A rare incident of rioting in Singapore over the weekend has raised questions about social harmony in the wealthy Southeast Asian nation that has been built on a reputation of stability and prides itself on a long history of racial cohesion.
The underlying cause for the violence late Sunday, which was triggered by a fatal road accident that killed an Indian national, appears to be the festering grievance among low-wage foreigners.
“Poor people, whether foreign or local, are constantly reminded of their conditions in a city with obvious wealth; frustration is inevitable. The riot was obviously a ‘blowing off steam’ of pent-up frustrations and felt social isolation,” Chua Beng Huat, head of the Sociology Department at the National University of Singapore, told CNBC.
