Reuters/REUTERS
- Commuters wait to cross a road during the evening rush hour at a
bus and train terminal in Singapore February 15, 2013. Singapore
wants to raise its population by as much as 30 percent
in …more
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There are many things about the population debate that trouble me
and deserve much deeper consideration as we think about the future
we wish to build but one that keeps appearing in the dialogues of
my peers that is particularly troubling is that of
race.
This leads me to think that maybe we need to rewrite our National
Pledge to focus on what we really stand for. We can remove the
statement “regardless of race, language or religion” for even in
its tone of denial, we are defining and subconsciously reinforcing
things that divide us.
We can also remove the term “democratic” for it is a political term
and subject to many interpretations and implementations. Our pledge
should be rewritten to read:
"We, the
citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united
people to build a society based onjustice and
equality so as to
achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation".
Our island nation
was founded by immigrants and although the majority was of Chinese,
Malay and Indian descent, there has always been an “Others”
category as citizens of many nations came here to forge a new life
for themselves and their families. So in fact maybe that
classification should also be removed from our identity cards for
remember in the larger picture we are all of one race -- the Human
Race.
So as we move
forward and discuss how many people our small island can support or
needs and what quality of life we want, we should focus not on our
differences but what unites us and moves us forward from the common
desires in our hearts.
Brad Bowyer, 46
Sales manager
The writer first came to Singapore in 1985 from the United
Kingdom. He became a Permanent Resident in 2001 and a full-fledged
Singapore citizen in 2011.
____________]
Hi, Mr
Bowyer
Is UK
citizenship more inferior than singapore citizenship>?