Which Has Posed the Greatest Problem for Singaporean in Ensuring Social Harmony †Racial Differences, Religious Differences or the Threat of Transnational Terrorism? Explain You Answer.

In a multi-ethnic and multi- ghostly society like Singapore, in that respect is a emergency to repugn the racial and religious sensitivities and promote tolerance and harmony. In addition, thither is also the need to build national identity by add a sense of belonging. Therefore, there is a need to identify the approximately important line of work out of the three and then solve it. The introductory problem is managing the perceptions of variant racial companys. There is a need to manage this problem as preconceived notions of biased treatment by the giving medication against any racial group could lead to the outbreak of frenzy among the different communities.For example, in 1964, Singapore experienced race riots which resulted in 36 drained and 590 injured. Singapore was in Malaysia then, and the UMNO felt little terrorened when the spoon food participated in the 1964 federal elections. The UMNO then led an anti- teat campaign in the medium using the Utusan Melayu, c laiming that PAPs rule disadvantaged the Malays and that Malay Singaporeans remained poor under PAPs rule. They also claimed that PAP was uprooting Malay families in resettlement projects. well-nigh UMNO extremists even came to Singapore and made fiery speeches that angered many Singaporean Malays.In July 1964, during the celebration of Prophet Muhammads birthday, a clash between a Chinese policeman and a group of Malay participants turned into a full-blown race riot over the next few days. This shows how the perceptions of odds-on treatment towards the different races can originator suspicions, scruple and even enmity among Singaporeans, even if these perceptions are not based on facts. Therefore, this problem moldiness be managed to prevent any outbreak of violence among citizens. The second problem is managing the perceptions of different religious groups.There is a need to do this as differences in religious beliefs and practices are issues that can create tension among peo ple in Singapore, especially if it has been perceived that the concerns of a certain religious community affirm not been considered. This is shown in the Maria Hertogh riot during 1950. Maria Hertogh, born to Dutch-Eurasian parents was follow during the war by an Indonesian Moslem woman, Aminah, as her parents were interned by the Japanese. afterwards the war, the Hertoghs launched a legal battle for the custody of their daughter. The custody battle attracted zealous media attention worldwide.The judge ordered that Maria be placed temporarily in a Catholic convent while the trail was taking place. Photographs in newspaper of Maria, who was raised a Muslim, in a Catholic convent out front a statue of Virgin Mary affected religious sensitivities and angered the Muslim Community as they felt that their religion was not respected at all. The British courts gave custody of Maria to her biological mother. Upon hearing the judgement, huge crowds away the court rioted, convinced that the colonial laws, the courts and the legal system was prejudiced against the Muslims.The riots showed that if issues with religious implications are not handled in a sensitive manner, hostility and distrust could occur among people. The last problem is managing the threats from immaterial forces. This also needs to be managed because transnational terrorist groups tend to exploit religious or race issues in order to achieve their political aims, suspicion and tension may filch among people in multi-ethnic societies like Singapore. For an example, the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is a militant group which has been active in the Southeast Asia. Its aim is to set up an Muslim state in Asia.Some of its activities include fund-raising and purchasing materials for making bombs. From 2001-2002, 34 JI members were arrested under the Internal Security Act for their involvement in terrorist-related activities. Targets in Singapore included the US embassy and some government buildings. Following the arrests, there was some mixed reactions from Singaporeans who were prepared to do harm in the variant ethnic communities. Shocked that there were Singaporeans who were prepared to do harm to sinless civilians, some members of the public expressed distrust towards members of certain communities.This shows that managing external threats poses a significant challenge, as it has potential to divide people along racial and religious lines. All in all, I feel that the problem that has constitute the greatest threat for Singapore in ensuring social harmony is the threat of transnational terrorism. As it can cause distrust between two religions and races while the other two can only either cause distrust among religions or races. In addition, if they manage to overcome the threat from external forces, citizens will be able to trust each other and violence and distrust will not breakout.