For those who read and do not know much about me, I am a true blue Singaporean who spends 90% of my time in neighbouring Malaysia. And I must say, with recent events, I have never been more proud to be Singaporean.
Living “overseas” (no doubt, across the causeway) for a couple of years has made me appreciate my home country so much more. No doubt we have streets that almost always make me feel claustrophobic and a certain aura in the environment that makes me feel all uptight and stressed, and even MRT trains that break down all too often these days, I believe I still have plenty to be thankful for. Singaporeans have safe streets that allows even girls and children to walk the streets at night (even when alone) and yet still feel safe. How many countries in the world can say they have that? We have a public transport system that is (mostly) efficient, clean and safe. We do not worry about snatch thieves or pickpockets or robbery much. In fact, it’s the last thing on our minds when we roam the streets during the weekends or when we walk into quiet multi-storey carparks. We do not think much about placing our handbags on the passenger seats when we drive when our neighbours fear motorcyclists who ride by, smash the car windows and grab their handbags and valuables.
And … we live in a society based on meritocracy and gender and racial equality. It may not be obvious, but this equality that is in-bred into us has allowed our country to progress more than most of our neighbours. A country where races are treated equally, without preferential treatment, such as being allotted HDB flats in a ratio that befits our population racial segregation. Where no one race gets special benefits in terms of housing and corporates have ease and full control over ownership and board of director issues.
The recent article by therealsingapore.com about Dr Yaacob Ibrahim is another great example. For us to stand up for our fellow countrymen and their mother tongue regardless of skin color shows truly how Singaporeans stick together. Sure, we Chinese are the majority race in Singapore and surely our forefathers, and even MM Lee could have made Chinese a compulsory language for all Singaporeans (even Malays and Indians) to study. But no, we have a great education system whereby each of us study English and our very own mother tongue, be it chinese, tamil, malay etc.
I believe we have a country that was built on a great foundation of racial equality and progress as a country and I am truly proud to be Singaporean. And Kit Chan’s Home comes to mind again, just like all the times when the plane I’m on approaches Changi.
