Singapore Turns 61

This year's theme is 'Going Beyond'. The is intended to be our call to action to do better for Singapore and Singaporeans, and to show care and concern for one another and our wider community. I didn't bother with this year's National Day songs. They decided to do THREE. Honestly, none reasonated with me. I'm too old to appreciate this new sort of music approaches. They're simply not ideal to sing along with in a large group setting. 

Well, I'm slightly bemused since the tone of the Members of Parliament indicated otherwise in a recent sitting when they were asked about the future of Maju Forest and Gillman Barracks. The replies indicated that this is not a dialogue or a consultation — it's simply informing us what the land use is intended to be by such and such a date. 

Our communities are showing social awareness and a push for questions. But our leaders don't seem to like it very much. I don't accept the baseline of trying to define what is a primary forest is vs a secondary forest, and which one is more important. It's too typical of Singapore to be prioritizing in this way.

Anyway.

I feel that our society is trying to be very inclusive. The people, some policies, community initiatives and involvement, et cetera. Our core residents have a pretty strong idea of shaping the identity of what it is to be Singaporean. As a country gets older, it isn't that nebulous anymore. But our new immigrants might not be gelling that well with the wider community. There're so many anti-social behavior around, and it's very hard to ignore that loads of undesirable behaviorial traits are displayed by new immigrants. They're not interested in being part of the society; they seem to want society to adjust to their preferences instead. I mean, COME ON, a restaurant deciding not to have its menu and receipts printed in English? Really.

To 'Going Beyond', I certainly hope for a lot more inclusiveness and a personal stake in the community. Nobody is asking anyone to do more. We simply do what we can in our daily spheres of influence. To be kind, to be socially responsible, to listen to what others are saying.

Majulah Singapura.