Asia Sentinel

...
written by Culture? , May 12, 2010

A progressive culture, like that in Singapore, moves on with the times. That is how Singapore, and every rich country in the world today became rich. America didn't become rich by clinging onto their culture of using horse carts and farming and german language for germans. 90% of Americans are not English but mostly Germans and Irish, but still they have adopted English as their language as well.

For many Singaporeans, English is their mother tongue. For others, it may be other languages such as Chinese. There is nothing wrong with a Singaporean Chinese not being able to speak Chinese because Singapore is an English speaking country and that is the way Singaporeans were brought up.

Like I said, 90% of Americans are not even of English ancestry but Germans, Irish, African etc. They do not speak German or Gaelic but English. Obama himself is of kenyan ancestry but speaks only English and Bahasa Indonesia from his years in Indonesia.

Your problem is you are obsessed with the idea of "culture" and clinging onto the past while everyone has moved on. Culture is worth nothing if it hinders progress. We should keep the good parts and discard the bad parts of every culture. We should not keep the bad parts of each culture claiming that is our "roots" whatever that means.

A regressive country clings onto the past, claiming it is "culture" and refuses to move on.

That is why these regressive countries are so poor today. Look around the world, I am sure you will see many examples of these regressive countries who have "culture" but no money, food or security.

...
written by Tiffany Necklaces , September 26, 2009

I totally start losing my conscience of feeling studying and working 5 years in Singapore. My assessment there in Singapore base on race the Malay is good at discrimination though they're good for nothing. Singapore also has much flaw such as being too much Singaporean but nothing worthy is never accomplished by Singaporean. Look at Taiwan and China, they're pretty good with quality products and also possess many international brands that Singapore will dream on with his partner Malaysia in a century to come. As the proser mentioned, I accept her viewpoint mother culture is a way linking to one's own soul to motivate to achieve much in one's lifetime. If I could achieve a great accomplishment in science, I'll certainly contribute that achievement to China because I believe as a Chinese I should keep safe my achievement in China because China is a place where my soul connection was made though I'm an oversea wasn't born in China. Long live my mother nation
report abusevote downvote up

...
written by KC , August 31, 2009

Campaign goes wrong, speak Mandarin campaign launched in the early eighties created a generation of English speaking kids instead. As a Malaysian with half of my family members and relative living in Singapore, I found it odd that our kids in both side of the causeway cannot communicate in a common language or dialect. Malaysia, for its self interest political reason, abandoned English, the language everyone from China to Chile are so eager to learn today. In Singapore for economic reason, is on the road to become the first English speaking nation in Asia. One common things both countries have in common is that languages as part of its culture does not evolve, but are engineered, one by a government with political interest and the other by a government. that want you to call him "Dad". I must admit that I do not have a solution either,

Hurray for LKY
written by captain blackbeard , August 29, 2009

That's the way to go LKY! Don't worry about your critics. Don't worry about the high inflation, joblessness, high GDP but poor buying power of your people; don't even worry about achieving the standard of living of Russia,but not Switzerland). Who cares if your people live like Russians instead of Swiss. Who cares if they have no safety net. Who cares if they all emigrate. Keep the country's money all for yourself and your party. Pay yourself the most obscene salaries possible. Who cares! If anybody complains too much, slap them with the ISA or better still bankrupt them with interminable law suits.Don't forget your pirate roots LKY! Don't be misled by the democrats of Japan, Korea, Taiwan or even China and H.K. These people are the bane of pirates all over the world. I hate these guys. You better side with me! Keep the rotten work going. We pirates must stick together. Don't forget what I told you. This is the last bastion for pirates. Keep the spirit going. I will be watching with bated breath.

...
written by PhD , August 29, 2009

Singapore and Taiwan have something in common. Both have independent amd elected governments.

indeed my soul is something to do with my origin country
written by Dr. Jang , August 29, 2009

I totally start losing my conscience of feeling studying and working 5 years in Singapore. My assessment there in Singapore base on race the Malay is good at discrimination though they're good for nothing. Singapore also has much flaw such as being too much Singaporean but nothing worthy is never accomplished by Singaporean. Look at Taiwan and China, they're pretty good with quality products and also possess many international brands that Singapore will dream on with his partner Malaysia in a century to come. As the proser mentioned, I accept her viewpoint mother culture is a way linking to one's own soul to motivate to achieve much in one's lifetime. If I could achieve a great accomplishment in science, I'll certainly contribute that achievement to China because I believe as a Chinese I should keep safe my achievement in China because China is a place where my soul connection was made though I'm an oversea wasn't born in China. Long live my mother nation

...
written by MYoB , August 29, 2009

Yeah, let's restore the real mother tongue of the southern immigrants - Cantonese, Fujian, Teochew, Hakka, but definitely not Mandarin the artificial northern dialect enforced by the government.

Banana Chinese Outpost?
written by Movemountain , August 29, 2009

Yes! S'pore is born under tremendous & impossible circumstances & continues to live under such 'hostile' conditions. English & pro West may be the bitter necessities or expediencies which ardent Chinese nationalist may find them so hard/obnoxious to swallow but some Chinese immigrant communities are strangely so mindless as to think that it is alright to sacrifice one's precious cultural heritage for the sake of economical enrichment. Ocerseas Chinese communities should treat English as purely a working language spoken among work-place colleages, Mandarin/dialect as mother tongue or language rightly spoken at home with family members or among closed buddies while Malay as an added convenience when travelling in neighbouring Malaysia & Indonesia. It is obnoxious & eery to hear Chinese families in S'pore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China etc speaking Manglish, Singlish, Honglish, Chinglish among family members at home or while in public domains in an self-dellusive imagination that this will somehow improve conversational English or worse still, project one's perceived so-called 'highly-educated' self image/status.

Sigapore's LKY, despite his many positive traits & legacies, is afterall a product of Western entrenched Straits Chinese who understands/appreciates the Western culture more than his heritage bestows. Just how many of these 'angmoh' or Western-influenced/educated Chinese hold dear to their Chinese roots remains highly suspicious. One would be amazed to hear some of my Chinese peers who have not even stepped feet on China at all after all these years while they have travelled around the world on various vacations. Some just never fail to puzzle me by their apparent ignorance about places like Hangzhou, Suzhou etc while they can tell you correctly the exact locations of Canbera, Alice Springs, Mancester City etc. This list can go on.....

Just be careful that, one day during a life-threatening national emergency crunch time (like a Malaysian/Indonesian invasion), Singaporean WOGs (Westernised Oriental Gentlemen) may have to face up to this unenviable dilemma that, since you belong to nether the Chinese nor Western fraternity, you will be left to fend for yourselves all on your own.

Singapore. Ang Moh paradise?
written by Counterfeit Historian , August 27, 2009

Don't make me laugh. Singapore is not run by Ang Mohs. We just make convenient scapegoats for f**ked up Chinese Nazis. And that is what the PAP is really about at the end of the day.

Let me guess - Historian must be Chinese. Just like every single other motherf**king racist poster on here. You know, the ones that keep swarming about these boards like rats breeding in a sewer. Why don't you go back to you China Daily websites and plan revenge on Uighurs or whatever else you do these days.

Outpost for the white man.
written by historian , August 26, 2009

All those sycophants of LKY are showing increased activity, but they have avoided the main issues. To add to my previous post, not many of you are aware of how the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology is run. Ever since an "ang moh" took over, he has sacked all the locals and replaced them with second rate "ang mohs". Readers should read the blog from one such local who was a professor at the institute. The style of "governance" of LKY has permeated down to the people. Whether it is the NKF, Ren Chi hospital, despotic rule is the style. Everyone looks to LKY for guidance. When will DBS, Temasek and other important institutions be run by "ang mohs"? Don't be suprised if you read all about it tomorrow morning. Singapore is an outpost for the "ang mohs". The criteria to be an announcer over radio/t.v. is that you must have a foreign accent. This is to make sure all Singaporeans get used to the foreign accents. That is what they will be hearing for a long time to come. When the accent is followed by the bodily presence, it will be much easier to accept this. What an inheritance for Singaporeans. Sad.

The Malaysian Chinese Dilemma (What Culture?)
written by Rebuttal , August 26, 2009

Excerpt from http://changingmindsetschangin...er-2b.html :

"Malaysian Chinese keep talking about defending culture and not wanting change but little have they realized how much external influences have seeped into local culture and how they have affected the way we live. Our way of life has changed drastically from the original way our ancestors used to live.

As I have said before, many Malay and even Indian culture elements have been absorbed and assimilated into the typical Malaysian Chinese lifestyle. The food we eat, the changes in Chinese vocabulary, education, clothes and several elements of Chinese culture have evolved ever since our ancestors arrived in Malaysia. Where got Chinese eat Laksa or Curry Mee in China?

Do Chinese girls still wear Cheongsam everyday? In fact, many Chinese girls prefer to wear Baju Kurung to school.

Do we study China’s history? No, we study Malaysian history.
Do we use Malay words when we speak Mandarin or other Chinese dialects? Yes!

Our culture has already evolved into a Malaysian Chinese culture."

Upsidedown World
written by Upsidedown , August 26, 2009

No lah.
Singaporeans think they are yellow ang mohs.
But sadly their immediate neighbours see them as cina and klings.
ironies and paradoxes.

There's not just one "Chinese"
written by Gajah , August 26, 2009

I think the writer has a point when noting that many Singapore Chinese lack a mother tongue. Because Mandarin is being promoted/forced as the "Chinese language" of Singapore it has displaced other dialects such as Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, etc. which are still very prevalent in Malaysia (and Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, etc.) where there is no Mandarin-only language policy. If I'm not mistaken, you can't broadcast in a Chinese dialect that's not Mandarin in Singapore.

I think the issue may be that to an extent both Mandarin AND English are imports for Singaporean Chinese who traditionally spoke the southern Chinese dialect and hence the writer may have a point when he says that Singapore Chinese lack a connection with their culture.

Still, I'm not entirely convinced...

obviously not meant for the public
written by shaddup , August 24, 2009

It sounds like this person in his 'eloquent' way, was actually expressing how he obviously didn't fit into the Singaporean crowd and basically just had a boring and unhappy year living there. Bitter and knowing that he will never find his place in Singapore, armed with his language skills and poor people connection ability (or lack of), he decides to write his thoughts, labelled it unashamedly as "Letter from Singapore" as a form of give-back for the lousy time he had.

While it is really admirable and rare that young people are passionate about languages and about how languages should be used 'correctly', I can't help but wonder if there was any sign or trace of the application of an open mind and maturity when this person drew his conclusion about a country and its people from the obviously limited experience he had, and proceeding to post it publicly as an article... Wasn't this really meant for your diary?

Utter rubbish
written by Argus , August 24, 2009

"Historian' certainly knows his history very well... unfortunately his version of history is a concoction of falsehoods, half truths and wild specualtion. Opinion is free but facts are sacred as a former editor of The New Statesman reminded us. While history is not a science the least we can hope from a 'historian' is a respect, however mild, for the truth. LKY wishing he was a white staying in Houstion when he could easily be a professor in Cambridge? Living in Baroque Italy? LKY who plainly labelled himself a philistine with no music in him? The Singapore cabinet website has him listing his hobbies, swimming and jogging. What utter rubbish.

A shallow observation indeed
written by Taneug , August 24, 2009

The countries that the wirter mentions are places where the dominant population is very dominant indeed. If Singapore were to adopt such a practice with regard to the language issue, the Malays and Indians would feel alienated, cheated and the forging of a national identity would be made much more difficult, in fact, impossible. Look at Singapore's neighbour, Malaysia, where the writer comes from. There the main race tries to dominate the others by the use of the Malay language. Has the popluation more soul compared to Singapore? Instead one finds a lost generation and a fractured, confused population, pawn to the politicization of language. It takes a shallow tuition teacher to write such a piece and an equally shallow website to find enough merit to publish it. The latter lacks the the sensitivity of living in a racailly mixed population and having regard to its dominant Muslim neighbours. The former may hope for Singapore to be a Chinese culture hub in South East Asia; this will suit him as a Chinese nationalist but sorry, this will not happen.

Singapore be as Singapore is
written by Nostradamus , August 24, 2009

I think the writed has missed the point of his whole stay in Singapore and that is to experiece and absorb all there is that is different from his own culture. Singapore is a diaspora, a young one at that and it is striving to create its unique identity and place in this world. Unfortuantely it is too small to be of any great significance hence singlish would unlikley permeate the world as English once did or Chinese one day will. Having lived there for 8 years, what interests me is wheter the country can still hold together once LKY passes on. He has been the glue that has kept Singapore intact but it will be interesting to see wheter the next generation will have the gumption, guile, and ruthlessness that LKY has. He is a product of a particular time and place and his passing will be a turning point for the country.

Singapore culture defined
written by Ronaldo , August 23, 2009

Singapore men's culture:
Kiahn Soo, Kiahn Boh, Kiahn See, Kiahn Bor, Kiahn Cheng Hu.

Singapore Women's culture:
Kiahn Soo, Kiahn Boh, Kiahn See, Kiahn Boh Sooi, Kiahn Kiat Hoon.

Outpost for the white man
written by historian , August 23, 2009

LKY has made quite clear that he wished he were a "white" staying in Houston. On another occasion he wished he were in Baroque Italy, enjoying the lifestyle of a Baroque era. On other occasions, the Africans in the 70's called him a banana. Essentially a "white" inside. He put down the Nanyang University, a Chinese language university. He claims to be influenced by Confusianism but he is unlike the East Asians. There the leaders bow to the people to apoligise for mistakes. LKY does not make mistakes. His syncophants will spin anything to make them "justifiable at that time". To make doubly sure no one takes advantage of his mistakes, he has instituted a system of intimidation so that no one even dares to "think" of taking part in a peaceful walk to protest. Hence ONE person is considered an unlawful gathering. The list goes on as the years go on. He has decreed that there shall be no opposition. I wonder why? I suppose addiction to power is one good reason. With absolute powere comes abuse of power and of course corruption. For saying that in Singapore you can be hauled up and face court action. Democracy is NOT a western idea. The countries in East Asia are setting a great example for the countries in S.E.A. Democracy, transparancy, tough action against corruption, tolerance for the other guy, civil service separated from the ruling party, these values need to observed in S.E.A. from the big countries to the little red dot. What a difference the 2 regions show. In S.E.A. the ruling party maintains its strangle hold by ruthless intimidation, bankruption, gerrymandering and even murder. No country in S.E.A. is free from these "evils". Under the umbrella of the iron fist, the ruling elite enrich themselves and their cronies. It seems the "Look East" policy has been thrown into the waste paper basket. Now it is "Enrich thyself through Self Empowerment". S.E.A.'s future looks bleak.

Essay's thesis needs re-adjustment
written by wahlau , August 23, 2009

I think the author needs to re-focus on a specific point or thesis in his essay. If I read him correctly, he might have been implying (but was hesitant to be so forthright and blunt) Chinese-Singaporeans (meaning people of 100% chinese ancestry), who constitute some 75% of the population of Singapore, have lost their command of and sense of their mother tongue, and as such, lost much of their cultural, racial and ethnic identity as Han Chinese. I think this thesis would hold more water. Now, if that was his thesis, I think there have been a few publications in the papers recently and in the past that lamented the standard of Chinese in Singapore schools has plummeted compared to 40 or 50 years ago, so much so that the standard of Chinese (and their focus on chinese culture, history, art, philosophies etc) in some Malaysian Chinese schools are superior to Singapore's schools and possibly superior to the so-called SAP schools which teach Chinese at the first language level. The obvious causal agent is the use of English as a common medium of instruction in schools, government, business (with some exceptions) except when it comes to second languages (needless to say, learning Chinese history, art, philosophy etc in Chinese is superior to learning it in English). Another factor is Chinese is just not the main medium of communication in the financial, economic sphere of the country (there are hundreds of thousands of foreign expatriates in the country), unless you do business with China or deal significantly with the China Chinese (as in recent arrivals in from China), there is little need for the use of this language. This outcome was foreseen ever since the early leaders of Singapore since independence selected English as the official working language due to (1) the racial diversity, (2) regional sensitivity (there is no way Malaysia or Indonesia in the 1960's would quietly accept Chinese as Singapore's national language) and (3) this is my guess - communist (Red) China was perceived as a threat in 1960's-1970's to the region - using their language might well have geopolitical repercussions too great for this tiny island nation to handle.
For the record, I'm Chinese-Singaporean, studied in "SAP" school in 1980's and I do notice my grasp of Chinese is inferior to my parents', and my nieces' and nephews' standards are even lower than I recall when I was their age. This is a sad truth I have come to accept, future generations of Chinese Singaporeans may not even be able to converse fluently in chinese, just like ABC (American-born Chinese) in the US, but there will be 1.5 billion Chinese who have very good command of the language, the Chinese culture/identity will survive, just not in Singapore.

Pui See
written by Dharmabhijna , August 22, 2009

For your information, I am Singaporean Chinese living overseas and speak 7 languages including Chinese and French.

...
written by Flattered , August 22, 2009

Singapore being criticised by those from a larger country, is a sign of jealousy. He he.

...
written by clueless , August 22, 2009

what is Singapore culture?

...
written by Pui See , August 22, 2009

Dharmabhijna

Actually, those with their own long and entrenched culture tend to also uphold their own false sense of superiority. Take for example the Indians, who often irritates others with their mindless but arrogant language and behavior. In addition, they also tend to mix with their own people (because they only care for their “own culture” even in foreign land and seek to impose their culture on others instead of adopting and integrating into the local cultures…which makes them so unwelcome in many many countries, with the most recent example of the backlash against Indians in Australia…

So, it is wrong to say that Singaporean are arrogant because we do not have a culture…as those with strong and long culture are equally arrogant as well.

What about using the French as another example?

Singlish and culture
written by LcT , August 22, 2009

It is interesting that the writer, a Malaysian Chinese, has felt this way about Singapore - from my observation of my Malaysian Chinese friends who did not study in a Chinese-medium school, many of them no longer retain a 'mother tongue' either - is 'Manglish' not common in Malaysia?

While I do not deny the (seeming) lack of culture in my tiny island country, I believe that the choice of colloquial language is hardly a valid yardstick for measuring this. English was brought to the region due to our colonial past, and Singapore's government has opted to adopt it as the primary language of education for practical purposes (economic as well as a neutral common language for the various races).

This is hardly a unique situation in the world today. Neither is the use of creole languages - witness Afrikaans (in South Africa) and Patois (in Jamaica). I would hesitate to criticise either country as lacking culture - similarly, it would be possible for Singapore to be culturally rich while utilising Singlish as a primary language.

If the writer had chosen to discuss that a large proportion of Singapore's population are relatively recent arrivals to the country (third-generation or more recent), I would have accepted his argument more readily, but to me this linking of 'mother tongue' and 'cultural soul' simply does not hold any water.

...
written by Proud of Singlish , August 22, 2009

Indeed, I agree with Petrus that the writer had wasted his time in Singapore, because I’m surprised he does not even know that Singapore had never positioned itself as a "Chinese" nation, but as a multi-racial and multi-cultural society.

And in a multi-racial society, the emphasis will be on providing space for the different language of the different races to co-exists within our official working language - English, which is why beyond English, the other 3 official language enshrined in our constitution is Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

China, Taiwan and Hong Kong can maintain their mother tongue due to their pre-dominantly Chinese population...but this is not the case for Singapore...so, I surprised the writer can't even differentiate this very important factor. What were you doing all this while, Boon Kiat Yeow? You seems to be searching for your soul in the wrong place and with the wrong mentality!

And what's wrong with Singlish, which is a mix of common words used in the different languages spoken by the different races in Singapore, which evokes familiarity, understanding and closeness amongst the different races...and what is so wrong about building our own Singaporean identity through Singlish?????

Again, I would like to ask what were you doing all these while in Singapore, Boon Kiat Yeow?

...
written by Proud of Singlish , August 22, 2009

Indeed, I agree with Petrus that the writer had wasted his time in Singapore, because he does not even know that Singapore had never positioned itself as a "Chinese" nation, but as a multi-racial and multi-cultural society.

And in a multi-racial society, the emphasis will be on providing space for the different language of the different races to co-exists within our official working language - English, which is why beyond English, the other 3 official language enshrined in our constitution is Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

China, Taiwan and Hong Kong can maintain their mother tougue due to their pre-dominantly Chinese population...but this is not the case for Singapore...so, I surprised the writer can't even differentiate this very important factor. What were you doing all this while, Boon Kiat Yeow? You seems to be searching for your soul in the wrong place and with the wrong mentality!

And what's wrong with Singlish, which is a mix of common words used in the different languages spoken by the different races in Singapore, which evokes familiarity, understanding and closeness amongst the different races...and what is so wrong about building our own Singaporean identity through Singlish?????

Again, I would like to ask what were you doing all these while in Singapore, Boon Kiat Yeow?

Nomads have mother tongues
written by Dharmabhijna , August 22, 2009

Yanks, Aussies and Kiwis speak with their mother tongues, they evolved from their English forbears. Their cultures are likewise evolved, languages and cultures evolve together. Singaporeans are multi-racial , their culture is lost when they imposed themselves with an alien language. Without culture one tend to be more arrogant as has been often said of Singaporean.

...
written by Petrus , August 22, 2009

The writer had obviously wasted his one whole year in Singapore, instead of trying to find the local essence and adaptation of Singapore's multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religions background. He had already came in with the fixed agenda of comparing Singapore with China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. His "coloured" vision had already tainted his judgement and prejudice, and therefore, his article only show his shallowness and narrow-mindedness.

Mind you, ask Singaporeans who they are and they will tell you they are Singaporeans, not Chinese, Indians or Malay...indeed we have no mother tougue of our own (and this is more of a political issue rather than a identity issue, as enforcing our own mother tougue will only trigger unhappiness in the other races'), but so what if we can cultivate our own language out of Singlish, and make it our very own Singaporean language...and who are you to criticize whether it is good or bad, when you are not even a citizen here!!

Not a big deal
written by Nomad , August 22, 2009

Just as the Yanks, Aussies and Kiwis identify themselves apart from the British and speak their own version of English, nation comes first and Singaporeans are in the process of molding into their own identity and language, with a culture neither fully Chinese, Malay or Indian, and not split along racial lines.

If there is an urge to see real Chinese culture, go and visit China, Malaysia doesn't count.