NCHS Sec 3 SS WA3 Practice Paper 2023

1 Name: Register Number: Class: NCHS – Practice Paper SECTION A (Source-Based Case Study) Question 1 is compulsory for all candidates. Living in a Diverse Society Study the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then answer the question. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the question, in addition to the source you are told to use. In answering the question, you should use your knowledge of the topic to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 Study Source A. How reliable is Source A as evidence about the benefits of HDB’s Ethnic Integration Policy? Explain your answer. [7] Is the Ethnic Integration Policy still relevant in Singapore? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions. The Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) was introduced in 1989 to ensure a balanced mix of ethnic groups in HDB estates, and to prevent the formation of racial enclaves. It seeks to promote racial integration in Singapore by allowing residents of different ethnicities to live together and interact on a regular basis in public housing, where 80% of the population lives. The EIP is implemented for all ethnic groups. Under the EIP, there are limits on the total percentage of a block or neighbourhood that may be occupied by a certain ethnicity. However, some have criticized that the EIP is irrelevant as it does not really promote integration among ethnic groups. Hence, is the Ethnic Integration Policy still relevant in today’s context?

2 Source A Source B Source C A mayor of a big city that has suffered from serious racial segregation and conflict came up to me. He said to me that he wished his city had implemented a version of the EIP much earlier on to foster harmony and avert the unrest that they now regularly face. But now that societal divisions have hardened along racial and ethnic li nes in his city, it is not a feasible nor politically attainable option to implement a similar policy. That is how bad the situation had become and that conversation with this mayor stuck in my mind all these years, reminding me of the importance in the co ntinuation of EIP in Singapore. An interview in 2015 where Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam spoke about the Ethnic Integration Policy. When the Ethnic Integration Policy was first introduced in 1989, I don’t think we knew how important it was going to be. Once people of different ethnic groups live together, they are not just walking the corridors and going to the same primary school, because all over the world young kids go to school very near to where they live and they grow up together. The EIP has helped to maintain racial and social harmony in Singapore by providing opportunities for social mixing among Singaporeans of different races . Nonetheless, I have to admit that the EIP is definitely one