The Little India Riot,

Singapore, 2013

By;Chin Yen

YeeKhairunni

saPooja

Singapore has always adopted an “open-door” policy, welcoming talented, highly qualified and highly skilled foreigners to work and live in Singapore.

Over the years, increasing affluence of Singaporeans has resulted in acute manpower shortages in certain sectors of the economy, as they reject jobs

- considered to be dirty

- of low status

- requiring shift work

- which pay poorly

Thus, in the last 2 decades, semi-skilled and even unskilled foreigners have been recruited to fill these job vacancies.

Foreigners who wish to take up employment or do business in Singapore must have a valid Work Pass.

There are 3 types of Work Passes:

-  Employment Pass

-  S-Pass

-  Work Permit

Employment Pass A foreigner holding acceptable degrees,

professional qualifications or specialist skills and is offered a professional, administrative, executive or managerial position with a monthly basic salary of above S$2,500 can apply for an Employment Pass.

A P1 Pass will be issued if the applicant’s monthly basic salary is more than S$7,000.

A P2 Pass will be issued if the applicant’s monthly basic salary is more than S$3,500 and up to S$7,000.

A Q1 Pass will be issued if the applicant’s monthly basic salary is more than S$2,500.

The EntrePass is an Employment Pass for a foreigner who is ready to start a new company or business in Singapore.

S Pass

This category is created to increase the flexibility and responsiveness of the foreign manpower framework to meet the needs of the industries for skilled manpower at the middle level.

Examples of middle level skilled manpower are specialized workers and technicians.

S Pass is issued to a foreigner who is offered a job with a monthly basic salary of S$1,800. Assessment of eligibility is on a point system – based on a multiple of criteria, such as salary, educational qualifications, skills, job type and work experience.

Work Permit

Unskilled or semi-skilled foreigners who wish to work in Singapore must apply for Work Permits in accordance with the Employment of Foreign Workers Act. Work Permits are generally issued to foreigners with monthly basic salaries of not more than S$1,800.

The non-construction sector comprises the service, manufacturing, town council conservancy services, grass-cutting services and marine sectors.

They are issued according to industrial sectors such as the construction, non-construction and domestic sectors.

Foreigners who take up employment or do business in Singapore must have valid Work Passes.

Their stay in Singapore is governed by the Employment of Foreign Workers Act (Chapter 91A) and the Immigration Act (Chapter 133).

Under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, employers can be charged for illegally employing or illegally deploying a foreign worker

Under the Employment of Foreign Workers Act, a foreigner who is found guilty of being in the employment of an employer without a valid Work Pass shall be liable on conviction to:

(a) a fine not exceeding S$5,000; or

(b) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months; or

(c)both.

Rioting

• Caning and imprisonment of up to 5 years.

• Caning and imprisonment of up to 7 years if weapons are used.

Factors Influencing Riots• A complex cobweb of factors rooting from the

government resulted in the riot.• The whole situation served as a medium to the

workers to vent out their anger and long suppressed emotions.

• A bus driver knocked down a civilian and friends of the victim got angry and eventually a riot started comprising of over 400 people.

• To start, the blue collar workers from China, India and Bangladesh are living in a pitiful sight.

• The govt and the employers of these workers are exploiting them through cheap labour and poor working and living conditions.

• They constitute over a third of the total labour force but yet aren’t seen as the part of a wider community.

• They are not included in the national consciousness.

• Liberal labour policies make it difficult for the MOM to keep track of the workers and their employers.

• Employers easily take advantage of these workers as they are in a new environment, less educated and can be threatened and cheated on easily.

• The frustration comes up from the high expenses of living in Singapore and their less wages which leaves very less money for them to send back home.

• Their visas impose very strict limitations on their freedom and they are grossly underpaid by their employers despite of working hard endlessly.

• No form of minimum wage exists is Singapore.• Anger builds up in the people due to the injustice

they may have suffered.• Rioters hope to induce fear in the government

and reverse the implications.• Riots can be very spontaneous but they break out

when an opportunity comes.

• Rioters believe in “Strength through Unity”.

• The ‘Xenophobic’ behaviour of the Singaporeans added to their frustration for long.

• Twitter showed that the workers are seen as outsiders and they should be grateful for being in Singapore.

• In fact, a large no. Of Singaporeans have never heard the voices of those who clean the city’s drains.

• Low fertility rate causes a gap in the labour industry.

• Wages have not been increased much in the last decade whereas the expenses have increased manifolds which leads to the low fertility rate.

• Singaporeans in turn also blame foreign talents for the increasing population density, inflation, rising costs of HDB flats, etc.

• The Singaporeans fail to understand that the cause of problems are not the foreigners but the policies.

• Foreign workers have been doing most of the dirty and difficult jobs of Singapore and yet go unnoticed.

• Restructured labour laws could have prevented jobs being taken away from the Singaporeans .

• A better education system will also serve in protecting the interests of the Singaporeans .

• A local NGO (TWC2) has been working since long to raise the profile of these migrant workers.

• The NGO’s website features many stories of foreign workers who suffered at the hands of migrant agents, employers and even government officials.

Psychological Effect: ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION• Assuming that alcohol was a major contributing

factor to the riots, a ban was imposed on public alcohol consumption in Little India

• The ban prohibits sale of alcohol on public holidays and beyond the timings of 6am-8pm for the 6 month duration

• Researchers have tried to explain theories of drug consumption and the risky behaviours shown by the consumers

• Alcohol disrupts the mental balance, affects thoughts, feelings and actions and sometimes even long term mental health

• A drink can help people in feeling more confident and less anxious but as the consumption increases, adverse effects start showing up

• High level of alcohol intake may even result in a negative emotional response to take over making the person aggressive, anxious or depressed

• Singapore needs migrant workers for the hard labour in the booming construction and shipping industries

Psychological Effect: ANGER MANAGEMENT

• Recent figures showed more than 240,000 work permit holders are present in Singapore construction industry from Bangladesh, India and China

• The workers work for ungodly hours and some even face while collecting their small wages

• They are made to live and work in very poor conditions

• The workers were expected to support their families monetarily and educate their kids well but their small wages leave them with nothing but frustration

• The living expenses in Singapore are already very high and the low wages of the workers are not enough to support even them, let alone their families

• In frustration, the human body releases various stress hormones which result in increased blood pressure, breathing rate and heart rate

• California State University explains that anger is caused by a "perceived loss of control over factors affecting important values." The values may be related to pride, love, money, justice, etc.

Group Aggression• Goldstein (2002)–Mob, a group of people acts illegally and

violently under strong emotional conditions

– De-individuation, losing one’s sense of individuality or separateness from others and becoming submerged in a group

– Alcohol intoxication, act overconfidently and carelessly, lose awareness of their surroundings or react violently to people they perceive as offensive

Source: http://kevinmillsmartialartsexpert.com/tag/group-aggression/

Public Fears• Foreign workers–employment opportunities – the stereotype from others–Foreign workers + alcohol = Trouble

Makers ?

• Singaporeans–safety image –Little India is unsafe

The Cost• Physical Injury Cost– 9 polices, 4 civil defenses and auxiliary officers were

injured

• Properties Damage– Twenty-five emergency vehicles were damaged– $14,000

• Financial Cost– 134 stores, such as liquor shop and convenience

stores, restaurants, hotels, pubs and coffee shops– Ferry service in Little India ($42,000 previously)– half the number of scheduled buses and stop

operating two hours earlier than previously

• Murphy (2002) - the riot : 1964• Race riots between Chinese group and Malay groups. • Located at the Padang, Singapore. • 212 Muslim organizations in the rally. • Reports: 23 people were killed 454 people were injured • The race riot in 1964 last for 11 days • The Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister: Tun Abdul Razak

blamed the ethnic group of Indonesian and Communist (Murphy, 2002).

• Other contributing factor: PAP, Singapore and UMNO, Malaysia; relations were extremely strained.

• The aftermath: serious level of racial tension. • The fear of more riots / violence; expelling Singapore

from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965. • Arrests made under the influence of Internal Security

Acts (ISA). • Prevention: ISA; encounter potential threats from the

Communists or any other racial or religious violence

Future Preventions• Increase awareness

• Target group – Foreign workers

• Crowd control– understand the reason of the gathering– presentation of police– any suspicious event occurs should be

identified immediately and remove as soon as possible