SAP school system is good target for bigots, to accuse Singaporean Chinese as racist. I have came across numerous blogs, comments and even articles in major books and magazine ranting about Chinese racism then, picked a few examples to support their accusations whereby SAP school system is among of their favorite.
Nothing can be further from truth. Reality is SAP school system is the biggest insult to Chinese, a legacy of Chinese culture genocide and the epitome of the sufferings Chinese Singaporeans have gone through.
Dr Michael Barr and his anti Chinese hate
 |
| Michael Barr |
Dr Michael Barr is an important source of hate writings against Chinese Singaporeans. Partly due to his endless evangelism, many are filled with rabid hate against SAP schools.
Yet even before the scholarship stage, the education system has stacked the deck in favor of Chinese, starting in preschool. Here is the heart of Singapore’s systemic discrimination against non-Chinese.
The early outward signs of the Sinicization program were the privileging of Chinese education, Chinese language and selectively chosen “Chinese values” in an overt and successful effort to create a Mandarin- and English-speaking elite who would dominate public life. Two of the most important planks of this campaign were decided in 1979: the annual “Speak Mandarin Campaign” and the decision to preserve and foster a collection of elite Chinese-medium schools, known as Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools.
The SAP schools are explicitly designed to have a Chinese ambience, right down to Chinese gardens, windows shaped like plum blossoms, Chinese orchestra and drama, and exchange programs with mainland China and Taiwan. Over the years the children in SAP schools have been given multiple advantages over those in ordinary schools, including exclusive preschool programs and special consideration for pre-university scholarships.
For instance, in the early 1980s, when there was a serious shortage of graduate English teachers in schools, the Ministry of Education ensured there were enough allocated to SAP schools “to help improve standards of English among the Chinese-medium students, in the hope that they will be able to make it to university”—a target brought closer by the granting of two O-level bonus points exclusively to SAP school students when they applied to enter junior college. By contrast, neither Indians nor Malays received any special help, let alone schools of their own to address their special needs. They were not only left to fend for themselves, but were sometimes subjected to wanton neglect: inadequately trained teachers, substandard facilities and resources and the “knowledge” that they are not as good as the Chinese.
 |
| Chung Cheng high: A Chinese style building is racism |
Barr painted SAP schools as cesspool of Chinese racism against minorities. The schools serve to sinicized minorities because they are built in Chinese architecture style. PAP starved all other schools of English teachers and allocate them to SAP schools. Malays and Indians got shit.
In addition many have blog and comment extensively about SAP schools. Below are some of their opinions in summary.
- SAP schools are good because of various unfair advantages (Barr had listed a few for example priority in getting English teachers in early 1980s).
- Only Chinese are given SAP schools (no Malay SAP or Indian SAP)
- SAP school is racist and breed Chinese elitism. Minorities have small representation there.
What else can be a better evidence of a racist Chinese for many of our minorities bloggers and commenters? Someone even write a wikipedia entry of anti Malay sentiments using SAP schools to support their case. James Gomez has wrote SAP schools in practice they favour Chinese culture and Mandarin language and add to the marginalization of minorities.
The only thing these people are able to prove is, they are either too stupid, too full of self-victimization, have no breadth of historical knowledge, or they they simply preaching hate.
 |
| Chung Cheng lake: Another Chinese style architecture. It should be demolish as this is evidence of racism |
The cultural genocide of Chinese and the SAP school system.
In reality, SAP school system was born due to the need to wipe out Chinese cultural and Chinese school system. Then there was Chinese school system in Singapore. SAP schools are former Chinese schools. Every single subjects were taught in Chinese and English was learned in language lesson.
PAP being banana Peranakan hated everything related to Chinese culture. They have all along trying to close Chinese schools and finally succeeded in the early 1980s. The Chinese saw all our schools, multiple of tenths of them, closed shop or taken over by PAP. The Chinese leaders are not able to gain any grounds for us in Chinese education and had to accept PAP's humiliating terms.
The Chinese communities managed to get nine former Chinese schools structured in a way that, students have options (not obligation) of choosing two more subjects, namely a Chinese literature subject and a slightly more difficult Chinese language subject.
This is nothing but to placate the Chinese which saw all their school closed and anglicized. Overnight, the medium of instruction other than Chinese language and Chinese literature were changed to English.
 |
| Chinese High students celebrating Mid Autumn Festival: Racist KKK are caught red handed |
Malays allow to keep their Madrasah.
In comparison, PAP has allowed Malays to keep their Madrasah. Malays are free to promote their culture and languages. Nevertheless, it may be a good idea to nationalized a few Madrasahs into "SAP madrasah" to see whether anyone will attack their "Malay ambiance".
Chinese are among the least racist people in the planet. The banana PAP even though extremely un-chinese like, still treats the minorities better in cultural aspect. Unfortunately, by letting Malay madrasahs run independently and killing all Chinese schools, it makes many narrow-minded minorities feel that they are short-changed by Chinese racist (only Chinese SAP schools means Chinese are racist).
These minorities will never look at how much advantage they have in shaping their culture, in being able to control their own school system.
Chinese suffering and pain mis-interpreted maliciously as Chinese racism.
Michael Barr mentioned SAP schools got allocation of English teachers in 1980s even when there is shortage. So Chinese are racist. This is a lie. The reason of English teachers shortage is due to massive Anglicization of Chinese schools in a short period of time. Given a choice, Chinese would rather keep our Chinese schools and get rid of these English teachers.
 |
| Hwa Chong celebrate Chinese New Year. This is Nazi-ism |
Barr and some of our minorities also claim SAP schools are racist because of their Chinese ambiance such as Chinese architecture and a wider choice of CCA related to Chinese culture. Not even feces are that odious compared to such accusations. Instead of a proof of Chinese racism, it is a good proof such people are nuts.
SAP schools are reincarnate of Chinese schools. The SAP school buildings like those of Chung Cheng and Chinese high were built long time ago to house Chinese schools, from Chinese donations, designed by Chinese, and attended by Chinese students. Unless people hate it so much that they would like them to be dynamite, else it will remain very Chinese.
Teachers and students there, have started Chinese culture oriented CCA long before anyone here were born. So there will be a lot more choice of Chinese culture oriented CCAs. Unfortunately this is enough to be racism for some, because SAP schools are not celebrating for example, Thaipusam or provisioning CCA such as Silat fighting.
Is Madrasah racist by having a middle eastern architecture as well as Malay ambient?
 |
| Hwa Chong Chinese Singaporeans just cannot stop being racist against minorities again--by celebrating Chinese New Year |
Anglicization or Sinicization?
Many people are filled with hate against Chinese and will spin up any malicious accusations against us. Michael Barr and many of our commenters stated that SAP school is an outward sign of sinicization. The opposite is true. SAP is a sign of Anglicization, to extinguish Chinese culture. In SAP schools, all subjects are taught in English except Chinese language and Chinese literature.
PAP allow Malay to keep their Madrasah, but has shut down all Chinese school. If Chinese are able to keep our schools, Singapore will be a sinicize state. In addition, no one is forcing Chinese language and Confucious ethnic on anyone of our minorities.
If people can argue that SAP schools are sinicization, why not the argue the presence of Madrasah as Islamization or Malayu-lization? All majority races in South East Asia promote or impose their lect on minorities, other than Chinese Singaporeans and to a lesser extend Javanese. Just watch Malaysian Malay for example.
Our minorities need to do much more soul searching.
Singapore Chinese being hated for fake accusation of promoting Sinicization, while in reality adopting a neutral language from our British colonial master
What if PAP allow Nantah and all Chinese schools to run? The outcome will be Singapore will be a very sinicized state compared to today. Our English language standards will not hit current level. A lot of business and public activities will be conducted in Mandarin.
Today most Chinese in Singapore speak English at home precisely because PAP's sabotage of Nantah and Chinese schools. Chinese languages are going the way of dodo.
However, many people have irrational hate against anything Chinese, even though our languages are dying and English has gain supremacy. Even SAP system who retain nothing much of Chinese-ness is too much for them. They want to see SAP schools close.
Meanwhile, no one say anything about Madrasah.
Veritas Lux
*The author blogs at http://veritas-lux.blogspot.sg