Regional Similarities and the Illusion of Unity: Asian Foreign Talent and the Lack of Integration in Singapore

With almost a third of its population made up of transient migrants who work in various skilled occupations and study in state-funded and private institutions, Singapore is one of the most dynamic transient hubs in the Asian region. With its core multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual and multifaith makeup of Chinese, Indian and Malay representing some of the most visible demographics in the region, Singapore might seem like the ideal place for ready and willing transient migrants who are Asian-born or of Asian descent to live in a country which they imagine to be similar to the societies, communities and cultures they come from or are familiar with. However, culture, ethnicity, language and even religion - traditional markers of identity – have not led to successful integration on a mass scale between Asian-identifying transient migrants and the Singapore citizenry. Singaporeans who are overwhelmed by the transient migrant numbers, for instance, have openly expressed their xenophobia in physical and online spaces. Meanwhile foreign talent transient migrants - that is, foreigners who have professional qualifications working in the city-state and international students based in tertiary institutions - do not form meaningful relationships with Singaporeans despite some of them spending many years in their adopted country. By surveying 200 Asian foreign talent in Singapore, this chapter discusses the evolving nature of diversity where traditional identity markers seem to matter less in this age of ever increasing transient transmigration.