Racial Classification in Singapore
TODAY 21 July 2009
95 RACES IN S'PORE
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Besides the four main ones, there are 91 other race classifications for Singaporeans, revealed Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. Other than Chinese (78 per cent), Malays (14 per cent), Indians (7 per cent), the remaining 1 per cent are mostly Eurasians and Arabs.In a written answer to MP Irene Ng's queries, Mr Wong clarified that while the "general rule is that a person's race follows that of his or her father", it can be registered differently if parentage is mixed - "a child of Chinese and European descent can be registered as Chinese, European or Eurasian".In the NRIC registration process, "a declaration by the parents will be accepted so long as it falls within normally accepted notions of ethnicity by lineage", he said.
95 RACES IN S'PORE
------------------
Besides the four main ones, there are 91 other race classifications for Singaporeans, revealed Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng. Other than Chinese (78 per cent), Malays (14 per cent), Indians (7 per cent), the remaining 1 per cent are mostly Eurasians and Arabs.In a written answer to MP Irene Ng's queries, Mr Wong clarified that while the "general rule is that a person's race follows that of his or her father", it can be registered differently if parentage is mixed - "a child of Chinese and European descent can be registered as Chinese, European or Eurasian".In the NRIC registration process, "a declaration by the parents will be accepted so long as it falls within normally accepted notions of ethnicity by lineage", he said.
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