Decolonising Multiculturalism in Singapore: CMIO, Ethnic Integration Policy, and the Coloniality of Social Engineering
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Abstract
This study explores the role of education in empowering Multiculturalism is a crucial issue in the governance of pluralistic societies in Asia, where colonial legacies continue to shape post-independence state policies. Singapore serves as a significant example through its adoption of the Chinese–Malay–Indian–Others (CMIO) framework as the official model for managing diversity. Since independence, the CMIO has been institutionalized in various policy domains, particularly education, housing, and politics. While often lauded for its success in maintaining social stability and preventing ethnic conflict, the CMIO also reproduces rigid racial classifications and limits the recognition of more fluid and hybrid identities. This article aims to analyze the CMIO as a continuation of colonial epistemology in educational governance in Singapore. Using a critical-qualitative approach and a decolonial epistemological framework, specifically Aníbal Quijano's concepts of coloniality of power and Walter Mignolo's epistemic disobedience, this research examines policy documents, educational curricula, and academic literature related to multiculturalism and colonial legacies. The findings indicate that the CMIO continues to shape language policy, historical representation in the curriculum, and the distribution of educational resources through ethnic-based aid programs. While these policies contributed to increased social mobility, they simultaneously reinforced racial segmentation and epistemic violence. This study concludes that decolonizing multiculturalism in Singapore requires dismantling essentialist racial categories and opening up space for more inclusive identity narratives, particularly in education, a key arena for national identity formation.
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