August 7, 2021

7 August 1965 is a date well-remembered even by Singaporeans who were born post-independence as the day that the word “Singapore” became a concrete and island-shaped image in the minds of people and no longer referred to a state in Malaysia. Despite estrangement between the two sovereign (or in Singapore’s case, soon-to-be) entities being foremost on the mind of most people then bearing witness to this political separation, transnational border crossings between the two countries remain a common and even necessary endeavour for some.

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2019, more than 900,000 Malaysian citizens or Singaporeans with Malaysian origin resided in Singapore, making them the world’s largest Malaysian diaspora community. With the two nations’ close physical proximity, migrating to the other side of the border has often been an idea lying dormant in the mind of these nations’ citizens.

The Malaysian diaspora is not the only diaspora of note on Singaporean shores. Turning to the story of another diasporic people, Associate Professor Rajesh Rai (NUS South Asian Studies) examines the connection between the Indian diaspora and their bonds with India, even as they have relocated and resettled into loyal citizens overseas in ‘The Diaspora, India’s Development and Foreign Policy Goals’ (India on Our Minds, 2020). Concentrating mainly on the relationship between diaspora and country vis-à-vis the Indian diaspora continuing to build India developmentally and financially, Assoc Prof Rai proposes that remittances, foreign investment, philanthropy, and lobbying have been the consistent impact of the Indian diaspora on India, whether for good or ill. He also suggests that this impact will likely be here to stay, as more Indians move overseas. While examining the impact of Indians overseas through the areas of impact they have on India, however, Assoc Prof Rai reminds us that despite India having “adopted” the diaspora as part of its overseas family, it is crucial to remember that diaspora Indians have new allegiances and ties forged in the places where they have relocated which have to be sensitively treated.

Read the chapter here.