Calvin Cheng weighs in on comments about Indian nationals forming 'enclaves' in S'pore

Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Calvin Cheng has weighed on the conversation on race and immigration in Singapore, addressing observations that Indian nationals tend to form exclusive social networks.

Drawing on history and anecdotal experience, Cheng pointed out that it is natural for people to stick together.

However, he also called on immigrants to try to assimilate and integrate more and move out of their comfort zones.

Cheng's remarks, made in a Sep. 6 Facebook post, came on the heels of the recent incident in which racist comments were made online about the nationality of the nine Singaporeans missing in the Nepal floods and about Singapore Airline's Air India investment.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on Singaporeans to reject such views, while Senior Minister K Shanmugam said that the police will be looking into the comments.

'People are tribal': Cheng

In his Facebook post, Cheng noted that there have been observations about how Indian nationals "form enclaves and exclusive social networks" which are then used to help their own members, such as helping recruit each other into companies.

"This causes a lot of unhappiness amongst locals. In fact, this is a complaint not only in Singapore but also in Canada, Australia, and the UK," Cheng said.

The former NMP remarked that such behaviours are not limited to Indian immigrants, but can also be found amongst the Chinese as well.

Taking a historical perspective, Cheng noted that Chinese immigrants formed "informal networks that then morphed into clan associations".

"When new Chinese arrived, they relied on these networks to get housing and jobs. They too formed enclaves — that's why there are Chinatowns all over the world," he said.

"People are tribal," Cheng remarked.

He went on to say that the Chinese immigrants in Singapore today still do this, but such "enclaves" are less visible "because they look like the majority race here and they blend in".

"We have to thus put these social phenomena in perspective," Cheng commented.

Integrate and assimilate more

Cheng also suggested that it is natural for people of the same nationality to stick to each other and help each other out, noting that Singaporeans do the same.

However, the former NMP called on immigrants and expats to try to assimilate and integrate more.

"Mix with people of other nationalities. Move out of your comfort zone. And don't form social enclaves that exclude locals. That will only cause unhappiness in your host countries," he concluded.