Foreigners should respect local norms and locals should appreciate foreigners' contributions, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean at the National Community Engagement Programme dialogue on Saturday.
In this excerpt, he also speaks about rising religiosity and the need to focus on what Singaporeans have in common, rather than emphasise the differences.
Fundamental to Singapore's history and national identity is that we are an open and inclusive society, and we must always remain so.
Multi-racialism pervades all aspects of Singaporean life. We celebrate diversity, and respect the culture and practices of others. We focus on our commonalities rather than accentuate the differences.In spite of the differences in language, religion and culture, Singaporeans have come together as one people.
Our shared experiences shape our collective outlook, pulling us together as a society, and honing our collective instincts as one people. As our national pledge reminds us, we are one united people, regardless of race, language or religion.
These are some of the reasons that continue to make Singapore an attractive location to people from beyond our shores.
At the same time, we know that there are concerns about Singapore taking in too many foreigners, and too quickly. We have already slowed the inflow of new permanent residents and significantly slowed down the intake of new foreign workers.
Those who become permanent residents or Singapore citizens choose to make a long-term commitment to Singapore - they share our values, hopes and aspirations. Like many of our own parents and grandparents who came to Singapore decades ago, these new immigrants believe in the promise of our nation and what Singapore stands for.
This is what attracts them. They want to integrate and do their part to make Singapore better and stronger. We should help them to do so.
They include foreign spouses of Singaporeans. In 2011, there were 9,000 marriages involving a Singaporean and a non-Singaporean, making up about 40 per cent of marriages involving Singaporeans.
There are also those who come here to work, and help bring new skills and connections to the region and beyond.
The Government, unions and businesses have been working together to promote fair, responsible and merit-based employment practices among employers, employees and the general public.
We will ensure that companies and employers maintain a level playing field at the workplace, and give fair consideration to Singaporeans for recruitment and promotion opportunities.
Even as we maintain an open environment in Singapore, foreigners working here must understand that they too bear a responsibility to the local community, and should respect Singaporean values and norms.
This also applies to the group of foreign workers who are here to provide us a service, such as those in construction and estate maintenance. They too have to abide by our social norms and values.
At the same time, we should treat them with respect, and appreciate the work they do and the services that they provide for us. So I was quite sad to learn about the abuse of health-care workers in our hospitals because they help to take care of us and our loved ones when we need them most.
With increasing globalisation, we must always be mindful that Singapore is a small country in a much larger global community. As an open society, we are always subject to influences from outside. These linkages help to keep us connected to the world and we have to continually evolve and adapt to new ideas and influences. This is the positive side.
At the same time, we need to be careful not to bend to external influences indiscriminately, because there can be a negative side too.
With the widespread use of the Internet, many people are increasingly forming online groups, or finding common ground with others who may live thousands of kilometres away in different countries with different social contexts.
While it can open our minds and expose us to new ideas, we should be mindful about absorbing teachings or practices which may not be appropriate for our social context, as these will threaten our social cohesion, and risk the social capital we have built up over the years.
If one group or religion pushes hard to have its views and beliefs applied to the society at large, others will also want to do the same. Thus, our practices must be adapted to suit our local context and be aligned with our social norms and practices.
Anecdotally, there is an increasing trend of greater religiosity in Singapore. This is happening globally as well, and not just in Singapore. Accompanying this, there is an increasing tendency towards assertiveness and the projection of religion into the public sphere.
It is therefore even more important than before that we remain a country where people respect the beliefs and views of others. To remain strong and cohesive, we must focus not on the differences between groups but what we have in common, and unites us.
Fundamentally, all religions advocate certain moral precepts to help us become better human beings. And there is substantial common ground in the values espoused by the different religions. They all believe in fairness and justice, and helping those who are less fortunate.
So we may be of different faiths but we can and should treat one another with respect and compassion, and not denigrate others' beliefs.
Indeed, it is when we focus on what we have in common, that we complement one another, and make us stronger as one people.
We must not be tempted by the cloak of anonymity offered by the Internet to denigrate the faiths of others - otherwise, social relations will deteriorate rapidly.
Unfortunately we have seen such examples in Singapore. Let us focus on what we have in common and expand our common spaces, rather than pick on the differences which divide us.