Identity Crisis!

Going to Australia in a month time, the anticipation and excitement makes me realise how much i wanted to leave Singapore and go to another country, and frankly speaking, it doesnt matter where it is. I was reading through Einstein's autobiography these few day. It appears that although Einstein is not proud of being a Jewish, he acknowledges and somehow helped in advocating Jewish rights during World War 2 (by helping in the establishment of the Hebrew University in Israel). Although it was tough being a Jew at that time, he had something he can identify himself as.

In Singapore, self-identification is not as tough, but difficult still. Singapore had been widely recognised as a country without any culture. Seriously, by saying we are a multi-cultural society, does not mean that we had multiple culture, it just means that we do not have a culture all Singaporean can identify with. Even the one thing uniquely Singapore had been widely criticised, "Singlish."

Singapore society had always identified itself as a meritocratic society. Being of this nature, Singapore has been associated with being justice, and fair, as every capable individuals can succeed with no worry about bribing officials or trouble themselves with flattering their bosses (partially true). Because of this nature, often only those of merits are recognised. By being Meritocratic, Singapore Society always aim for the best and had low tolerance for error. This tendency is evident from the citizen's low tolerance for others (eg drivers honking nonstop), and the Government emphasis on Talents. Prime Minister Rally often talk about how local talents migrate to other countries. Maybe there should stop emphasizing on the loss of Singaporean talents and more on those talents that stayed. Those that stayed need to feel that their country values them, this is where people get their identity. It sounds a lot to ask from the country, but it is not. Small gesture like praising Singaporean on the Rally for a start (i mean all Singaporean, not just a few selected Talents). NO hidden agenda, just pure gratitude and thanks you. I actually recommend introducing Human Rights movement, where government will advocate a public attorney for those who cant afford a lawyer during trial, but it will be a sure lost-cause as MM Lee is not really a fan of human rights. We should start valuing individual differences and that every human being should be treated with respect, irregardless whether they are slow in driving, or not being the "talent" in the eyes of our government.

Quoting from John F Kennedy " Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." What if the country had not been identified by us as OUR country? Especially with the world globalisation where everyone can choose their nationality and change them easily. This had been an issue for me. I wanted to like Singapore, i was born here, schooled here, i served National Service, and i will served my country if necessary. But i Don't want to stay here. This may be a controversial issue, especially for those self-righteous nationalist out there. But i believed it is an issue worth thinking about.

Being a Chinese, in a Chinese majority Singapore, i felt oppressed. I cannot even identify myself as a chinese. Being Chinese and growing up in a Mandarin-speaking family, i had been forced to perfect my english and not being fluent in it had often being associated with being ignorant. Where did that came from? When does English equate Intelligence? Even a chinese being fluent in Chinese is not a good quality. What else can i identify myself with?

I am not advocating separatism, in which Chinese must be good only in Chinese, Malays only in Malay and Indians in Tamil. I am just puzzled in why must we assimilate ourselves into a culture which is not ours. The English language is brought to us when we are one of the English colonies. People may say that we speak english because it is the one language in which we can communicate across all the races. i believe the Reason we are speaking English is because it possesses the highest monetary potential. I believe the value of english should be left at that notion. It is just a way in which we communicate, nothing more. There is no reason to generalize a person's english capability to other aspects of his life.

For many Singaporean out there, we had always identify ourselves by our merits (Salaries or results for students). But All these are superficial and will fade away with time. All motivations can only come from within. Frankly speaking, i do not think Singlish is that bad an idea. It is a way to communicate that arises from no where and yet gaining such a huge popularity. Although it poses several difficulties in communicating, nevertheless it is uniquely Singaporean. It is a product based entirely on the society's making, something from within. Yet, we degrade it because it does not make us look superior, because it doesn't make us look like an American or English.

Asking people to change and ridiculing what they are is two different matters. If your motive is to increase the english standard of singapore, You can increase the value of changing, by saying that it can increase your chances of interacting with major overseas corporation or it can increase the chances of interaction between different races. However, it is discriminatory for a person to degrade another human being because they are who they are, and not what society aspire them to be. Society and parental upbringings can often affect your capabilities, not just in language speaking, but also in terms of self-discipline, self-control, and etc. Should we degrade a person's value purely because they are born from a environment different from us?

People are motivated to learn when there are positive reinforcement. Punishment(in the form of ridiculing and criticism) only serve to make people more neurotic, afraid and more resistant to change. I prefer to live in a world where i can receive positive reinforcement.

The process of Self-identification consists of items that we are confident (for example, people good in drawing define themselves as artist), that we are proud of (for example, someone who had achieved a doctorate would introduce himself as a doctor), and lastly, items that make us happy. I feel that it is hard to identify myself as a Singaporean here in Singapore, hope that it will be easier when im away.