INTEGRATION OF NEW IMMIGRANTS

INTEGRATION OF NEW IMMIGRANTS:

(Measures and community-based programmes): 10.

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) if he will provide an update on the types of community-based initiatives which have provided platforms for Singaporeans and new immigrants to integrate and gain understanding of one another; and (b) what are the examples of such current initiatives.

11.

Mr Teo Siong Seng asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) what measures and programmes are put into place to help new immigrants integrate into Singapore society; and (b) what special incentives are being extended to encourage the ethnic Chambers of Commerce and Industry and other trade associations to play a proactive role in helping the new immigrants and foreign workers to adapt and work in harmony alongside our Singapore workers.

The Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 10 and 11 together?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Mr Christopher de Souza and Mr Teo Siong Seng have both asked about programmes that we have to help integrate new immigrants. Let me start by saying that this is a long-term, multi-faceted and complex challenge that all stakeholders in our society, and not just the Government, will have to take up. First, Singaporeans have to understand the need for immigrants and be comfortable with the social adjustments that are needed in order to maintain an open and welcoming society. We do so with our own enlightened self interests in mind. Second, the new immigrants must subscribe to our core values of multi-racialism and meritocracy in a fair and just society. Third, we need to build more social bridges to connect these new Singaporeans to the already existing much larger pool of Singaporeans in order to build a larger united and cohesive community. The children of new immigrants must grow up and be indistinguishable from the children of local Singaporeans. That is the way we build a long-term united society.

We are looking at the existing community bonding initiatives, and all these encourage broad-based participation by both locals and newcomers. Let me give Members an example. The Tampines East grassroots organisation organised an International Water Festival in April this year – this was an occasion to celebrate the New Years of both our Indian as well as our Indo-Chinese communities in Singapore. We encourage locals and newcomers alike to participate in these community activities and to use them as an opportunity to expand their social circles.

The National Integration Council (NIC) was set up in April this year. It does its work through four working groups which aim to promote integration in, first, the community, second, in schools, third, in the workplaces and, fourth, in the media. The NIC will consolidate the existing orientation programmes for new citizens, for instance, we are reviewing the National Education Experience Programme (NEEP) and we are also looking at introducing a more former Naturalisation and Integration (N&I) Journey. The Naturalisation and Integration Journey will leverage on interactive online components as well as meaningful site visits so that our new citizens can get a better idea about our history, our social norms and our core values. They will also be introduced to our grassroots communities and be encouraged to take part in their activities.

The NIC is also reviewing the citizenship ceremonies, which are, in a sense, the culmination of a newcomer's Naturalisation and Integration Journey. We have to make these ceremonies more significant and more meaningful for both the newcomers and equally important the family members of newcomers as well as the larger community that will eventually envelope and surround these newcomers.

Another key ongoing initiative is the People's Association's Integration and Naturalisation Champions (INC) programme. These are active grassroots leaders. The first batch of them was appointed in 2007. The Integration and Naturalisation Champions play a crucial role in seeking out and welcoming newcomers into the neighbourhood and encouraging them to join and participate in community activities. We now have about 640 of these Integration and Naturalisation Champions. And I must say that even amongst these leaders are some new immigrants who themselves are now volunteering their time and energy to help other newcomers settle into the local neighbourhood.

Volunteering is a good way for newcomers to be plugged into the wider community and it is an excellent way to get to know their neighbours and also to demonstrate their commitment at the local neighbourhood level. We now have newcomers who have volunteered in various grassroots, community and professional committees. In fact, currently, we have about 4,500 new immigrants who are serving as grassroots leaders. In addition, the Working Group for Schools is exploring ways for students from both our national as well as our Foreign System Schools to participate in joint community involvement projects.

We will also be working on increasing awareness among new immigrants of the opportunities to volunteer in areas which they are interested in. For instance, Singapore Cares will set up a volunteer matching platform which will provide a team-based volunteer-led programme which will allow people to provide their efforts in voluntary work on a part-time basis, on a flexible basis, in areas which they truly are interested in. We will provide a Kindness Exchange which is an online "meeting place" that will match professional services and the needs of voluntary welfare organisations with the available pool of volunteers and we hope that new Singaporeans will also take advantage of this exchange.

We recently launched the Community Integration Fund (CIF). This is a $10-million fund which will provide co-funding of up to 80% for social integration projects over the next three years. This will help promote programmes that will bring newcomers and locals closer together. These programmes can be put together by a wide variety of organisations, be it community organisation, grassroots organisation, educational organisation, industry association or the Chambers of Commerce. For example, the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) formed an Indian Integration Committee, and this Committee has hosted various dialogues, and I think some Members of this House have also participated in these dialogue sessions. The Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) has also reached out to Chinese newcomers, in a sense continuing their traditional role of helping newcomers sink roots into the local community and to be plugged in while still engaging and preserving their ethnic heritage.

Mr Teo asked about special incentives being extended to encourage ethnic Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Currently, there is already some work in progress. I am sure the Member is aware that the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) has formed a new Immigration Liaison Unit which helps newcomers to integrate within our society and, I suppose, more specifically within the business community. This is a laudable project and one which we would be most happy to support. The National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation have also jointly set up the Migrant Workers Centre, which aims to facilitate a harmonious co-existence between both local and foreign workers. We also have professional bodies like the Institute of Engineers which is looking to attract new immigrant professionals into their fold so that these members can benefit from the networks and their mutual exchange of both knowledge and contacts that these institutes provide.

All these initiatives form a good start, and I would like to encourage all the Chambers of Commerce, the industry organisations, the unions and the professional bodies to do their part to integrate newcomers into the larger Singaporean pool. As we embark on this, let us also remember that we must do so in a way which is natural, in a way which celebrates both the contributions and the cultures of both newcomers as well as local Singaporeans. And the CIF funds will be made available for all these efforts.

Both locals and newcomers must realise that integration is a two-way process and it does not come about by accident. Much effort and commitment will be required from all of us in order to make integration work, and I encourage newcomers to be proactive in learning about Singapore, widening their social circles, participating and contributing to the larger Singapore family.

Mr Christopher de Souza: Thank you, Minister, for your informative reply. Moving from the base plate of policies that he has explained to us, could we move further to ensure that further policies are in place to prevent enclaves from happening? I think integration is one thing but we need to have our new immigrants, our fellow Singaporeans and our new Singaporeans live alongside us. Hence, is there anything that we can do to ensure that we remain geographically multi-racial?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: I think the Member has touched on an important point. Actually, it is a long-standing policy of this Government to ensure that there are no ethnic ghettos in Singapore. This is a point which we will study carefully and I will recognise that in a similar sense, we do not want to promote the formation of newcomer ghettos in Singapore. And this is something which we will certainly discuss in greater detail with the Ministry of National Development.

Mr Calvin Cheng (Nominated Member): Thank you, Minister, I have a supplementary question. Given that male immigrants have not done and do not have to do National Service, how do we assure Singapore citizens who have this vital contribution is recognised, so that there is less resentment on the ground?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: This is another sensitive point which I think most of us can identify with, since all of us have to serve National Service. For a variety of reasons, we currently exempt first generation permanent residents and those who become citizens in the later years. I do not want to get into the technical, operational and security reasons as to why we do not currently enlist them for National Service, but the point is that their children will do National Service. And their children should be indistinguishable from our children in their accents, hopes, aspirations, obligations and their duties to our nation.

Mr Speaker: Mdm Halimah, last question.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: What the Minister said is that new immigrants must also subscribe to our core values. But would the Minister consider it desirable or possible to also request that new immigrants or those who apply to be citizens to sit for a test? This is to ascertain whether they really know about our core values and how our society functions, which is something that is already commonplace in many countries.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for that interesting and, I think, quite sensible suggestion which we will study.