Yah Lah But #764: Is Singapore Really Multicultural? A Youth Leader’s Unfiltered Take
Amalina Nasir, a youth leader and advocate for interfaith work in Singapore, shares her work bridging young Singaporeans with global communities. Drawing on her professional experience in big tech and her time as a former member of the Board of Governors of the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), she reflects on online discourse, youth engagement, and how perspectives shaped through regional exchanges and international exposure often differ from what dominates social media.
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (𝙎𝙄𝙁)
𝘚𝘐𝘍 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘚𝘐𝘍 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘐𝘍 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 | https://www.sif.org.sg/ | https://www.instagram.com/siforg
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(00:00) A Message From SIF
(00:35) Intro
(01:38) A Life Balancing Community, Career, and Academia
(03:39) Growing Up in the Madrasa Education System
(05:13) Discovering Social Impact Through Debate and Volunteering
(06:39) Culture Shock Entering University
(08:28) Experiencing Prejudice and Feeling Like an Outsider
(10:16) Learning to Speak Up and Set Boundaries
(13:25) When Inclusion Still Feels Like a Burden
(15:20) Turning Discomfort into Curiosity and Empathy
(17:59) Is Singapore Multicultural or Just Coexisting?
(21:14) The Surprise of a First Malay Wedding
(23:14) Racial Harmony vs Real Relationships
(26:29) Why Intentional Mixing Still Matters
(30:43) The Purpose of Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue
(33:24) Lessons from ASEAN Youth Leaders
(35:02) What Makes Singapore Special
(36:45) What Ordinary Singaporeans Can Do
(38:59) Social Media, Extremism, and Polarisation
(41:26) Structural Change vs Everyday Action
(44:24) People-to-People Diplomacy in Practice
(50:01) Counter-Terrorism and the Cost of Misunderstanding
(53:49) Why Singapore Can Lead Interfaith Dialogue
(56:34) Deepening Ties Through Singapore–Indonesia Exchanges
(01:12:30) One Shiok Thing
(01:18:47) Post-Interview Reflection
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