IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION IN CONTEMPORARY SINGAPORE

Singapore's success as a global city is in no small part attributable to its stance on foreign labour and immigrants, illustrated by a largely welcoming but discerning immigration regime to fulfil vital socio-economic needs. However, this fairly liberal policy on immigration has been met with substantial disquiet over the last decade. Xenophobic tendencies have surfaced periodically and have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This edited volume spotlights these contemporary issues on immigrant integration in Singapore, and adopts a functional approach by explicitly bridging academic and practitioner perspectives. The chapters are organised into three sections. The first section on Challenges discusses various dominant trends — obstacles to immigrant integration based on ethnicity, culture and religion, and the fear and associated emotions that characterise reactions to immigration. The second section focuses on Communities, their perspectives and lived experiences in Singapore society. The latter differ substantially depending on migrant statuses and are contingent on social capital defined in relation to locals in the city-state. The last section seeks to illustrate the various Solutioning endeavours in tandem with the contentious nature of immigration. These concrete efforts range from ground-up initiatives, community-based collaborative approaches and government programming; all seeking to advance immigrant integration in Singapore.

Contents:

• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Challenges:
  • Impact of COVID-19 on Immigrant Perceptions and Relations (Mathew Mathews and Melvin Tay)
  • Viewing Ourselves and Others: Differences, Disconnects and Divides amongst Locals and Immigrants in Singapore (Lai Ah Eng)
  • Regional Similarities and the Illusion of Unity: Asian Foreign Talent and the Lack of Integration in Singapore (Catherine Gomes)
  • Fearing the Foreign: Dissecting Dicey Discourses of Local Emotional Responses towards Immigrants (Teo Kay Key and Yap Jia Hui)
• Communities:
  • At Arm's Length: Acceptance and Integration of Migrant Labour in Singapore (Danielle Hong)
  • Birthplace and Belonging: Negotiating Local-Born and China-Born Chinese Identities in Immigrant Integration (Teo Kay Key and Alicia Wang)
  • What Do the Masses Think? Themes of Immigrant Integration in Chinese Forum Letters (Clara Lee)
  • Contemporary Issues of Integrating New Indian Immigrants in Singapore (Ritu Jain and Shanthini Selvarajan)
  • Perspectives of High Net-Worth Indian Immigrants on National Integration (Chitra Rajaram)
  • Cultural Stress and Ethnic Identity: Korean Adolescents in Singapore (Chung You Jin)
• Solutioning:
  • The Journey to Citizenship: Civic Integration and Multiculturalism in the Singapore Citizenship Quiz (Debbie Soon)
  • Making Singapore Feel Like Home: The Role of Grassroots Volunteers in Facilitating Migrant Integration (Rebecca Grace Tan Tian En)
  • Migrant Workers Colabs: Convening and Empowering the Ecosystem (Gloria Arlini, Brian Theng and Melissa Kwee)
  • Examining the Role and Utility of Immigrant Associations in Integration (Mathew Mathews and Zhang Jiayi)
  • The Way Forward: Engagement, Dialogue and Ground-Up Initiatives Integral to Integration (Melvin Tay and Mathew Mathews)
• About the Contributors (In Order of Appearance)
• About the Editors

Readership: Academics and policy practioners in the field of migration, with a special focus on migration issues in Singapore.

Key Features:

• Structured and signposted to encompass a wide variety of perspectives vis-à-vis the issue of immigrant integration in Singapore
• Timely publication for the perusal of academics and policy practitioners, given the prevailing socio-political climate and heightened interest in immigration and nationality
• Provides a contemporary "refresh" on the topic of immigrant integration in Singapore, incorporating more practical and ground-oriented chapters over and above traditional academic pieces