DEC 13 — A squeaky clean republic known for its impeccable public security and the absence of even the slightest street demonstrations saw its most violent riot in four decades last weekend.

The riot, which erupted after a migrant worker was run down by a bus in Singapore's Little India, was participated by more than 400 people who smashed the windscreen of the bus before attacking police cars and set vehicles ablaze. More than 41 people were injured and 16 police cars and nine civil defence vehicles were destroyed in the incident.

Singapore is a highly urbanised city-state known for its exceptional economic development. Due to the size of its land area and population, Singapore has been highly reliant on foreign workers for decades to expand its economy. While these migrant workers have contributed significantly towards the local economy, they also bring with them an array of social issues and lurking dangers.

Last year, almost a hundred Chinese bus drivers staged a walkout in protest of what they called inequitable treatment. The authorities took a very firm stand against the trouble-makers, prosecuting and jailing four of the drivers while repatriating the other 29.

If what happened last year was a planned “revolution” by the Chinese bus drivers, the more recent uproar in Little India arising from an unforeseen road accident has not offered any hint of pre-designed plan. Outwardly, indeed it appeared to be so.

Almost all the participants of this violent incident were migrant workers from the Indian sub-continent, one of them a permanent resident of Singapore. No native Singaporeans have been implicated.

Since this was the first ever street riot in the island republic in decades, Singapore government has viewed this incident very seriously. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has ordered a thorough investigation into the root cause of the riot while the police have classified it an isolated incident.

From what we understand, foreigners make up 1.3 million of the total 5.3 million population of Singapore. Most of the workers from India and Bangladesh are hired in low-skill sectors in which Singaporeans are reluctant to work. These foreign workers have to take up laborious jobs that demand a great deal of physical strength, the welfare of many of them being unduly eroded by their agencies or employers.

In addition, they also have to come under merciless discrimination while enduring the bitter homesickness. The mental stress falling upon their shoulders are indescribable and beyond the apprehension of outsiders.

So they gather at the Little India for a drink as they seek a momentary respite from the pressure. Getting drunk and creating trouble after that have become habitual for these people.

After the riot, the Singapore police have responded positively to calls for stricter controls on the sale of liquor in Little India, and have decided to ban the liquor sale at the shops there this coming weekend.

That said many believe the cause of this incident is not this simple as alcohol. It could have been a collective outlet for multiple chronically repressed problems with more profound reasons behind, including cultural differences, discrimination, widening income gap and unfair treatment received by migrant workers over the years.

Ordinary Singaporeans have reacted to the riot with shock, indignation and disbelief. Many feel that the weekend riot has not erupted out of nothing, and could be blamed on the unchecked introduction of massive numbers of foreign workers into the city state in recent years. They are worried more troubles will be created by these foreigners in future.

Some experts consequently deduced that Singaporeans could feel less secure because of this, and will apply pressure to the government to cut down its reliance on foreign workers for the sake of native Singaporeans.

The various crises encountered by Singapore in relation to foreign workers today do not really look that unfamiliar to us over here in Malaysia.

So long as economic inequality continues to exist between nations, the issue of workers being channelled from a poorer country to a wealthier one will not be resolved and the income disparity and conflicts that ensue will remain inevitable.

As an importer of foreign workers, we must come to terms with the fact that foreign workers are indeed a time bomb waiting to go off. What happens in Singapore today should serve as an important lesson for us in Malaysia. — Sin Chew Daily

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.