Effectiveness of Efforts to Integrate New Immigrants

Ms Tan Su Shan asked the Prime Minister whether recent efforts to integrate new immigrants have been effective and what the specific goals to be achieved from these integration efforts are.

The Minister, Prime Minister's Office (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Prime Minister): Mr Speaker, our goals are to encourage our new immigrants to integrate into society by embracing our Singaporean values and norms and contributing to their new homeland, and to strengthen the bonds between new immigrants and local-born Singaporeans. Integration needs to occur at all levels of society and involve as many locals and new immigrants as possible, in order to be effective and sustainable.

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The National Integration Council (NIC) was therefore established in 2009 to encourage ground-up initiatives to integrate people, and also to involve the people, private and public sectors. The NIC has made inroads into the key spheres of interaction between new immigrants and locals, namely, our schools, the workplace and the community. For example, the People's Association Integration Council was formed in July 2012 to support the network of 87 Integration and Naturalisation Committees, one in each constituency. More than 1,200 Integration and Naturalisation Champions from these Committees help newcomers settle down in the community and establish social networks with Singaporeans. Through the Community Integration Fund, the NIC has provided grants to support some 200 integration initiatives organised by students, companies and community and cultural groups.

We monitor the effectiveness of such initiatives through indicators such as participation levels and feedback, while recognising that such measurements are at best proxy indicators. For example, feedback collated from new citizens who have participated in the Singapore Citizenship Journey indicated that the programme had enriched their knowledge of our country's key institutions and values. Many also felt encouraged to take part in community activities after attending the programme.

We also take reference from independent research conducted by think tanks and academic institutions. One such study by the Institute of Policy Studies showed that 85% of new immigrants attested to friendships with local born Singaporeans in the heartlands. As integration is a long-term process, it is still too early to conclude on the effectiveness of the initiatives and programmes. Nonetheless, more must be done. Student leaders and educators, employers and unions, grassroots and community leaders as well as new immigrants must join us in this important task of strengthening our social cohesion.

I encourage our new immigrants to also actively seek out opportunities to contribute to our community. This is a good way to expand their social network, gain first-hand experience of our norms and culture, and settle down in their new home more quickly. We seek Singaporeans' understanding and patience as we work towards the common goal of strengthening our social harmony.

Ms Tan Su Shan (Nominated Member): Sir, I thank the Minister for her reply. My supplementary question arises from having read with great interest the latest release from the Prime Minister's Office on "Our Population, Our Future". It does appear that our numbers for new immigrants and PRs peaked in 2008 at 100,000 granted, to recent numbers in 2011 of around 42,000 granted. So, my question here is: is this quantum the target that we are aiming towards? Are we still aiming towards sharp declines in this quantum, or is it the quality of these new immigrants and PRs that we grant what we are looking at?

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Mr Speaker, with your indulgence, I would like to invite the Member to file a separate Parliamentary Question (PQ) because I believe that this clarification is very different from what the original PQ was meant for.

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Mr Speaker: Yes, please.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: I would like to thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. I agree in fact that the approach must be sustainable and impactful. Sir, I would like to ask the Ministry if the ground-up approach is too narrow and too reliant on grassroots and voluntary organisations. Also, while the funding set aside, for example funding of $10 million to PA, is impactful, would the Government consider a more comprehensive integration programme undertaken by Government agencies that engage new citizens before they are approved for citizenship, or subject to approval to ensure the programme is well covered, and all new citizens can integrate effectively, regardless of background, including the high-income groups that are often difficult to reach by grassroots organisations?

Apart from new citizens, would the Government also consider an assimilation programme to address the one million plus foreign manpower here? Many of them are also residing among us in the HDB heartlands. Would such a programme not lead to better understanding of our social norms, race and cultures as well?

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Sir, I thank the Member for the clarification, which gives me the opportunity to explain what the Council has been doing. In fact, when we talk about community effort, it is a very broad definition. We are involving employers from the day, as he has mentioned, new workers come in, and how do we inculcate into them the daily lives of Singaporeans, and how do we educate them on what is the acceptable social norm. So, that is happening at the Work Pass application process. All foreign workers, when they come to Singapore, will have to go through a public education process. It is really targeted at workers and it is done on a very broad base. I would say that all foreign workers, when they come to Singapore, would receive some education. At the same time, MOM and its team will actually go down to the foreign workers' dormitories to spread the public message about how do they keep the amenity intact and not disturb the neighbourhood. So, this is something that is on-going.

We classify our work into three levels: first, what we call a functional integration; in their daily lives, what is the expected norm, try to tone down after a certain hour. It is very basic and very essential for people just to understand the expectation of Singaporeans, and the basic living in the midst of Singaporeans.

The second level is really socialisation: how do we help newcomers, whether it is workers or immigrants, to establish social network, and that is done at various levels. It is not just at the community level. It is also at the schools − at the Primary, Secondary and even tertiary levels. We would like to have the schools involved and MOE is represented in the Integration Council. So, again, it is very broad based, very extensive engagement at the school levels.

Third is really what we call "building a mutual trust". It is a deeper level of understanding and emotional attachment to their new country and their new place of residence, and that is really something where we need community help to come in, both in the PA setting as well as in various other settings. For example, some VWOs have come forward and introduced programmes for new citizens to join them. And that is really a very effective way of building attachment for new citizens with the local community. It is not something that the Government could do single-handedly. We involve all stakeholders in this – employers, schools, VWOs, people sector – to help us in this process of establishing a stronger social bonding with the new immigrants.

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