https://www.scmp.com/rss/501782/feed Balli Kaur Jaswal's novel Sugarbread, a multigenerational story about racism in Singapore, was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Even as far as WhatsApp chain messages go, this one was egregious: “20,000 foreign workers are now quarantined in several large dormitories. If only 2 per cent are infected, they will infect onwards their maid girlfriends. We’re talking 400 infected households.” The calculations continued exponentially to prophesise a catastrophic spread of Covid-19 in Singapore’s schools, workplaces and churches, all starting with foreign workers. The message, circulating among my relatives a few weeks ago,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3080987/rise-coronavirus-cases-brings-light-singaporeans-racist-attitudes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3080987/rise-coronavirus-cases-brings-light-singaporeans-racist-attitudes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2020 22:40:05 +0000 Two years ago, I was invited to a public panel to discuss writing about minority characters in Singapore fiction. “We can’t talk honestly about race though. How to fill the time?” I asked another writer. He replied, “We’ll just get the conversation started and then the race riots will take over.” The race riots: Singapore’s biggest bogeyman. Growing up, we were taught that the island state’s success depended on peace between ethnic groups. From race-based housing quotas to prevent ghettoization... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/its-time-have-honest-discussion-about-prejudice-singapore/article/3022739?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/its-time-have-honest-discussion-about-prejudice-singapore/article/3022739?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2019 10:54:43 +0000 Two years ago, I was invited to a public panel to discuss writing about minority characters in Singapore fiction. “We can’t talk honestly about race though. How to fill the time?” I asked another writer. He replied, “We’ll just get the conversation started and then the race riots will take over.”  The race riots: Singapore’s biggest bogeyman. Growing up, we were taught that the island state’s success depended on peace between ethnic groups. From race-based housing quotas to prevent ghettoisation... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3022468/race-riots-remain-singapores-biggest-bogeyman-its-time-have-honest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3022468/race-riots-remain-singapores-biggest-bogeyman-its-time-have-honest?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2019 01:00:06 +0000