S'pore minister opposes making
race, sex bias illegal
Reuters. February 13, 1999.
SINGAPORE should not outlaw racial, gender and age discrimination
in employment because it would likely hurt economic growth, the labor minister
was quoted as saying Saturday.
Manpower Minister Lee Boon Yang made the statement, which appeared in the Straits Times newspaper, in response to legislation proposed inpParliament last week.
"The problem with legislation is that it would create rigidities in the job market which would be detrimental to economic growth and job creation," Lee said.
In the prosperous city-state where almost full employment has been the norm for years, newspaper job advertisements routinely list requirements such as race, gender, age and language.
But as the economy has fallen into recession and more than 28,000 people have been laid off, more job-seekers have raised the issue of discrimination in letters to newspapers and on radio talk shows.
On Friday, the opposition Singapore Malay National Organisation demanded that the government establish a prime minister's advisory council "to ensure total elimination of racial discrimination" in the military and in work places.
Although Malays make up only 11 percent of the work force, according to the government, they account for about 20 percent of layoffs, mostly from low-skilled jobs.
Chinese comprise 78 percent of Singapore's 3.1 million people, Malays 14 percent and Indians 7 percent.