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in the arab spring, social media was used to organise and communicate. This way, information can be disseminated and protests can coordinated. also, awareness can be raised to more people regardless of physical distance. social media was used to have conversations about their political stance and why they are anti-government. This becomes an echo chamber, where people's opinions are strengthened as all they listen to are the people who agree with them. this exacerbates the problem as they would build that collective identity and community. As such, they would want to carry out the protests even more at a greater intensity. to prevent uprisings, governments tried to block social media apps such as Facebook and Twitter, then internet usage.

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In the Arab Spring, social media was a important tool used by many.

Communicating with one another through social media such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, to organise future protests online and to also update each other about the protests

Protestors could post whatever they wanted online to protest on a virtual platform rather than physically, and still remain anonymous, with undisclosed identity

To spread news and raise awareness, and reach out to even more people through online platforms so more there will be more protestors supporting the cause

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myanmar's military took over the government, shutting down internet and blocked media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. This censorship confuses people and keeps people in the dark as they do not know what is happening around them in Myanmar. hence, people do not know how to react and are unable to put up any resistance against the military. this way, the military is better able to take advantage of this power to mismanage the economy of Myanmar and carry out corruption.

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In the Myanmar Coup, technology played a big part for the protestors and victims of the military coup.

Firstly, social media such as Facebook and Twitter was used for people to communicate with one another while maintaining anonymous identity, since the coup restricted media access and internet. This also allowed for people tor receive updates and information that they would not obtain through state-run television. The people in Myanmar made use of high tech VPNs to allow their phones to have unrestricted media and internet access.

Secondly, social media tech also allowed people in Myanmar to organise protests, raise awareness and spread the message across large audiences, to increase awareness of the cause and attract more activists.

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the widespread awareness due to social media about the killing of George Floyd, a black man by a white police officer, lead to the movement Black Lives Matter. This united people that are against racism, specifically towards black people. With social media, widespread protests were organised, with masses of people protesting on the streets over long periods of time.

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In the BLM movement, tech was used in many ways to help promote this movement and spread the message about BLM.

Firstly, social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook was used to spread the message about black lives, raising awareness about treating everyone equally and preventing further racism. Using social media platforms can allow people to reach vast audience quickly to share their knowledge about this movement.

Secondly, tech like phones was used to video incidents about BLM and post these videos online in social media platforms, such as the killing of George Floyd in 2020. This helps the movement of BLM and spread the message to even more people effectively.

Thirdly, social media was used to spread the message and arrange organised protests to support the BLM cause and movement.

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New laws to promote racial cohesion

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NDR 2021: New law to deal with racial offences, promote harmony through softer approach

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The law will also incorporate "gentler touches" that focus on persuasion and rehabilitation. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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income inequality in singapore

SG has implemented various policies like

progressive tax structure where higher-income individuals are taxed more while the lower-income are taxed less and hence higher-income individuals have less disposable income

Workfare Income Supplement- CPF payments and cash payments are provided to supplement income

progressive wage model- benefits low wage workers by mapping out a clear career pathway for their wages to rise along with training and improvements in productivity and standards

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Racial quotas in HDB flats to encourage racial cohesion and deter inequality/tension between different races and ethnic groups. The policy stipulated that the ratio of flats within neighbourhoods for the different ethnic groups: 22 per cent for Malays, 84 per cent for Chinese, and 10 per cent for Indians and other minority groups.

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HDB Ethnic Integration Policy (1989)

In the 1980s, more than 20 years after HDB flats were introduced, there were signs that segregation among the races had once again started to take root. Malay households made up more than 30 per cent of the estate population in Bedok and Tampines while the Chinese formed more than 90 per cent of the households in Hougang. This was made worse by a growing resale market for HDB flats, where families tended to buy flats in areas with more residents of their own race.

(Images: National Archives of Singapore)

Then-Minister for National Development S. Dhanabalan warned that it would be "unthinkable" for Singapore to regress to the days before independence, when a certain place was seen as belonging to a certain ethnic or dialect group.

However, it was not possible to uproot residents to break up the enclaves, like in the resettlement exercise in the 1960s. People could still move to live close to others of the same race, as the reestablishment of enclaves at certain estates had shown. Hence, in 1989, the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) was introduced.

Image: How new enclaves were formed by people purchasing flats near their own race, despite moving away from kampongs in the old enclaves.

Then-Minister Dhanabalan, in introducing the policy to Parliament on 16 February 1989, called it a "open and clear policy". The policy's enforceable limits will ensure that the ethnic proportions are kept, which will prevent the races from "regrouping" even in the long run.

The policy stipulated that the ratio of flats within neighbourhoods for the different ethnic groups: 22 per cent for Malays, 84 per cent for Chinese, and 10 per cent for Indians and other minority groups. Within each block, the ratio for flats was 25 per cent for Malays, 87 per cent for Chinese, and 13 per cent for Indians. These quotas have changed over the years, such as in 2010, where the neighbourhood- and block-level limits for Indians and other minority groups were raised to 12 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Nonetheless, the principles remain the same.

(Images: National Archives of Singapore)

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HDB Ethnic Integration Policy (1989) In the 1980s, more than 20 years after HDB flats were introduced, there were signs...

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More than half of the survey’s respondents (56.2 per cent) felt that racism is an important problem, which was an increase from the previous CNA-IPS survey conducted in 2016 (46.3 per cent).

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More than half of the survey’s respondents (56.2 per cent) felt that racism is an important problem, which was an increase from the previous CNA-IPS survey conducted in 2016 (46.3 per cent).

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The survey also found that "only a small proportion" of respondents faced racial discrimination at work (less than 9 per cent) and in the housing market (3 per cent), with ethnic minorities more affected than Chinese.

In response to such unfair or discriminatory treatment, respondents often felt sad, resigned or angry, according to the survey.

More than 40 per cent said they were not affected by race-related incidents highlighted in the news, with researchers noting a "moderate level of apathy" towards these incidents, especially among older respondents.

While the report did not highlight specific examples of such incidents, among those which have hit the headlines in the recent past are the former Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer caught on video making racist remarks to an interracial couple and a viral video which captured a woman repeatedly hitting a gong during a neighbour's prayer ritual.

For those affected, they tended to be more cautious when talking to someone of a different race, and pay more attention to such stories in the news.

Respondents - especially minorities and younger respondents - generally approved of making police reports after encountering racism, while older respondents tended to be more ambivalent about this issue.

Despite this, the survey found that respondents were unlikely to call out racism via any means, regardless of their race, and especially disapproved of doxxing.

"Vigilante justice online seemed to be a line most respondents would not cross," the report said.

Fewer than half agreed that people should directly criticise people who have made a racist comment or carried out a racist act, or write a post calling out racist incidents they have observed or personally experienced.

The top reasons for not speaking up about racism include being uncertain of the context behind the behaviour they witnessed, or feeling that it was a matter between the parties involved.

Meanwhile, most said it would benefit minorities if members of the majority race learned about their cultural celebrations, and empathise with those who have experienced discrimination.

However, a slight majority of respondents (57.6 per cent) - particularly older respondents - said they were tired of talking about issues of race and racism while those who were looking forward to more public dialogue, were more likely to be more highly educated respondents as well as minorities.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

While many were indifferent about potential future developments to do with race in Singapore, having a greater intercultural understanding ranked highly among respondents, with 62.9 per cent saying that this would be "good" or "very good".

"This may involve, or be bolstered by, people more commonly learning the language of another ethnic group," the report said. A substantial proportion, 59.3 per cent, thought this would be beneficial.

"Similarly, on the possibility that people have free choice of which mother tongue(s) to learn, 63.1 per cent indicated that it would be good or very good."

However, there were mixed sentiments about reducing sensitivity surrounding racial discourse. About half thought this would be "good" or "very good", while the majority of those remaining felt that it would make no difference.

Indian respondents were more positive about having a national consensus on what constitutes racism, and about having more open discourse about race generally.

Many respondents supported recognising a greater variety of racial and cultural backgrounds, but were not comfortable with removing the Government's CMIO (Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others) categorisation from identity documents.

While many felt that it would be beneficial for people to identify as "Singaporean" rather than "Singaporean-Chinese", "Singaporean-Malay", "Singaporean-Indian" or "Others", they were less comfortable with policies also moving in a "race-blind" direction.

This refers to racial quotas in housing, immigration law, parliamentary representation and national celebrations.

More than a third of all respondents (34 per cent) felt that Singapore is already "regardless of race, language or religion" but 20 per cent felt that this would never be achieved.

Others believed some time would be needed to achieve this, which could range anywhere from under 10 years to more than 50. These findings were generally consistent across respondents of different races, said the report.

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Growing number of people in Singapore feel racism is an important problem: CNA-IPS study

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The survey also found that a large majority of people believe everyone in Singapore can become rich or successful regardless of their race.

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SINGAPORE: Minorities in Singapore bear a "direct and real" financial burden from the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) for public housing, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said on Saturday (Jun 26).

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SINGAPORE: Minorities in Singapore bear a "direct and real" financial burden from the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) for public housing, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said on Saturday (Jun 26).

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HDB bought back 4 flats from owners who could not sell them due to caps on ethnic quota

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National Development Minister Desmond Lee said HDB received 411 appeals related to the Ethnic Integration Policy last year. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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Singapore Budget 2024 reduces income inequality through narrowing salary gaps. The minimum salary a firm that hires foreign workers must pay its local workers — from S$1,400 to S$1,600.

Budget 2024 will provide sizeable sums to support ITE graduates in pursuing diploma studies, a skills-focused upgrading pathway that will help improve their career prospects.

Singaporeans aged 40 and above received a $4000 SkillsFuture Credit top-up to encourage learning alternative skills and have a chance to look at alternative career pathways with better pay.

The new ComLink+ pilot programme to be rolled out in 2024 and the four progress packages announced in Budget 2024 will provide lower-income families with guidance and support to improve their life circumstances in areas such as preschool education and employment.

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Tempering inequality and sustaining social mobility are, without a doubt, among the most significant challenges facing Singapore in its next phase of development. These priorities resonate highly with Singaporeans, as the Forward Singapore (Forward SG) engagement exercise last year revealed.

Budget 2024, delivered by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong on Friday (Feb 16), aims to tackle these issues head-on through a suite of measures to boost income and take-home pay of lower-wage workers, to help Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students narrow the gap with their peers, and give lower-income families with young children the best chance of improving their financial circumstances.

However, Budget 2024 is but the first instalment of a multi-year effort to implement the Forward SG agenda. The challenges are complex, and will require a sustained, whole-of-society effort to bear fruit.

GROWING CHALLENGE OF INEQUALITY AND SOCIAL MOBILITY

As DPM Wong highlighted in his speech, the perils of rising inequality and slowing social mobility are illustrated in other developed countries. Social cohesion has suffered. Societies have turned insular, with a swing towards right-wing political parties that disavow globalisation.

Singapore has thus far avoided this path, but to keep off it, we must redouble efforts to share the fruits of economic progress equitably and leave no one behind.

This is particularly challenging for a small economy heavily reliant on international trade, capital and talent. Market forces in the global labour market tend to push up the wages of those whose skills are in high demand, while depressing the wages of those whose skills are in more abundant supply.

Social mobility also becomes harder to sustain as wealthy Singaporeans pass on assets and other advantages to their children.

ADDRESSING INEQUALITY

Singapore has adopted a two-pronged approach to temper inequality through the Workfare Income Supplement, which tops up the income of lower-wage workers, and the Progressive Wage Model, a set of sectoral wage floors and ladders that allows wages to rise along with productivity. SkillsFuture initiatives also help to raise skills and productivity through retraining and lifelong learning.

These efforts have borne fruit. Lower-income workers (those at the 20th percentile of the income distribution) have seen their wages grow faster than the median wage over the past decade. The Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality based on household incomes, has fallen to 4.33 (3.71 after accounting for government taxes and transfers) last year, the lowest in over two decades.

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Commentary: How Budget 2024 sets out to tackle wage gaps and social mobility in Singapore

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Tempering inequality and sustaining social mobility are, without a doubt, among the most significant challenges facing Singapore in its next phase of development. Budget 2024, as delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Feb 16), aims to tackle these issues head-on through a suite of measures.

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Racism still exists in Singapore, but identity politics must not take root, says Lawrence Wong

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Racism still exists in Singapore, but identity politics must not take root, says Lawrence Wong

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Racism still exists in Singapore, but identity politics must not take root, says Lawrence Wong

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Mr Wong said access and exposure to new information was good but not without risk. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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gender inequality in singapore

Women’s charter- protect women from gender-based violence, including sexual harassment and domestic violence

Women’s charter- whether a property is obtained jointly or solely in the names of either spouse, it is still classified as a matrimonial asset in a ‘just and equitable’ manner

repeal of section 377A- allowing a decades old law of criminalising gay sex

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Singapore's Workfare income Supplement Scheme. This scheme is to help those who earn $3,000 or less a month save up for their retirement. There will also be more healthcare subsidies, more than one million Singaporeans will receive higher subsides for healthcare and associated social support.

ComCare supports lower income household with basic living expenses