1st Edition

Migration and Integration in Singapore Policies and Practice

Edited By Yap Mui Teng, Gillian Koh, Debbie Soon Copyright 2015
    236 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    252 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Between 2000 and 2010, Singapore witnessed a huge influx of foreign migrants. The proportion of permanent residents in the total population increased from 7% to 11%, while the share of non-resident foreigners has risen from 19% to 25%. This was as much the result of the spontaneous movement of labour to economic opportunities, as it was of active policy direction by the Singapore government. The social impact, both beneficial and disruptive, of this movement was felt at all levels of society, and brought other attending public policy issues to the fore.

    Taking a multi-disciplinary approach with a focus on policy and practice, this book examines the social, economic, and political issues that have arisen with the influx of foreigners in Singapore since the turn of the 21st century. Drawing on empirical research, it documents the impact of increasing levels of immigration, and provides an analysis of the longer-term implications of these trends, with each chapter covering a different aspect of socio-cultural, political, or economic outcome arising from intercultural contact and adaptation. The contributors also provide policy suggestions to ensure Singapore continues to be a harmonious nation and a cosmopolitan and vibrant global city.

    Migration and Integration in Singapore: Policies and Practice will appeal to students and scholars of Southeast Asian studies, migration and social policy, as well as to practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in migration in the region.

    Introduction, Gillian Koh, Debbie Soon and Yap Mui Teng 1. Immigration and Integration in Singapore: Trends, Rationale and Policy Responses, Yap Mui Teng 2. Social Markers of Integration: What Matters Most to Singaporeans, Leong Chan-Hoong and Yang Wai Wai  3. Integration at the Workplace, Tan Mei Ling, Ng Kok-Yee, and Ang Soon 4. International Students in Singapore Schools: How are they Integrating?, Joy Chew Oon Ai 5. Integration in the Singapore Heartlands, Mathew Mathews 6. Images of the Migrant Worker in Singapore’s Mainstream News Media: Prospects for Integration, Kenneth Paul Tan 7. Images of the New Citizen and PR in Singapore’s Mainstream News Media: Prospects for Integration, Selina Lim 8. Stepping Stone Singapore: The Cultural Politics of Anti-Immigrant Anxieties, Terence Chong 

    Biography

    Yap Mui Teng is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

    Gillian Koh is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

    Debbie Soon is a Research Associate at the Institute of Policy Studies, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.