BUCK IT UP: Racism In Singapore for Every Layman (Pt. 2)

8 June, 2021, TGIF came with a snowy side of sass. Singapore’s top siblings dropped their latest hit, BUCK IT UP – K. MUTHUSAMY.

BUT, WHY?

There’s been a sharp increase in recorded racism in Singapore lately, towards minority communities. it’s been there all along FYI, but with the increased usage and adoption of social media, we’re now starting to recognise and acknowledge that it does exist in our not so perfect island.

In addition to the usual “systemic”, “casual” and “institutional” racism that minority communities face in Singapore, we now see people brazenly and blatantly wearing their racist badges with pride and taking it upon themselves to preach their backward beliefs in public. 

Some to the extent of physical abuse, which is really disheartening to see. Every movement has a start and end point, and as someone who is grateful for the overall peace and stability that comes with living in Singapore, I do not want us to end up like certain places, *cough, USA, cough*. 

Despite our politicians at the top voicing blatantly discriminatory views, we’ve managed to keep alive fairly well. 

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Need some excerpts to jog your memory? 😉

Large crowds in Little India as walking time bombs – Denise Phua, PAP MP, 2016

Older generation of Singaporeans not ready for non-Chinese PM – Heng Swee Keat, DPM, 2019

There’s plenty more where that came from, but let’s not dwell on the past, let’s look onward! 

But wait… nothing’s changed, or perhaps it’s gotten worse (I wonder why?). 

Now’s as good a time as any other to look at the top few racist incidents that have made waves across social media, not state media (because there is no such thing as racism in Singapore!) and perhaps we’ll know why Singapore’s TOP siblings would like some people to Buck It Up.

MP who lost his place in parliament and was voted out in the last election calls Facebook commentator and member of the public, “Snowflake”. 

If you haven’t read the full story, I’d strongly suggest you do that here. But for now, I’ve got you covered with a TLDR.

TLDR: The People’s Association (which is a statutory board established to promote racial harmony and social cohesion in Singapore — literally on the PA website) took the liberty of using a Malay couple’s wedding photo as a Hari Raya standee prop with the couple’s faces cut out. 

When the bride saw the life-sized display and recognized that it was her, she called it out for what it was, a gross breach of privacy and casual racism (stemming and perpetuating from the top). PA of course denied the accusation of racism and agreed to open a dialogue with the affected individual, only to cancel it. 

Doesn’t look very good on the large government organisation whose sole purpose is to promote racial harmony and social cohesion, when they mistake wedding photos for a religious holiday (strike one), using their images without approval (strike two), and would they have done the same towards the majority group? 

Most likely not, because there would have been enough people from the majority group involved in the decision making process to tell the person who suggested the idea, that it’s a stupid fucking idea and should never be done. 

Perhaps there were no Malay people in the decision making process to tell PA that this is a NO-GO (so much for diversity in the workplace, but that’s pure speculation), made worse by PA literally cancelling the dialogue session with the affected individual (strike three, and honestly a cowardly move by a seemingly powerful organization, perhaps they’ve never heard of the term “being the bigger person”). 

And to cap it all off, when a Facebook user tried to engage said MP who lost in the previous election, he replied by calling said Facebook user a “snowflake”. 

It’s interesting to note how this ex-politician who got voted out, refused to partake in conversation regarding issues such as race. How do we move forward with public dialogue and discourse when people from the top (not on top anymore, cause he lost) refuse to engage in active discussion?

BUCK IT UP! MP WHO LOST IN THE LAST ELECTION AND WAS VOTED OUT. 

A 30-year-old male coward racially abused and kicked a 55-year-old woman in the chest.

Just so we’re clear, yes he was Chinese and she was Indian. She, who is 55 and would most likely be considered an aunty, was out for a brisk walk and as such was not fully masked up.

Older folks who are exerting themselves may have difficulty breathing if they’re wearing a mask, this should be common sense, but apparently, not so common for the racist coward who preyed on older women (not like how Indian guys prey on Chinese girls, this fella was a genuine predator). 

When I first read this disturbing news, I immediately thought about my own mother, and how if she were to suffer a fall from a kick no less, how that would severely injure her frail body. 

It’s bad enough being a racist, but do you also have to be a violent one picking on someone physically weaker than you, who you know will not be able to put up a fight, let alone a struggle? 

Thankfully the racist Chinese cowardly male has been swiftly apprehended by the police, and it is my belief that in line with our deterrence policy, we give him the maximum sentence possible so that anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps (pun intended), will think twice. 

Sure, we can’t reform people’s minds from out of the gutter, but we can definitely protect those we hold near and dear, who happen to be the most vulnerable in such scenarios, our elderly, our children, the list goes on. 

Although, it almost seems like just about every minority person’s a target these days, no?

BUCK IT UP! RACIST CHINESE MALE COWARD WHO KICKS AUNTIES IN THE CHEST.

Main read: https://mothership.sg/2021/05/man-racist-attack-indian-woman-arrested/

Ex Ngee Ann Poly Lecturer, Tan Boon Lee, proudly proclaims his ideological belief as a racist whilst confronting a mixed race couple.

Ex, because NP did the right thing and fired his outdated ass. Imagine someone with his beliefs moulding the minds of our future generations, absolutely disgusting. 

So when 60-year-old Mr. Tan, saw what was probably a curious sight to him, a mixed raced couple, he took it upon himself to chastise the unsuspecting man whom he labelled as Indian. It’s 2021, and this (ex, because fired) lecturer thought it was in his place to protect his fellow Chinese brethren from the deceptive ways of the predatory brown man. 

Because god forbid, women think for themselves and choose whom they want to date, marry and start a family with. But no, to Mr. Tan, they’re being preyed upon because he apparently doesn’t think that they can decide for themselves and make their own choices as free and strong individuals. 

Not wanting inter mingling of race because of a perceived belief in racial purity isn’t new, some guy in Nazi Germany already won the award for that, we hope that Mr. Tan finds his way out of his outdated concepts and joins us in 2021. 

Bigots will always exist, and it is our sacred duty to call them out and expose them for who they really are. 

Also he put a 18-year-old Muslim student on the spot whilst having a full-on discourse about Islam during an electronic and computer engineering class, because religion and computing has so much in common, right..? 

Long story short, his then student has since spoken up about the incident which led the school to launch an investigation and coupled with his recent tirade, he got rightfully booted.

Main read: https://mothership.sg/2021/06/racist-man-ngee-ann-poly-lecturer/

BUCK IT UP TAN BOON LEE! OR GET BOOTED, which you did.  

Bi-weekly Prayer Routine Enhanced by the Chiming of Gongs

If you haven’t seen the video, don’t, for the sake of your inner peace and calm. You don’t deserve to watch that wretched woman with that smug look on her face as she ascends into her own world of self fulfilment by disrupting the religious practice of another ethnic group. 

We live in a multi racial, multi cultural society, which means it’s going to come with a certain level of racial and religious tolerance. 

We live and let live. Once a year Indians are given permission to carry out a religious procession from a Temple at Tank Road to Keong Saik Road. We used to have slightly more upbeat music and drums but that was an issue with residents, thus we had to dull down the atmosphere. 

Minorities on the other hand have to tolerate a month-long festival where smoke pollutes the air we breathe and ashes get blown into our households. In my 32 years living in Singapore, not once have I seen an incident of someone running rampant with a fire extinguisher to put out these flames, because we understand that there is a certain level of give and take when it comes to co-existing with various people.

However, the same courtesy just doesn’t seem to be extended towards minority communities, why?

We’ve all seen her before, or at least a version of her, that vile glance thrown in your direction simply because of the colour of your skin. The dirty looks because you look different. But ultimately, it is the perfect persona of racism captured in that one last look that some of us have been unlucky enough to come across. 

It is the ugly head of racism that’s slowly rearing itself once again, it’s always been amongst us, but for whatever reason, it’s unionising and coming out together stronger than ever. 

The good news is that a police report has been filed and it’s undergoing investigation, the bad news is that it’s been approximately two weeks and she hasn’t faced the music.

BUCK IT UP! LET US PRAY IN PEACE, PLEASE. 

There are plenty more references in Preetipls & SUBHAS’ song, but to dissect the vile acts of each and every individual who either thinks it is OK to exploit minority culture, repackage and repurpose them for their own gain, or people who carry on to perpetuate the unacceptable culture that put’s minority communities at a disadvantage (hello property agents, I’m looking at you). 

At the end of the day, racists are going to exist whether we like it or not. If you are one, and if you’ve lasted reading all the way until here (because apparently you folks are educated too, Hwa Chong and all), do the rest of us a favour and form a Facebook group for yourself and your like-minded friends so that we peace loving people can identify and stay away from you. 

So Buck It Up, even If you’re a regular person, if you witness something out of the ordinary, don’t just whip out your phone and start recording, raise your collective voices in public and stand up for those who are not able to stand up for themselves, step in and intervene in a diplomatic manner if you see something amiss.

“In a racist society it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist.”

Angela y davis

Want to read more about inclusion, rights, and racism in Singapore? Check out these K. Muthusamy recommended readings.