Singapore is a multi-racial country and in the 1960s, there were very real threats of racial tension and conflict. On 21 July 1964, during a procession celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, riots broke out. The riots began as the procession passed through Kallang, an area dominated by the Chinese. A curfew was quickly enforced, lifted and then re-enforced as the riots did not abate. The curfew ended on 2 August. 23 people died and there were 454 injured casualties.

  On 16 August 1964, the government introduced Racial Harmony Week and later the National Language Week to promote cohesion and understanding among the various races. These events were aimed at encouraging people of different races to be friends. It was until later on that Racial Harmony Day is commemorated in the country.

  The Racial Harmony Day is just one of the many ways the government tries to raise Singaporeans’ awareness on how vulnerable Singapore is in social issues as we are after all a multi-racial country. With the rising number of foreign workers migrating into the country, it is more important to preserve the racial and religious harmony in Singapore.

 

  Racial harmony begins with everyone.