Over a cup of tea

Singapore has a history of racial violence. But as noted in one of Newzzit's earlier stories, it is commendable that its first-generation leaders recognised that a racially harmonious Singapore, where everyone respects each-others belief and faith, was the way forward. Indeed, the city-state has left those horrible times of the 1960s far far behind.

Though with time, as can happen in any society, some sections may develop a perception of “unequal opportunities” and “employment discrimination”, in-spite of all the best intentions of its leaders. Similar concerns have recently been raised by minority races in Singapore.

The Suara Musyawarah report, which was presented to the minister of Muslim-affairs, dealt with Malay issues, while a dialogue organised by People's Association's Narpani Pearavai saw the Indian community enumerate their concerns. In this issue, we report on these two events in the Kaleidoscope section.

Complimenting it, is a report inside The Fourth Estate, on survey findings recently published by the Institute of Policy Studies and OnePeople.sg, which dealt with “perception of discrimination in jobs and promotions”.

A welcome development in PM Lee's National Day Rally speech was the extension of Edusave to madrasah students, which he acknowledged has been a “long-standing issue”. We celebrate it in our Majulah Singapura section.

Moving beyond our shores, we report on the ongoing tussle in Malaysia between Muslims and Christians over the right to use the word 'Allah'; and the widely anticipated win of Tony Abbott in Australian parliamentary elections.

Finally, we report on the upcoming Northern Provincial Council elections in Sri Lanka being held after a gap of 25 years, which the Tamil-speaking population of Singapore is keenly watching.

Here's to a strong, prosperous and harmonious Singapore!

Gaurav