{"id":7893,"date":"2021-07-05T20:50:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T12:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=7893"},"modified":"2024-10-04T10:52:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T02:52:57","slug":"ethnic-integration-policy-eip-hdb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/ethnic-integration-policy-eip-hdb\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the HDB Ethnic Integration Policy and ethnic quota still relevant?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Beow Tan harassing minorities<\/a>, the racial slur and kicking incident in Choa Chu Kang<\/a>, the former Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer\u2019s racist confrontation<\/a> and as recently as last week, the racist remarks, and assault at East Coast Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are just a few events that reflect an increased resentment between the races. It is also a stark reminder to Singaporeans that racial tensions and disharmony are not yet obsolete, even in the most cosmopolitan of nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in recognition of the perils of racial disharmony that the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) <\/a>was introduced back in 1989. More commonly referred to as the HDB ethnic quota, the EIP discouraged the forming of racial enclaves in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is human nature to seek the company of your own group, be it along racial lines or otherwise. Our government recognised that the risk of our three main ethnic groups in Singapore \u2013 Malays, Chinese, and Indians \u2013 segregating themselves over time is real. Hence implementing the ethnic quota under the EIP.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"ladies
Is there still a place for the Ethnic Integration Policy, or is it an outdated concept in contemporary Singapore? Source: HDB<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What is the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP)?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The EIP is just one of the many initiatives that have been put forward by the government, hoping to foster better integration and respect between the various ethnicities of Singapore. The policy is like the Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) quota implemented by HDB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the EIP, limits are set on the total percentage of a block or neighbourhood that may be occupied by a certain ethnicity. These ethnic quotas, which are updated at the first of every month, reflect the racial composition in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What this means is that while people are free to buy and sell their flats if they are of the same ethnicity (since this will not affect the percentage of ownership), should they want to buy or sell from someone of a different ethnicity, they will only be able to do so if the sale will not cause the percentage of that ethnicity going over their allotted quota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(EIP quotas based on ethnic proportions are updated on the first of every month. Check if you fulfil the EIP quota of a specific block\/neighbourhood via HDB\u2019s portal<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Ethnic<\/a>
Source: HDB<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The impetus for such a policy was the government\u2019s recognition of a growing trend of Singaporeans to form certain ethnic enclaves. Bedok, for example, was inhabited predominantly by Malays, while the Chinese favoured settling in Hougang. There is also the fear that such a division would beckon the return to the 1960s level of distrust amongst the different races in Singapore, which led to some of the most devastating riots in our short history<\/a>\u00a0as an independent nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effects and criticisms of the Ethnic Integration Policy<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To the government\u2019s credit, the EIP has been successful in its main aim of preventing the \u2018racial enclaves\u2019 it was engineered to avert. Each HDB estate is a melting pot of races, with a certain interaction and integration amongst the different races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But its successes have come with a string of criticisms as well, particularly in respect of how the EIP disadvantages certain ethnicities over others, as recently debated in the parliamentary session<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n