*this post is partially inspired by people linking an act of human kindness which should be celebrated when Singaporeans lifted a lorry to save a man trapped underneath, to the sg50 spirit, whatever that means (so if the incident happened next year, Singaporeans would not lift the lorry????)*
Whenever someone asks whether I am proud to be Singaporean, my response would be ‘what do you mean by that?’ More often than not, they would be stumped, as if it was inconceivable that someone did not know what being ‘Singaporean’ means. Then they would ask ‘I mean, would you die for this country?’ And again i would go, what do you mean by that?
If you mean dying for this country in a war where we were unjustly invaded, i hope and i pray that I would have the temerity to participate. If you mean dying in a war that is fought at the whims and fancies of politicians to serve their own political agendas, then i do not wish to participate and die such a meaningless death.
Being ‘proud to be Singaporean’, really has no innate meaning. For me, there are many things that Singapore and Singaporeans have done that i am proud of, and there are many others that i am not proud of.
I am proud that we are extremely efficient in most cases. I am proud of the cleanliness levels in our streets. I am proud that we have not experienced racial and religious riots since independence. I am proud of our universities’ performance in any global ranking. I am proud of the fact that I am able to practise my faith relatively freely.
I am not proud that over the past decade, there has not been any discernible improvement in our transportation system. I am not proud of the fact that many Singaporeans feel superior to other human beings – especially our Southeast Asian neighbours – because of our supposed material achievements. I am not proud that racial and religious discrimination still exists on so many levels in everyday life. I am not proud that many Singaporeans do not bother to read beyond official narratives. I am not proud of contraints imposed on some personal liberties in the name of ‘public order’.
If someone wants to proclaim ‘I am proud to be Singaporean, no matter what happens!’, that is really his/her choice that no one should take issue with. What i do take issue with is the attitude of some Singaporeans, who in their quest for national pride, think of people from
other nations as less intelligent, as less civilized, and even worse, as lesser human beings.
So am i proud to be Singaporean? It depends on what you mean….
Source: Walid J. Abdullah
