Abstract

Singapore is a diverse society with many ethnic and faith groups living together in a highly urbanised space. Notwithstanding the occasional sectarian tensions, the different communities share many collective memories, bounded by our history as a small and geographically vulnerable city. This includes but not limited to our past as a British colony, the Japanese occupation in WW2, and the short-lived merger with the Malayan Federation, to name a few. The geopolitical turmoil in the first half of the last century, alongside the crippling domestic unrest between racial groups, and with communist leaders and trade unionist in the 1960’s, had all but left behind a deep imprint on the social psyche as one people. Our common legacies, however, are both inspirational and divisive. On the one hand, it rallies Singaporeans together towards a shared vision as an inclusive, multicultural society. But on the other hand, some elements of our history also pull tribal groups apart due to the primordial interest. As Singapore celebrates its 60th year of independence, it is a timely to reflect and discuss how the legacies and historical narratives shape the contemporary discourse on diversity, racial relations, and religious rituals, and what are the emerging changes and challenges ahead that will affect the state of multiculturalism and cohesion in Singapore.

Speakers

Dr Koh Keng We is Assistant Professor of History at NTU School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Prior to this, he was the head of the Southeast Asia program in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilization in Seoul National University (2013-2014), and curator at the Dr. You-Bao Shao Center for Overseas Chinese Documentation and Research in Ohio University Libraries (2007-2010).

Mr Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib is an independent researcher, dialogue facilitator, writer and interfaith advocate. He is director of Dialogue Centre; and a founding Board member of Centre for Interfaith Understanding (CIFU).

Dr Leong Chan-Hoong is Senior Fellow and Head of Social Cohesion Research Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.  He sits on the International Advisory Board at the Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research, in Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.