Diversity can be very useful, if properly managed.
Mismanaged, it can easily tear a nation apart.
What Lee Kuan Yew removed, were the chinese dialects (not Mandarin though), which pretty much wiped out our means of communicating with our grandparents, most of whom only spoke them.
The medium of instruction for most classes is English, mainly because most of the western world uses English as a working language.
English and ethnic languages (Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu (Malay), Tamil, Hindi, etc) are taught in school, from 6 to 16 years old (compulsory education).
The ethnic language taken depends on which race you belong to.
Our race is printed on our IDs, a Brit legacy, which seems incredibly racist, but is kept in place by the government, probably to keep track of demographics, to better *manage* the populace.
Please point out instances when the minorities got uppity, or when Chinese dominance is/could have been threatened?
Was this in the 1960s?
Or do you mean the current replenishment of the Chinese population through China, to maintain the *optimal* ratio?
**End sarcasm.**
Can you please elaborate how the multicultural laws hurt the minorities?
Malay's our National Language, and military commands are in Malay as well.
Regarding the multicultural laws, you might be talking about the sedition act, which punishes people whose speech threatens the peace.
Based on reports from our (state controlled) media, I think this law cuts the ethnic Chinese more than the minorities, justifiably so in several instances.
The privileges of the ethnic Chinese Singaporean that I'm aware of, are:
- Employers seem to favour us (example, Knowledge of Mandarin preferred)
- We can serve in all branches of the military (mainly because of the neighbours we have).