Letters | Singapore is not racist: city has stood by migrant workers in coronavirus crisis
- Steps taken to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of migrant workers include mandating that they continue to be paid and providing them with meals and SIM cards
No one in Singapore has been segregated to be treated differently. In fact, we have been attentive in testing and treating anyone that needs medical care, regardless of one’s origin or their ability to pay. We have taken the necessary actions to safeguard the lives of foreign workers whom we appreciate for their worthy contributions in building our nation.
It is not just their lives that we look after. Their livelihoods have been looked after too. The foreign workers’ levies have been waived and employers are mandated to pay these workers their salaries despite the need to stop all work.
Many have been given SIM cards to keep in touch with their families back home. Lodging and meals continue to be supplied to them. To avert a massive spread of the virus, alternative accommodation has been arranged to space these foreign workers out.
We tend to see what we look out for. It is easy to cast our lens on a single cause that we care about greatly. It seems the writer has drawn on the views of three individuals – a letter writer, a taxi driver and her domestic helper – to extrapolate a prevalence of racism in how Singaporeans treat foreign labour. Is the sample large enough to draw such a conclusion? Is it fair for our international audience to think that Singapore is a racist society?