RACE REDACTED, RACISM REINFORCED: RATIONALISING THE CULTURAL ASSERTION OF SAP SCHOOLS WITHIN MULTICULTURALISM IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This thesis provides an account of the processes which underlie the persistence of racial inequality and privilege in Singapore. Locating the analysis on Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools, I interrogate the rationalisation processes employed by alumni and teachers to reconcile the paradox of their institutions’ cultural assertions with multiculturalism in Singapore through a series of 12 interviews. Guided by Bonilla-Silva’s (2017) theoretical lens of Racism without Racists, I argue that SAP schools continue to find legitimacy as individuals reframe these culturally assertive practices as non-racial, thereby aligning with Singapore’s model of multiculturalism. This rationalisation process entails the concurrent use of cultural frames, complemented by certain styles of expression, including rhetorical strategies and semantic moves, to present a non-racial account of SAP schools. By postulating that SAP schools are not racially motivated, it justifies the preservation of these schools and legitimises their culturally assertive practices. In “redacting” race from their assessments of SAP schools, it reinforces the systemic racism present in Singapore. Findings from this thesis articulate how racial privilege is upheld within Singapore, especially with its distinctive approach in the management of race. It also illuminates the need to focus our study of racism on the structural processes that function to sustain racial inequality.