Good Neighbours Make Good Singaporeans

Migrant integration in Singapore is neither simply a result of top-down government policy nor something that simply happens through everyday interaction but involves intermediaries that straddle state and society to aid the integration process. This chapter sets out one way in which migrant integration occurs—through developing a sense of belonging to a local neighbourhood and connection with members of the same locale. Integration and Naturalisation Champions facilitate this localised integration in three ways. First, they extend a welcome to newcomers to the neighbourhood. Second, they educate newcomers on the norms of ‘good neighbourliness’ and smooth tensions that can arise between new and more-established residents. Finally, they recruit new citizens to volunteer in their neighbourhood which deepens the sense of belonging.