Shocking, and very sad.
After FORTY-FIVE YEARS of NATION BUILDING efforts - where has the
Ruling Party led us to ?
The various racial community remains as isolated as never before,
with the attendance at the occassionally - offically sponsored or
organised - social and communal gatherings being no better then a
show of perfunctory politeness in being politically correct.
Has the younger generation from the various Singaporean communities
come any closer in being Singaporeans - similar to the 'kampong
atmosphere and attitudes' of days gone by, when living on the
ground allow more personal contacts than the claustrophobic and
impersonal HDB flats ?
Despite the legislations and strenous official efforts to integrate
the various racial groups so as to instill a NATIONAL SINGAPOREAN
identity, there still seem to be a glass wall that allows each
racial group to view the other but an invisible barrier divides
each group.
It seems that as the barrier grow thicker, each racial group tends
to assert their own uniqueness in ever stronger ways that push
their unique position into the spotlight - even when those features
are not part of local practises or cultures, but adopted from
foreign countries.
Being a country of migrants, while we have ties to the various old
homelands, it has been more than 180 years now since the various
communities have settled on this island. While each community has
its own social, cultural and religious practises, many of these
practises have been further refined and evolved according to local
circumstances.
Sadly, some of the politically sanctioned social and community
groups have evolved old practises by adopting new and foreign
practises - in dance, dress, mannerism, language, religious
practises, etc - that seem to have emphasised the differences of
each community in stronger ways.
In order for the minority community not to fade away and become
insignificant in the Singapore diaspora, these minority community
have also to find new ways to prevent their own cultural, social
and religious practises from being extinguished.
While the diversity of Singapore contribute to the color and
interesting character of ourselves, is it not possible for the
various communities to progress without any competitive and
acrimonious psychological feelings ?
