Seasons of Darkness:Life for Minorities in Singapore

last SG · 2007-06-24T11:33:43+00:00

To tell you the truth, I don't care about whether a person is malay , indian or chinese. Wasn't because PAP instill that in me. Probably because my dad had f...

lotus999 SG

some singaporean chinese can be very insensitive to the presence of non-chinese in their midst but then aren't singaporeans known to be social grace deficient?

there maybe 2 chinese channels but there are even more english channels.

it will be good if we all can learn from fymk to be not bothered with the race thing. actually the minute if you view a person as a chinese, etc you are being racist. so, open up our minds!

laoda99 SG

Sinicisation? U must be kidding!

The only "sinicisation" i see is the influx of PRC everywhere!!!!!

S'pore Chinese is only Chinese in skin, ang moh beneath. And Chinese language is on the rocks. Standard of Chinese language is pathetic in s'pore schools. Students know nuts abt Chinese stuff. English is supreme. Dunno what sinicisation u talking abt.

Short Ninja SG

Probably the ignorant and older generation (above 50 year old).When they come to SIngapore,they use their dialects on the sales girls at Isetan and they would still refer Singaporeans as "Gaijins" (foreigners)

fymk SG

Hahha at least it is gaijin

Some huff and puff and go "CHUKOGUJIN" (chinese mainlander) with a huge sigh.

Short Ninja SG

There is nothing worrying here in fact this is a very good thread and we are intellect enough to handle such topic.Always good to know & respect what others are feeling or thinking.

Although I am no longer a SIngaporean but I want to tell you how I felt when I was one.I felt like a minority.I am a Chinese in all my legal documents but inside I am rojak...you could call it a racial identity problem because of my family background.Now I am living in Japan...all my legal documents says that I am a Japanese but in reality I am still a minority in Nippon.Someone mentioned about the number of TV programs or not being allowed to march as a group without the presence of a Chinese during NS days but for me I feel the sudden impact when people speak to me in a distinct way (their indirect but deliberate way of telling me that I am nothing more than a minority).

Here are a list of People in Singapore whom I consider minorities.

1) Malays (most ridiculed and misunderstood on the island)
2) Indians / Including Sikhs,Gujaratis,Sindhis.....etc(neutral race who is most assimilated into the society....... I like to call them true modern Singaporeans but..)
3)Eurasians (culturally confused bunch who dont know much about their true origins...Jews think of Isreal as their homeland but Eurasians could only dream of Australia & New Zealand)
4) Peranakan Chinese & Indonesian Chinese (merge these two together in a hope of reviving the baba culture but its not working)
5)Sinhalese (often mistaken as Indians but what to do? Born like that! Also a neutral hardworking race
6)Other Asian like Thais,Burmese,Banglas,Filipinos............etc (Trying to make a decent living and thankful to be singing the "Majullah Singapura")
7)Ang Moh (Not thankful to be singing the Anthem but having the best of both worlds)
Cool Chiak Kantang Chinese (educated overseas_ forgotten,dont want to remember or do not know how to speak chinese usually talk about other countries but shy when talking about Singapore)
9)Racially mixed Chinese (you know I know -lah)
10)The "Invasion of the body snatchers" PRCs (these people are here not to assimilate but to convert you! and they are not even catholics> Laughing )

If I had missed out anyone please feel free to add and of course you could also flame me if you like Mr. Green

lightphobia SG

Hua Yu COOL!!

Short Ninja SG

Singing an Anthem is not like singing a pop song we have to know what every word means......like a religious song.Till today many cant sing the "Majullah Singapura" without a single flaw including those people voted at every election to rule the island and my 14 year old nephew.Then there are true stories about people trying to avoid being present when the flag is being raised....maybe for those reasons PRCs are invited to show what patriotism is like in China.

fymk SG

Try getting the Australians to sing their national anthem ........the ones I know can't go past the first paragraph and one I knew of ....sang me the waltzing mathilda.

But they know what it means to be australian.

It is just that the anthem is too long.

I know Majulah Singapura and I know the meaning - it was to foster unity like our pledge was penned by S Ratjaratnam in the wake of the racial riots.

I don't think we should fault people who can't sing without a flaw as long as they understand and live by the principles of the Anthem and the pledge.

Some people try to dodge the flag singing because they got enuff of it when they were in primary and secondary school. Everyday of ur school day , you start with anthem and pledge , anthem and pledge to the point .....I think some get sick of it. It is the indoctrination method not because they are unpatriotic.

Short Ninja SG

Arbuthen...It is still like a religious song so the heart have to prove what it truly believe before the mouth can anyhow say wun! Mr. Green

Kuali Baba SG

I rarely see young faces at Peranakan Association gatherings these days. Neutral

Some of my friends are aware that they have Baba or Nyonya blood in them but that's all there is to it. We still have to tick the box that says 'Chinese' on application forms and learn Chinese in school. (It has to be said at this point that even across the Causeway learning Bahasa hasn't helped the popularity of Baba Malay much either).

Short Ninja SG

I believe for the Peranakans it is always the grandparents or elderly who are very proud of their heritage.I have peranakan blood too and I am fluent in the language because when my grandmother was alive we were not allowed to use English or even speak like a Malay out of respect for her so when these old folks are gone the Nonyaness or Babahood in the family also goes six feet under> Mr. Green Keep in touch with the elderly and cultural events for a start and maybe your friends would join you later.......then I was also thinking wouldnt it be nice if the Babas had their own radio station or TV program
Idea

sgdiehard SG

The Chinese who don't speak English! The generation who studied in Chinese schools, graduates from Nantah. there were not only the minority, but were social outcast in Singapore for a long time. Angmoh companies would not employ them, in civil service the nantah graduates worked under english educated with Grade 9 certificates, the old Cambridge 'O' level. In gatherings the english educated would continue to gong ang moh and not bothered about these among them who might not understand english.

This group of minority suffered for much longer period of time than any other minorities. to them it is not the seasons of darkness, it has been a whole life of darkness, almost.

Short Ninja SG

You mean those Chinese Helicopters? Mr. Green It was a blessing in disguise for them because since they found it hard to get civil servant jobs and others ,they ended up making more money doing other things.Good point that you brought it up.

sgdiehard SG

there are also fewer young faces at the Hokkien Association, the Hainan Association. Sad

How many of the 77% of the Chinese in Singapore know what it means to have Chinese blood in them, why they tick 'Chinese' on application forms, why the angmohs call them Chinese, instead of Malay?

it is surprising that we have little affinity with the PRC Chinese? The Hong Kong Chinese, the Taiwanese Chinese and many Malaysian Chinese are not, because they know the difference, they know their own Chinese culture and they are proud they are not like the PRC Chinese. who would mistake a HK Chinese for a PRC Chinese (ah chan) ?

My friend working in the bank used to tell me, if you know how a true US$ note looks like, you will never be afraid to be cheated with a fake one. If you know what is the Chinese blood in us, we will never be afraid to be mistaken as PRC Chinese.

It is not just the eurasians who are losing their culture, not just the Peranakan, ...majority of the Chinese population have lost their culture, learning Chinese in schools to day hasn't helped them either.

Is it darkness for the caucasians, the eurasians, ....in singapore? no, it is darkness for everybody. Sinosation? what is that? I only know americanization, angmohization. Mr. Green

LazerLordz SG

I'm quite curious about what constitutes Peranakan in the official sense?

Does being Borneo Chinese with some Sabahan/Bruneian native blood in your veins make you Peranakan in the official sense?

I've always seen myself as Peranakan in that light.. can anyone help to clarify?

sgdiehard SG

Very Happy glad you recognise the Chinese Helicopters. Not many people use this term these days. It is true that many of nantah graduates went overseas for further studies because there were no jobs for them in Singapore. Many ended doing own business and have made some money. Later the government wanted donation from them so they tried to combine the alumi from the old nantah with the NTU. Long stories for these helicopters, many of my uncles were like that....may be now they become Chinese Apache Helicopters. Very Happy

Atobe SG

Originally posted by LazerLordz:
I'm quite curious about what constitutes Peranakan in the official sense?

Does being Borneo Chinese with some Sabahan/Bruneian native blood in your veins make you Peranakan in the official sense?

I've always seen myself as Peranakan in that light.. can anyone help to clarify?

A ''Peranakan'' is a Malay word for ''one who is born locally''.

This term will actually refer to the descendants of those Chinese that migrated from China to Peninsular Malaya, Singapore and Indonesia. With many of them mainly settling in the Straits Settlement of Penang, Malacca and Singapore; and were soon assimilated into the easy village and town life of equatorial Malaya and Singapore.

Some of these Chinese men, who left home for many years will soon marry local Malay girls without converting to Islam - as Islam was not as pervasive and had no political support during the 19th Century, as the Malays in Malaya and Singapore were still politically unmotivated nor awaken.

These Chinese men picked up Malay culture and language, while keeping to their Chinese customs and religious practices.

A cross mix of cultures, languages, customs, and beliefs created a new communal group that helped to bridge the gap between two rich communities through the Malay language that is spoken with an intersperse of Chinese colloquial words.

The Peranakan ''Song and dance'' was well known as the ''Dondang Sayang'' and the 'poetic' exchange between male and female in the typical 'Perananakan Patois' resemble closely to the poetic verses exchanged between Chinese couples.

The ''Peranakans'' community also exist in Indonesia, and is known better as ''Baba Indonesia''.

Unfortunately, the ''Peranakans'' in Indonesia were assimilated into Mainstream Indonesian Life with the banning of Chinese names, Chinese Cultures, Chinese Education, and Chinese Language - when in 1967, President Suharto began to systematically dismantle the Chinese identity from Indonesian life.

Kuali Baba SG

We had to make do with 'Ways Of The Matriarch'...but I don't even know if there's going to be a new season.

Post-1900 our histories rarely intertwine, and then there's the distance, so there's no reason to be moved by their affairs. With this out of the way we can go about fostering some common identity with other ethnicities here (I have no idea how to do so right now and don't want to talk about it).

There is also a need to point out that some of our customs differ from China's Chinese, but that was hardly done when I was in school. For instance, I wonder how many kids know that tossing of fish salad began as a commercial idea, or that New Year greetings don't always have to be in Mandarin. I learnt only through the TV programme mentioned earlier.

An awareness of the differences, as opposed to being led to believe our practices are all the same, may IMO help to spark the interest in our backgrounds.

I'd say you are definitely one, and hope Atobe's post settles the rest.

Atobe SG

Originally posted by Kuali Baba:

We had to make do with 'Ways Of The Matriarch'...but I don't even know if there's going to be a new season.

A consolation show will be in July 2007 at the Esplanade with:
''Dim Sum Dollies : History of Singapore''

The Dollies breathe new rib-tickling life into Samsui Women, Ah Ma Chehs, Malay Kampong Beauties, Money-lending Dhobis and Opium Den -- then morph into terrifying Peranakan Matriarchs and Hainanese Chefs whipping up killer pork chops!

LazerLordz SG

Thanks for the tidbits of info..

And hey, Dim Sum Dollies are not bad. Good for a laugh and a rib-tickle or two Laughing

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