to see so much more clearly their privilege and they would FEEL the heartbreak of being in the very back. They would then be able to start the dialogue themselves with the others and ask sensitively made questions. You then wouldn't have to say anything else. I'm African-American , live in Europe and I understand this dilemma very well. Thank you for this excellently-made program.

Singapore is a multiracial & multicultural country. But still some singaporeans from the majority groups show racist personality towards the minority groups. Me & my mother have experience it for so many times inside the mrt train. When we sit or stand beside them, they will start to rub their nose, cover their nose & give us a not a happy look on their face. Sometimes they will talk in their own language & say ...... this indian beside me smelly leh, no shower, buay tahan. As a indian singaporean, i can understand a bit of mandarin language. Me & my mother just ignore them, carry on with our conversation. We should have roadshow events about multiracial & multicultural to educate some singaporeans from the majority groups about racial harmony in Singapore.

What the taxi driver said is the truth. You can ask any taxi drivers or private hire drivers, they will give you the same answer. Malay passengers generally give the least problems. I was driving Uber/Grab for almost 4 years and I came to the same conclusion. As someone here mentioned there is a difference between "stereotyping" and "racism". By telling the truth dose not mean you are racist.

Ask someone who marry different race

Thank u for the documentary. MALAYSIA next please!

All of us have to start somewhere. Nature, environment and education play a part. There is choices had to be made. Knowing between what is good or bad is essential. Ultimate decision is ours to make. No body is perfect. There always room for improvement.

I think there is a difference between stereotyping and racism .

All i can say is generally, in sg, people take race as a sensitive topic to a extent that they avoid talking about all these problems and just dismiss them. Does Chinese experience privilege? Denfinitely yes, and im saying this as a chinese myself. Im currently studying in a SAP school, ofc this did gave me more opportunities to discover my potential and interest in the Chinese cultire and chinese literacy, but somtimes i did think about it that the existence of schools like SAP schools is a huge disadvantage for minorities, especially when almost all SAP schools are elite schools and with good educational resources. Also, without the interactions with classmates of other races, i did realise that both me and my classmates can be quite insensitive towards the culture of the other races. Definitely, this has to be fixed

no matter how much Singapore pride about racial harmony, there is still a racist in all of us.

Education for the knowledge of right from wrong and the importance of respecting others. And help out the poor to minimise stressed up people brewing hatred.

Kumar is correct in saying that if you are offended, don't attend his show. One will have to ignorant and naive to think, and not expect that his show will contain things that may and will offend, and I think the audience expects that. It also shows a sign of maturity by a people that can laugh at themselves but at the same time not take to heart and treat it as harmless humour, provided it is portrayed as such. This same maturity should also be able to distinguish between what is lighthearted humour and real offence, which at times can be a fine line between them. If it is the latter, to absolutely not put up with it.

Singapore is fair regardless of race. That's why she is progressing so fast and strong. They treat every races equally no discrimination.

This documentary missed out racism Singaporean faced from foreign nationals. There was a case of an European man who assaulted a Malay woman because he hates Muslims in his country. Another case was a Chinese uncle security got beaten by an American in a mall car park for not able to find the exit.

HAHA racial harmony my ass. Used to serve as a combat engineer for the SAF and u guess it not a single Malay in my whole unit. Out in the corporate world as well you can see most top spots are u guess it Chinese. Singapore is and always will be a Chinese first society. period point blank.

Hi there, I'm Malaysian-Chinese. You might know that in Malaysia, my group is smaller. I was surprised to find out that non-Chinese folks in Singapore face similar issues, but in a less obvious way. Some politicians in our country are making things worse for racial harmony. Living here, it sometimes feels like we, who aren't part of the majority, are treated like second class citizens. Most Singaporeans seem to be trying their best to keep things calm, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. I get how minorities feel when they say they feel inferior and keep those feelings to themselves. :(

Bias and racism are very different. We ALL show a level of bias, but we aren't all racist.

We are human race. All humans with brains are biased and racist. Accept the fact that we are different within each race, and we will find differences with the next of kin. That is what we are. Just discuss it, accept it and celebrate the differences on your friendship day.

This is an excellent documentary.

Why do Malaysia and Singapore still have Tamil and Mandarin as official languages ? They have been there for 3 generations since independence so surely they should have become homogeneous and have Malay (Malaysia) or English (Singapore) as the only language?

I am not Singaporean but still quite an eye opener because I thought Singapore is probably least racist country in Asia. I judge people all the time but not based on their race, exterior or without knowing them. I judge people based on their actions or after knowing them. It's shocking how people immediately form an impression just based on how they look even in Singapore !!!

Singapore is racist society. Racism doesn't mean if somebody say you with words. Ignoring somebody being belonging to different race is also called racism. As far as professional/student life concerns, things are find everywhere. Beyond these points Singapore is racist society. You will see white people in Singapore having their on community, Indian has their own, Chinese and Malays has their own too. Again as far as student life or professional life concerns people might be on same page. But you will hardly see mix people gathering. Even chines moms would never like their kids playing with the kid who belong to another race.

y is it in 480p

Till today nobody sits beside an Indian man in the bus.A very sad thing happening in a well educated country.

People being a bit prejudiced at times isn't much of an issue, it's human nature to favor the familiar after all. Just be more understanding towards one another in the end. Also, a bit of racial humor isn't that bad in the end, you can make fun of one another if it's done in a healthy way and if you know when to draw the line. If you don't do things with ill intentions and are willing to learn from your mistakes, you're gonna do pretty alright.

Racism can never vanished in this world even it can be Singapore. I ever came across where a chinese who told me that he doesn't like Indians. There are many peoples like him who is an Singaporean.

Why did you cut off the little chinese girl who said “we have a lot of things in common” when the interviewer asked her about her chinese best friend? In the short trailer she embellished her answer with “we like the same colour and have the same shoes”. This edit is a bit .... one would assume she meant ”chinese tingz” when it’s as innocent as children having child-like interests.

I m thrilled to c how we r talking frankly bout an issue that has always been here. In the past it was taboo n we wld hv to deal with it.I m not saying that by çoming tru social media is gonna make a rapid change bout the current situation,but it does bring some acknowlegement of wat was whispered in d dark in d past into an open discussion in the present light. My name is Johnson,n based on that people always expect me to b of a lighter colour n they always wonder how come i m hvin an english name. Well its cos i m catholic.N they r shocked cos they expect me to hv an indian name at d end of an english front name. Based on this,i can tell u that we hv a long long way to go. But kudos to those who bring this issue into d light. Lets move forward as human being guys.There r more pressing issues to deal with in this world n Racism will never help out in dealing with our current world issues.🤟🏾

I have a question for the host. Would you consider to conduct your racist test in America or Canada?

Regardless of how developed a country is, discrimination exists. Discrimination comes in the form of race, sex/ gender, age and physical appearance. Work / job employment discrimination exist even though there's law in place against this. The fact that when one needs to write down his or her date, month and year of birth, it allows the hirer (HR/ recruiter) to decide if he/ she wants to meet the job seeker based on this info in the resume.

I wish there was a video posted somewhere of the whole experiment, they only picked a few questions as part of this documentary ...

Why are the minority Eurasians excluded from this discussion.As I have personally experienced this with job applications and in my working. environment

my nephew married a muslim wife n we gather together for meals but r kept apart from her since she cannot eat pork... n kids wear the burlker…. so race differences r there but NOT talked abt.... u chinese "how many singhs friends do u have ??? or malays have indian friends.... my neighbours in hdb r Indians... never said one word of good morning for 5 years... so don't kid yourself racial differences r alive n well.

Im a Singapore born indian Up to this day Once a while a get racist remarks and slurs And I’m not sorry to say I don’t belive in the Singapore national anthem.

thumbnail looks like 'someordinarygamers' dad or something

Racial discrimination Is happening every where in Singapore. This is true. Monitory Is always bullied always

Just judge people on an individual basis, you can have some stereotypes but then interact with people individually so you can break your stereotype or sometimes they can be true

The problem is not race. It's the cultural mentality. That can be surmounted by tolerance and a give and take attitude.

Here is the conundrum, you successfully encourage people to treat others of different races with respect. You educate them on how to set aside their inherent biases in their dealings with others. Then you are surprised to discover that they are now reluctant to talk about race. Now you demand that they are more open and transparent in expressing the attitudes and bias that occupy their conscious and subconscious minds. You should be careful about what you wish for. At the heart of this idea, is the belief that racism is abnormal. That it is a learned behaviour that must be unlearned. Singaporeans used to know that racism is normal. That given a choice between the like and the unlike most people prefer the like. People have to understand that racism is normal if they are to grow beyond their prejudices, and exercise self control and good manners. That making that transformation is a duty of every citizen. As is forgiving those that trespass.

We may not be fighting openly but that dosent mean we are racially harmonious.

Great documentary! Make one think !,,

JP: Do you have best friend? What race is your best friend? Indian boy: Indian. Chinese girl: Chinese. Malay girl: Malay and Chinese.... Enough said.

We might be racist but we ought to respect each other . It’s his or her prerogative if they dun want to eat beside me cos I am Chinese - I respect it. But they shouldn’t make racist remarks. Everyone is somehow racist in one way or the other but we should know what to say and what not to say - at the end of the day we should respect and accept each other. I am glad that in my life I enjoyed getting to know people from all ard the world- I enjoy learning about their language and culture . Life is short dun waste your time living in a color .

Great topic. We all have preconceived notions about races we don’t understand or know. It is my opinion that our thoughts are based on such notions. Once we hang out with other races and talk with them we are able to get past these. I feel my kids who have a more racially diverse experience will have a better experience understanding other races as compared to me. I’m not sure we should call this racism. When we call such prejudices racism we stop discussions and there is no change.

honestly us as children have gone through racism but we accept it as the norm , suck it up and move on till today it affects my self esteem

Being biased is just normal for humans and not the same as racist, it usually does not equate to hate. If someone asks "are races different from one another" then yes, if they ask" does it really matter?" then the answer should be no.

History, religion, Kumar. You don't leave any stone unturned

WHEN YOU SPEAK ABOUT RACES.....YOU BRING UP GOOD POSITIVE POINTS ABOUT A DIFFERENT RACE.....ALWAYS ❗️❗️❗️ BECAUSE BENEATH EACH PERSON COLOURED SKIN....IS THE SAME HEART, SAME LUNGS , SAME ORGANS .....LIKE EVERYONE ELSE ❗️❗️ SO....WHY BRING UP RACES ❓️❓️ IS IT SO DAMNED IMPORTANT ❓️❓️❓️ IT IS ONLY SKIN ....DIFFERENCE EVERY RACE HAS ITS OWN TRADITION AND CULTURE....IT MAKE SINGAPORE SO UNIQUE ❗️❗️❗️SO FASCINATING.....👍👍👍 SINGAPORE HAD REACHED ITS PERFECTION IN HARMONY AMONGST ALL BEAUTIFUL RACES LIVING IN IT....TOGETHER....AS ONE ❗️❗️❗️ WE LEARN TO TOLERATE EACH OTHER....AND LIVED AS ONE TRUE NATION REGARDLESS OF RACE, LANGUAGE OR RELIGION.....PERIOD❗️❗️❗️

As living things, it is in our cells to seek out kinship and to harbour caution and distrust to others. But being civilised, this is something we need to overcome.

Singapore still handles Race better than America so for that everyone should be proud!

This documentary is stark reminder and also a warning to all those people who are vouching for the nation with 5000 years of history to be at the apex... This is what they have done and will do....Its high time folks especially former colonies should respect Britain and its inclusiveness even though we have committed crimes against humanity. Give it a thought.

Tolerance is the word. Racists yes, but only a small percentage. The rest are tolerance to other races because you got to live together in harmony. In other part of the world. You have same race fighting each other because of political differences. Also credits go to SG govt to take action immediately when extreme racists rare their heads.

There is racist mentality in every one of us, it's just we dont do it all the time.

Thats the difference of being a perfect society...your individual feelings are irrelevant just for the sake of its perfect society....your scared to talk as an individual to avoid being labeled as outlined

And because my parents wont, I will talk about it with my siblings to ensure that they do not offend anyone with the things they say and do. It is normal to think aloud but we should also learn to accept that there is every bad in any good people.