Are Singaporeans Racist, or Is It Really About Money, Status, and Class?

I have been thinking about Singapore lately because of an experience I had there many years ago.

I visited Singapore as a tourist around 15 years ago, and I remember leaving with the impression that some people there were rude. I do not even remember every detail anymore, so I am not going to pretend that one old interaction proves anything about an entire country.

But that experience stayed with me.

I remember being at one of the tourist attractions or visitor areas, asking something or responding to an employee, and the person basically talked back to me in a way that caught me completely off guard.

My reaction was basically: excuse me?

I came from an American customer-service mindset. If someone works at a tourist attraction and I am a paying visitor, I expect at least basic courtesy. Instead, I remember feeling like the employee could not care less.

At the same time, I also remember seeing people cutting lines and behaving in ways that I personally considered rude.

But years later, I do not think the right conclusion is simply:

“Singaporeans are rude.”

And I definitely do not think it is fair to say:

“Singaporeans are racist.”

I think what is going on is much more complicated.

Maybe It Is Less About Race and More About Status

One thing I have heard repeatedly from people in my own community is that Singapore can be very status-conscious.

Money matters.

Education matters.

Career matters.

Where you live matters.

What school you went to matters.

How you speak matters.

What kind of job you have matters.

And sometimes, unfortunately, the way people perceive your nationality, ethnicity, accent, education, or financial status can affect how they treat you.

That does not mean every Singaporean thinks this way.

Of course not.

But when you hear similar stories over and over again, it becomes worth asking whether there is a broader social hierarchy at work.

Sometimes what looks like racism may actually be a mixture of classism, xenophobia, nationalism, and assumptions about social status.

And sometimes race is still part of that mix.

Being Chinese Does Not Mean Having the Same Culture

This topic is also personal to me because I am ethnically Chinese, but I was born and raised in Burma.

My customs are mostly Burmese.

My childhood experiences were Burmese.

I speak Burmese.

I do not speak Chinese.

If someone asked me what culture shaped me, I would say Burmese.

But that does not erase the fact that my ancestry is Chinese.

I do not say, “I have nothing to do with being Chinese.”

I simply understand that ancestry, ethnicity, nationality, and culture are not always the same thing.

There are Chinese people all over the world who grew up in completely different cultures.

There are Chinese people in Burma.

Chinese people in Singapore.

Chinese people in Malaysia.

Chinese people in Brazil.

Chinese people in the United States.

Some may speak Mandarin.

Some may speak Cantonese.

Some may speak Burmese.

Some may speak Portuguese.

Some may speak only English.

They may have almost nothing in common culturally.

But they can still share Chinese ancestry.

That does not mean they all have to identify the same way, and it certainly does not mean they have to behave the same way.

Where I Have a Problem

What bothers me is not that someone says:

“I am Singaporean.”

Of course they are Singaporean.

National identity is real.

Culture changes.

Countries develop their own traditions and values.

My problem begins when national identity becomes a reason to look down on someone else.

For example:

“I am Singaporean, therefore I am better than mainland Chinese.”

Or:

“I am more Westernized, therefore I am more sophisticated.”

Or:

“That person is a poorer immigrant, therefore I can treat them differently.”

That kind of thinking bothers me.

And this is not only about Singapore.

You see versions of this everywhere.

People become more educated, wealthier, more Westernized, or more socially established, and suddenly they want to distance themselves from people who remind them of where their own family may have come from.

That is where status consciousness starts turning ugly.

I Still Believe in Asian Solidarity

I also believe Asians should have some level of solidarity with other Asians.

That does not mean blindly defending someone just because they share your ethnicity.

If someone is rude, they are rude.

If someone cuts the line, they are wrong.

If someone behaves badly, I am not going to excuse it because they are Chinese, Burmese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, or anything else.

But I do think it is disappointing when Asians treat other Asians as inferior while giving more respect to someone simply because that person appears wealthier, more Western, or more socially prestigious.

That is the part I cannot get behind.

You do not need to deny your own national identity to acknowledge your ancestry.

And you do not need to look down on someone else’s background to feel proud of your own.

Singapore Is Also Deeply Shaped by Western Influence

Singapore is a unique case because Western influence is deeply embedded in the country’s modern history.

It was a British colony.

English became extremely important.

Its legal, business, educational, and governmental systems developed with strong British influence.

So when Singapore feels very Westernized, that did not happen out of nowhere.

It is part of the country’s history.

But even knowing that, I still think there is a difference between adopting Western institutions and believing Western people, Western accents, Western lifestyles, or Western approval automatically make someone superior.

Those are two completely different things.

So, Are Singaporeans Racist?

I would not use that label broadly.

Singapore is a multicultural society, and millions of people live completely normal lives alongside people of different races and religions.

But I do think it is fair to talk about something else:

Does Singapore have a strong social hierarchy where wealth, education, class, nationality, race, and perceived sophistication affect how people are treated?

That, to me, is a much more interesting question.

And based on what I experienced personally, what I have heard from other people, and what many people discuss publicly, I think the answer is probably yes to some degree.

But that does not make every rude interaction racism.

Sometimes a rude person is just a rude person.

Sometimes someone is classist.

Sometimes they are xenophobic.

Sometimes they are judging your accent or nationality.

Sometimes race really is involved.

And sometimes several of those things are happening at the same time.

Human behavior is rarely as simple as we want it to be.

My Takeaway

My experience in Singapore happened a long time ago, and I would never use one old incident to define an entire country.

But it did leave me thinking about something much bigger.

You can become Singaporean, Burmese, American, Brazilian, or anything else culturally while still acknowledging where your ancestors came from.

Those identities can exist together.

And becoming wealthier, more educated, more Westernized, or more socially successful should never require looking down on people who are poorer, newer immigrants, or simply different from you.

National pride is one thing.

Cultural pride is another.

Ancestral pride is another.

None of them require superiority.

And maybe that is the bigger lesson here.