TR EMERITUS

One of the main things that I did in my degree course in anthropology was to debate the issue of identity. We tried to figure out what made a person a part of a particular group and we explored things like ethnicity, culture and language. This was a discussion that had become complicated. In the days when migration was less common, the answer was simple. You belonged with the group that looked like you, sounded like you and prayed at the same places. Europeans, for example, were predominantly blonde and blue eyed and went to church on Sunday. Arabs for the most part were tanner, had dark hair and went to the mosque on Friday. Things like race and religion were key identifying factors. However, things have changed since the early part of the last century. Migration has become a fact of life. I am from Singapore, a place where the citizens pledge to be “regardless of race or religion.” I am an ethnic Chinese who has served alongside Malay and Indians during National Service. I have family from the US, which is filled with hyphenated people (African-American, European-American, Asian-American etc) and I grew up in the UK, where people who were obviously of South Asian decent and went to the mosque on Friday were as British as the Anglo-Saxons in the same village. So, I’ve grown up in a world where race and religion were not defining factors of belonging to a place. Sure, Singapore’s population is predominantly ethnic Chinese, but as our Prime Minister recently had to clarify, Singapore is not China and the Prime Minister of Singapore is not a China whisperer. If anything, our Prime Minister has shown that when push comes to shove, we probably have more in common with the West than we do with China (hence the propensity to crack uncalled for jokes about Beijing whilst in Washington): [LINK] So, if race and religion was no longer the marks of identity that they were, what else is there. One could say that there’s language. I remember telling my Finnish friend about a step uncle who was proud of his Finnish roots. My Finnish friend’s initial reaction was “Na, he’s not Finnish – he’s American.” However, when I mentioned that this uncle gave a speech in Finnish, his reaction changed to – ‘He speaks Finnish – OK, he’s Finnish.” In anthropology we say that “language is culture,” because each language is different and when you speak a different language, you a new mindset. One of the examples being at the pharmacy. In English you ask for something “for” your ailment, but in German you ask for something “Against” whatever you are having. Language is a powerful form of identity, particularly amongst Europeans. I remember a Caucasian and an Oriental Lady who used to visit the Bistrot. When they paid and I noticed that the Caucasian lady had a German name, I asked in German if she was German. The oriental lady, whose name was Nguyen (a name that does not get any more Vietnamese) said in German “Yes, I am.” My Singaporean mindset geared me to think that German had to mean someone who was blonde and blue-eyed and had to have a name like “Muller” or “Schmidt.” It took me a while to remember that someone who had dark hair and eyes and called “Nguyen” could also be as German as someone called “Muller” or “Schmidt.” The Ms. Nguyen I had served probably grew up in Germany and spoke German, which was the working language of her environment and learnt English as a second language (and spoke it well enough to function in the international arena) and Vietnamese was spoken at home if at all. Hence, while her name was Nguyen, she was as German as it got. The power of language as a mark of identification is so powerful that language becomes a political issue. In America, for example, there’s an inevitable clash about teaching in both English and Spanish. In fairness to the American system, the latter groups of immigrants do want to learn English so that they become part of America’s hyphenated identity. The ability to deal with the hyphenation depends on the ethnic group and how long they’ve settled there. European-Americans or specifically the Irish have no issue being both American and the hyphen. I’m old enough to remember the fact that Irish-Americans were the suppliers of funds and guns to the IRA because they grew up on stories of English oppression. St Patricks Day in Boston was as serious as it was in Dublin if not more so. The more recent migrants would prefer you concentrate on the American part rather than the hyphenated part. I usually got around Chinatown because I could speak Cantonese to the waiters who were so happy that I was a young person who knew how to speak the language as opposed to their kids who needed to remind the world that they were “American,” “British” or whatever. At the other extreme, you get Singapore, which officially tells its citizens that they’re Singaporean first and the hyphenated second. However, there’s also a compulsive need reinvent and define the hyphenated part. For example, the Chinese are told that they need to forget about their actual mother tongue like dialects and have to speak Mandarin. Indian in Singapore is defined as a Tamil (something which our late President tried to contest, something which disappointed the local Tamil station which was hoping to get a sound bite). Our language policy is such – English is the common language, we have the mother tongue given to us by the government and there’s a Malay, our national language used in the national anthem and drill commands, but not actually used for much else. [LINK] While official Singapore has produced a complicated series of language policies to define Singapore culture, there is an authentic Singapore on the streets, which is best exemplified by Singlish, our version of English, which is for the most part English but has words from Malay, Tamil and Hokkien. We’re not the only example here. New Zealand had a native culture that gave the European settlers as good as they got. Unlike the “Native Americans,” or the “Australian Aborigines” the Māori People in New Zealand became a recognised part of the mainstream. New Zealand is as English speaking as it gets but the national anthem in New Zealand is partly in Māori and as every rugby fan knows, there’s the Hakka, a traditional Maori war dance performed with passion regardless of ethnic origins. [LINK] Human beings are wonderfully adaptable creatures and somehow, when placed in a situation where they have to communicate across barriers, they will do it. At best governments can provide opportunities to learn standard languages but trying to micromanage how people identify themselves, usually doesn’t end very well. So, the answer may be to let things happen on the streets with minimal supervision and let cultures evolve and flourish from there. Let people decide how they want to identify.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.      Read More →

Click to enlarge I find Minister Ng Eng Hen's response to China's representative extremely rude and totally uncalled for. Why did he have to use such bombastic words - rambunctious and discombobulating? Why tell a guest that China is free to leave the group? The minister tried to speak like the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Wake up minister. Mr Lee never spoke in such a condescending tone especially to a guest who spoke in English for the convenience of the majority of delegates. I am glad Mr Chipman spoke sense. He is diplomatic and tried his best to be neutral. The Shangri-la Dialogue is supposed to be neutral. With people like the minister, it is clear the dialogue is anti China.   Teo Soh Lung      Read More →

I have read online that rats have been dropping down from the ceiling at Maxwell Food Centre (MFC). It was reported that Sin Min Daily News carried the story on its 12 June 22 papers too. Some unsuspecting members of the public even trampled on a number of them. It must have caused the food stall holders great inconvenience and with the situation now being exposed and published, one can just image the adverse impact it must have on the businesses there. To the ministers of Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu, Amy Khor and Koh Poh Koon, I ask since you know how to collect millions in political salaries from us the citizens, what happened? I clap loud loud for you again. Just imagine that you are eating at a hawker centre and suddenly a rat drop from the roof onto your table, into your food, onto your body/ head or your son/daughter's body...How appetising and what a wonderful experience that must have been. Isn't proper and regular cleaning and maintenance both inside, outside and above and not merely some wayang wayang jobs part of your ministry's responsibility? Aren't you aware that large numbers of nearby office workers and members of the public visit that hawker centre for meals daily? Don't you know that rats can easily spread diseases and sickness...I must clap long and loud for you all again la. Let me tell you a secret. Do not be fixated with merely cleaning, clearing and getting rid of the dropping rats from the roof at MFC only. I believe that many other food centres across Singapore under NEA face the same issue too and some could be worse. What happens at MFC might just be the tip of the iceberg. I repeat. I consider this current batch of pap ministars as the world's luckiest and more pampered political office holders. They govern on the back of a meek, indifferent, gullible, politically unsophisticated and very forgetful suckerporean electorates but given the growing harder and harder times for more and more of our citizens and often due to their policies, their more good years days are unlikely to last very long. Think.   Simon Lim      Read More →