Not a recipe to win hearts over
More intrinsic appeal needed to woo overseas locals
back
Siew Kum Hong
I WENT to Singapore Day in New York a couple of weeks back. I was
there for work, was with a Singaporean friend living in the city
who wanted to go, and eventually found myself in Central Park on a
bright, sunny Saturday.
.
The event was undoubtedly a success. The hawkers were a big hit,
with some queues taking up to two hours. Still, some Singaporeans I
spoke to had reservations, even as they enjoyed the food.
.
Some queried the registration requirement and amount of information
requested, and wondered if the Government is using the event as an
excuse to gather data on overseas Singaporeans. Others found the
tone of the event which included National Day songs belted out by
homegrown entertainers off-putting, as it reminded them why they
had left Singapore in the first place.
.
While I applaud the idea of Singapore Day, I think these views are
nevertheless valuable and interesting. There was a certain
fuzziness around what the event sought to do, but I doubt it was a
sinister effort to track overseas Singaporeans, a theory I find
borders on paranoia.
.
Was it a disguised attempt at getting Singaporeans to come home? If
so, it needs to be more sophisticated in its approach. The
performance of the National Day songs came across as being
over-the-top and contrived.
.
A Singaporean who liked the idea of re-connecting with her country
was turned off by the hardsell and rolled her eyes at the brochures
on integrating returning Singaporeans' kids into our education
system. I also met more than one gay Singaporean, who, regardless
of however much he or she enjoyed the event, were all convinced
that they would never return home.
.
I prefer to take the Government at face value and think that the
event served to refresh connections with overseas Singaporeans, to
remind and update them about Singapore.
.
However, I also noticed certain unflattering aspects. There were no
activities for kids. The American husband of another Singaporean
noted the irony of flying in Singaporean bands that sounded exactly
like many other bands in New York. (The highlight for me was the
getai skit from Royston Tan's upcoming film 881.) There was a lack
of recycling bins despite the number of Yeo's-sponsored canned
drinks being guzzled down.
.
And, as pointed out by another Singaporean, it was a "typically
Singaporean" event, with a singular emphasis on food.
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I was bothered by this display of food as the overarching and
apparently sole factor that unifies Singaporeans. (And I am at
least as greedy as the next food-loving Singaporean.) The
identification of eatables as being at the core of
"Singaporeanness" betrays a certain pragmatic consumerism and
materialism. If being Singaporean is so intimately tied to
something extrinsic, what will happen when it is gone?
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Singapore Day hinted at the troubling answer. The crowds thinned
considerably as the stalls ran out of food. Few stayed for the
entertainment flown in from home. Fewer paid any attention to the
displays and booths touting the developments at home and that of
overseas Singaporeans. In fact, there was a lack of interest in
anything other than the food and when the food was gone, there
was little interest in anything at the event at all.
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Food can be replicated, even if it is difficult to do so
authentically. New York-based movie director and foodie Colin Goh
said all the local fare at Singapore Day was available in New York
except for the chwee kueh. That was the first item to run
out.
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The sad truth is that while food is the easiest and surest way to
tie Singaporeans' minds to Singapore, it is a tie that does not
bind tightly, if at all. We would do well to develop and emphasise
other ties that are far more intangible and emotional and hence
tighter and less easily displaced and replaced.
.
This will require greater subtlety, creativity and resources.
Perhaps Singapore could be "recreated" through miniature replicas
of familiar landmarks. Instead of including rubber bands in goodie
bags with instructions on how to play "zero point", a zero-point
competition could be held for children and adults. Another
suggestion I heard was to have people register for a
Friendster-type social networking service, to tease out connections
between people.
.
The aim of events such as Singapore Day should be to engage
people's hearts and minds, not just their stomachs. Otherwise,
overseas Singaporeans may flock to future Singapore Days, but the
events will not deepen or strengthen their links with
Singapore.
.
The writer is a Nominated Member of Parliament and corporate
counsel, commenting in his personal capacity.
More intrinsic appeal needed to woo overseas locals back
Siew Kum Hong
