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Double-barrelled race option on ICs from Jan 1
Move reflects growing trend of inter-racial marriages in Singapore
By Rachel Chang
DOUBLE-BARRELLED race classifications will become a reality from Jan 1, when Singaporeans of mixed parentage will have the option of reflecting two races on their identity cards.
For example, someone whose mother is Indian and father, Chinese, can change his identity card to be identified as Indian-Chinese or Chinese-Indian.
Currently, they are registered either as Chinese or Indian.
Mixed-race couples will have the same option for their newborn children.
And should the child grow up to prefer a different race classification, he or she can change it from the age of 21.
Details of the change, which was announced in Parliament in January this year, were released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) yesterday.
The new policy is 'in recognition of evolving societal changes', it said.
In recent years, inter-racial marriages have been on an upward trend. In 2007, 16.4 per cent of about 24,000 marriages were inter-racial, compared to 8.9 per cent of 25,667 marriages a decade earlier.
The ICA made clear how the new flexibility would be implemented.
For the purposes of government policy, such as the assignment of mother tongue language class in schools and the ethnic quota applied in Housing Board estates, the first component of a double-barrelled race will be used - the race that comes before the hyphen.
'There will not be any advantage in terms of policy considerations for those who register either a double-barrelled or a singular race,' the ICA statement said.
Published statistics on race from now on will also be based on first-component races.
The policy also comes with some caveats. For inter-racial couples, all their children must be registered with the same double-barrelled race classification.
If a change of race classification for any child is required, all siblings must change their race together. From the age of 21, however, this restriction is lifted.
Altogether, there are three chances to determine the racial classification of a mixed-race child born on or after Jan 1 next year: at birth, anytime before the age of 21, and anytime after the age of 21.
Full details of the policy and registration procedure can be found on ICA's website, at www.ica.gov.sg
Singaporeans affected greeted the details of the changes yesterday with mixed feelings.
Undergraduate Shahril Yong, 24, lamented that the new flexibility came too late for him. Although he looks Malay, his race is classified as Chinese - his father's race.
Before this year, children of mixed-race parentage had no choice but to take their paternal race.
'If my IC had said Malay, I could have received a university tuition fee subsidy,' he said. 'If I were younger, I would change to Malay-Chinese for that.'
The Government subsidises the tertiary education of Malay students whose monthly household incomes are below $3,000. Students whose families earn less than $2,000 get a full tuition subsidy, while those whose families earn between $2,000 and $3,000 get a subsidy of 70 per cent of tuition fees.
The option to change one's racial classification again after the age of 21 also gave others pause.
Teacher Laremy Lee, whose ethnicity is Chinese-Indian, said that some might make the change in adulthood to take advantage of housing policies.
'If the Chinese ethnic quota is full but not the Indian, some might change their classification to Indian-Chinese to buy a flat,' said the 27-year-old.
But he added that such loopholes are part and parcel of having a less rigid system of racial classification.
For Mrs Sarah Sum-Campbell, a Chinese Singaporean married to a Briton, the new classifications will allow both her and her young children's heritage to be fully reflected.
The mother of two wanted her children's surname to be made up of both her Chinese surname and her husband's.
Similarly, double-barrelled race classifications will help them with their identities, she added. 'They know they are not from a single race, and this will hopefully make them more open-minded to people of all backgrounds.'
[email protected]
'They know they are not from a single race, and this will hopefully make them more open-minded to people of all backgrounds.'
Mrs Sarah Sum-Campbell, a Chinese Singaporean married to a Briton, on the impact of the new rules on her children.
Move reflects growing trend of inter-racial marriages in Singapore
By Rachel Chang
DOUBLE-BARRELLED race classifications will become a reality from Jan 1, when Singaporeans of mixed parentage will have the option of reflecting two races on their identity cards.
For example, someone whose mother is Indian and father, Chinese, can change his identity card to be identified as Indian-Chinese or Chinese-Indian.
Currently, they are registered either as Chinese or Indian.
Mixed-race couples will have the same option for their newborn children.
And should the child grow up to prefer a different race classification, he or she can change it from the age of 21.
Details of the change, which was announced in Parliament in January this year, were released by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) yesterday.
The new policy is 'in recognition of evolving societal changes', it said.
In recent years, inter-racial marriages have been on an upward trend. In 2007, 16.4 per cent of about 24,000 marriages were inter-racial, compared to 8.9 per cent of 25,667 marriages a decade earlier.
The ICA made clear how the new flexibility would be implemented.
For the purposes of government policy, such as the assignment of mother tongue language class in schools and the ethnic quota applied in Housing Board estates, the first component of a double-barrelled race will be used - the race that comes before the hyphen.
'There will not be any advantage in terms of policy considerations for those who register either a double-barrelled or a singular race,' the ICA statement said.
Published statistics on race from now on will also be based on first-component races.
The policy also comes with some caveats. For inter-racial couples, all their children must be registered with the same double-barrelled race classification.
If a change of race classification for any child is required, all siblings must change their race together. From the age of 21, however, this restriction is lifted.
Altogether, there are three chances to determine the racial classification of a mixed-race child born on or after Jan 1 next year: at birth, anytime before the age of 21, and anytime after the age of 21.
Full details of the policy and registration procedure can be found on ICA's website, at www.ica.gov.sg
Singaporeans affected greeted the details of the changes yesterday with mixed feelings.
Undergraduate Shahril Yong, 24, lamented that the new flexibility came too late for him. Although he looks Malay, his race is classified as Chinese - his father's race.
Before this year, children of mixed-race parentage had no choice but to take their paternal race.
'If my IC had said Malay, I could have received a university tuition fee subsidy,' he said. 'If I were younger, I would change to Malay-Chinese for that.'
The Government subsidises the tertiary education of Malay students whose monthly household incomes are below $3,000. Students whose families earn less than $2,000 get a full tuition subsidy, while those whose families earn between $2,000 and $3,000 get a subsidy of 70 per cent of tuition fees.
The option to change one's racial classification again after the age of 21 also gave others pause.
Teacher Laremy Lee, whose ethnicity is Chinese-Indian, said that some might make the change in adulthood to take advantage of housing policies.
'If the Chinese ethnic quota is full but not the Indian, some might change their classification to Indian-Chinese to buy a flat,' said the 27-year-old.
But he added that such loopholes are part and parcel of having a less rigid system of racial classification.
For Mrs Sarah Sum-Campbell, a Chinese Singaporean married to a Briton, the new classifications will allow both her and her young children's heritage to be fully reflected.
The mother of two wanted her children's surname to be made up of both her Chinese surname and her husband's.
Similarly, double-barrelled race classifications will help them with their identities, she added. 'They know they are not from a single race, and this will hopefully make them more open-minded to people of all backgrounds.'
[email protected]
'They know they are not from a single race, and this will hopefully make them more open-minded to people of all backgrounds.'
Mrs Sarah Sum-Campbell, a Chinese Singaporean married to a Briton, on the impact of the new rules on her children.
