By Angus Yip (18A01A), Zara Karimi (18A01A)
While multiracialism is a core tenet of the Singaporean identity, our society is one that continues to be drawn along racial lines. This almost paradoxical relationship manifests itself in different ways: citizens and permanent residents have their race stated on official documents, the housing development board allocates flats with quotas based on race, and, most notably, the Singapore government has declared that the next elected president will be Malay.
These incidents have all sparked their own debates on race and representation in Singapore. Given the starkly different, and often diametric viewpoints, objective, open conversations are absolutely necessary. This was what Raffles Debaters set out to do with the focus of the recent Hodge Lodge Debate Series event – race-based affirmative action. The motion for the night was “This House supports race-based affirmative action policies.”
Continue reading “Hodge Lodge Debate Series: Race Based Affirmative Action”
