Letter to Forum (they said they received too many for that week. haha.. )
Quite some days ago liao, but been too lazy to put it up.
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It often puzzles my non-Singaporean friends in London Universities, why Singaporeans who are educated overseas, with a largely liberal environment often do not voice their opinions in public. It is neither a situation, where Singaporeans overseas are not concerned with the on-goings in Singapore, nor a case where they have no opinions about things that they believe could be different or improved.
On the contrary, events and issues involving Singapore are circulated rapidly around the overseas student community, and it is extremely common to encounter heated exchanges of opinions over drinks or meals when Singaporeans get together. Without doubt, the recent uproar with regards to remarks made by several overseas Singaporean scholars has not gone unnoticed.
While I believe that individuals should be responsible for comments that are made, and individuals should be held to account when remarks are untrue, baseless or libelous; the recent uproars have been overly one-sided on taking these individuals to account, without much consideration given to the type of remarks made by the criticisms.
It is my desire that these individuals are able to move on from these events, but there is much for all of us to seriously ponder, with reference to the uproars on the race and gender themed remarks, especially from the side of the critiques. In particular, we should seriously consider, the level of maturity that was adopted in criticisms, as well the standards that were applied.
On the issue of race, which has always been extremely tricky in Singapore, I believe that we need a greater sense of maturity. We should not continue to fear the concept of 'race', and jump to quick conclusion that remarks about race are discriminatory or biased, essentialising or simplistic. Do grandparents who prefers Asian husbands and wives for their grandchildren over westerners be considered racist? Is it racist for people to assume that the roti-prata seller is Indian, the fishball noddle seller is Chinese or the Nasi Lemak seller is Malay?
While these perceptions are to a large extent essentialising or simplistic, it is untrue that these perception are uncommon and are far from extinct. However, the crux of the matter, is that we need to consider whether such perceptions are discriminatory or biased, or can they can harmless. When facing the issue of 'race', we should not be fearful, but by working with the existing definition of Singapore as a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society, which acknowledges the multiple races and ethnic groups, we should consolidate and appreciate the integration that has been achieved.
We should not be complacent with our current environment, but we should also focus on how much integration we have achieved over the years. We should not be denying that perception about race exist in Singapore, or adopt different standards for different individuals, but instead, we need to recognise that Singapore is indeed today a highly diverse and highly tolerant society which is not xenophobic. What we have is a phobia for 'race', which we should approach with greater maturity and common standards.
On the uproar on gender, some of the aggressive critiques made by men in the forum discussions, sounded even more gender discriminatory and biased than what was claimed as 'men bashing'. Actions such as commenting on her figure or inciting hate mail further suggest a lack of maturity in some of the criticisms.
It is unfair to claim that because women do not have to perform National Service, they therefore do not have a right to comment on men talking (or complaining) about their life in National Service. Firstly it is not untrue that some men do talk a lot (or even complain) about their life in National Service. Secondly, it is uncommon for people to enjoy repeatedly listening to men talking (especially complaining) about their life in National Service.
Men should seeks listeners to share their encounters in National Service, but they should also seek to understand how listeners feel, and reflect on the frequency of their complains. While it is unclear, 'how much complaining' would constitute whining, it is not hard to imagine and to compare 'whining' with 'nagging' that youths often apply on their parents. When it crosses the line, it probably is too much. The criticisms in this uproar was not only at times lacking in maturity, but also assumed different standards, especially when it is claimed that men have the right to complain about National Service, while women do not have the right to complain about men whining about National Service.
While the recent uproars has reminded overseas Singaporean students the need to be cautious and responsible, I am concerned that this sense of cautiousness is becoming a strong reason to shun away from productive and constructive opinions which have been increasing over the years. However, though these uproars have displayed strength within the Singapore society to identity and react to situations when necessary, it would be more productive and constructive, if such actions in the future involve greater maturity and common standards.
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It often puzzles my non-Singaporean friends in London Universities, why Singaporeans who are educated overseas, with a largely liberal environment often do not voice their opinions in public. It is neither a situation, where Singaporeans overseas are not concerned with the on-goings in Singapore, nor a case where they have no opinions about things that they believe could be different or improved.
On the contrary, events and issues involving Singapore are circulated rapidly around the overseas student community, and it is extremely common to encounter heated exchanges of opinions over drinks or meals when Singaporeans get together. Without doubt, the recent uproar with regards to remarks made by several overseas Singaporean scholars has not gone unnoticed.
While I believe that individuals should be responsible for comments that are made, and individuals should be held to account when remarks are untrue, baseless or libelous; the recent uproars have been overly one-sided on taking these individuals to account, without much consideration given to the type of remarks made by the criticisms.
It is my desire that these individuals are able to move on from these events, but there is much for all of us to seriously ponder, with reference to the uproars on the race and gender themed remarks, especially from the side of the critiques. In particular, we should seriously consider, the level of maturity that was adopted in criticisms, as well the standards that were applied.
On the issue of race, which has always been extremely tricky in Singapore, I believe that we need a greater sense of maturity. We should not continue to fear the concept of 'race', and jump to quick conclusion that remarks about race are discriminatory or biased, essentialising or simplistic. Do grandparents who prefers Asian husbands and wives for their grandchildren over westerners be considered racist? Is it racist for people to assume that the roti-prata seller is Indian, the fishball noddle seller is Chinese or the Nasi Lemak seller is Malay?
While these perceptions are to a large extent essentialising or simplistic, it is untrue that these perception are uncommon and are far from extinct. However, the crux of the matter, is that we need to consider whether such perceptions are discriminatory or biased, or can they can harmless. When facing the issue of 'race', we should not be fearful, but by working with the existing definition of Singapore as a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society, which acknowledges the multiple races and ethnic groups, we should consolidate and appreciate the integration that has been achieved.
We should not be complacent with our current environment, but we should also focus on how much integration we have achieved over the years. We should not be denying that perception about race exist in Singapore, or adopt different standards for different individuals, but instead, we need to recognise that Singapore is indeed today a highly diverse and highly tolerant society which is not xenophobic. What we have is a phobia for 'race', which we should approach with greater maturity and common standards.
On the uproar on gender, some of the aggressive critiques made by men in the forum discussions, sounded even more gender discriminatory and biased than what was claimed as 'men bashing'. Actions such as commenting on her figure or inciting hate mail further suggest a lack of maturity in some of the criticisms.
It is unfair to claim that because women do not have to perform National Service, they therefore do not have a right to comment on men talking (or complaining) about their life in National Service. Firstly it is not untrue that some men do talk a lot (or even complain) about their life in National Service. Secondly, it is uncommon for people to enjoy repeatedly listening to men talking (especially complaining) about their life in National Service.
Men should seeks listeners to share their encounters in National Service, but they should also seek to understand how listeners feel, and reflect on the frequency of their complains. While it is unclear, 'how much complaining' would constitute whining, it is not hard to imagine and to compare 'whining' with 'nagging' that youths often apply on their parents. When it crosses the line, it probably is too much. The criticisms in this uproar was not only at times lacking in maturity, but also assumed different standards, especially when it is claimed that men have the right to complain about National Service, while women do not have the right to complain about men whining about National Service.
While the recent uproars has reminded overseas Singaporean students the need to be cautious and responsible, I am concerned that this sense of cautiousness is becoming a strong reason to shun away from productive and constructive opinions which have been increasing over the years. However, though these uproars have displayed strength within the Singapore society to identity and react to situations when necessary, it would be more productive and constructive, if such actions in the future involve greater maturity and common standards.
posted by city_walker at 5/28/2005 09:39:00 pm
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