What Makes Us Singaporean?

As Singapore inches towards its 55th National Day amidst trying times, it is worth taking the time to think about how we make sense of this country, our place in the world, and what being Singaporean truly means. 

When measured across all possible metrics, Singapore is a young country. It was only in 1819 that Singapore officially came into being when some elements of the Johor Sultanate signed a treaty with the British East India Company to allow the establishment of a trading port on what was then known as Temasek. However, the Singaporean identity or nationhood did not come into the national consciousness until late in the 1950s, when there was a growing sense that we are not British, Chinese, Indian or any country that our forefathers came from. Ultimately, it was only in 1963 that we became “independent” in the Weberian definition of statehood, and exercised our first act of self-determination by merging with Malaya to form Malaysia. 

Having been only 55 years since official independence, we should never forget our heritage, how we came about, and the challenges we had to deal with to get here. I have attempted to summarize various markers that can help us consolidate and piece together what our national identity constitutes, and how we should hold these values dear even as we move into the next stage of nationhood development and write the next chapter of the Singapore story. 

Trade

Singapore started its economic life in the entrep?t trade. When Singapore was founded, the main purpose of its existence was to provide a trading port for the British traders in the rapidly growing Straits economy. The selection of Singapore can be attributed to the initiative of Sir Stamford Raffles, who saw Singapore as a base to protect Chinese trade in times of war and to outflank the Dutch at Malacca. However, the port evolved and eventually became the hub of Archipelago trade, and from 1825 to 1865, Archipelago trade made up for more than 75% of the total trade volume in Singapore. 

One key driver for the economy was the idea of openness, that we are a free market economy with little restrictions on trade and this has carried through from the entrep?t model to how our economy is structured today. As of 2019, the Singapore economy has been ranked the most open in the world, 3rd least corrupt and most pro-business, with low tax rates and the third highest per-capita GDP in terms of the purchasing power parity. 

Why is trade crucial to our economy? Singapore is fundamentally a city state with no hinterland, and the only way to thrive in the global economy is to leverage our strength of being an important location on a major trading route, and create an environment that foreign direct investments can flow in with easy access to financing options. This can be observed in how today, multiple global multi-nationals have key regional functions headquartered in Singapore. In addition, the growth of Singapore as an arbitration hub adds an additional layer of lubrication to the ease of doing commerce in Singapore. 

In short, we must never forget that a key pillar to our continued economic success as a country is that we provide a business friendly environment, relative ease of access to financing, and fast and fair commercial dispute resolution. Underlying all these is a commitment to trade, whether of ideas, services or products. 

Immigration

Singapore is fundamentally an immigrant society. For many of us, our forefathers left their countries in the early 1900s to come to Singapore in search of a better life. From the earliest vestiges of our history, people have been coming from all over the region and many see Singapore as a place where they can build a life. While building their own lives, they also contributed to the changing landscape of Singapore, eventually grew roots and decided to call Singapore their home. 

Immigration is a crucial element of our history, and we should never let xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiments take control of our national narrative. Today, a large proportion our workforce are not born in Singapore, but has nevertheless taken the decision to grow careers, build livelihoods and in the process contributed to the Singapore story. It remains integral that they continue to do so. 

Ultimately, team Singapore is not only made up of locally-born individuals, but those who have decided to call Singapore home as well. It is important that we acknowledge that, and commit to maintaining Singapore as a place where global talents feel safe and comfortable to call home. Only then can we remain exceptional and as as whole, remain relevant and important to the global economy. 

Multiculturalism

A key cornerstone of an immigrant society is multiculturalism. Unlike many developed economies in the world, Singapore’s only resources are its people. In a world where xenophobia and protectionism have started to dominate the mainstream narrative, we must remain vigilant and be mindful that multiracialism is not compromised. We must never lose the very basis of the social compact that made us unique and successful in the past 55 years.

However, the next step of Singaporean multiculturalism should be the start of national conversations. It is about how we can not just tolerate our differences, but embrace our differences as well. Multiracialism should go beyond the token representations made once a year on Racial Harmony Day, but be woven into how we think and discuss about our society and how we continue to structure it. 

Recent examples in the press have shown that at some levels, there is an inherent sense of self-censorship when it comes to discuss issues like institutional racism and matters of privilege. To move forward and maintain active multiculturalism, we should aim to not shy away from having difficult conversations at a national level. Part of being a democracy is about having the courage to discuss the national narrative, and this cannot be solely driven by the state. As a community, civil participation in the national discourse can and should be encouraged towards a participative democracy. 

Ultimately, our differences should make us stronger, and a stronger social compact will emerge from having frank discussions about issues that can make us uncomfortable. 

Meritocracy

The last key tenet of the Singaporean identity is meritocracy. To this end, it is worth noting that this stems from a belief that we should, regardless of our socio-economic background or status, be given an equality of opportunity. This is the supposed foundation of our educational system, which provides high quality education to all students at subsidized fees. 

However, over time, it is inevitable that elitism and the entrenchment of socio-economic benefits take root as income inequality grows. Given the nature of our open economy, income inequality will continue to widen despite the best efforts of the government to effect income transfer and reduce the Gini coefficient. In addition, the existence of a billion-dollar private tuition industry and the existence of “elite schools” has exacerbated the nature of this inequality. 

As a society that prides itself on giving every child an equal chance to succeed, and singing the mantra of how “every school is a good school”, the next tentative step can be taking “a half step to the left”. In the realms of social policy, it may be time to start taking a paradigm shift towards bringing in some facets of social democracy, and stray away from our traditional belief in neoliberalism. 

For example, we can increase social spending to help uplift households above the nominal poverty line. By doing so, we can create the basis of conducive home environments for more students. When students have conducive home environments with sufficient space and resources to grow, they will start on a more even keel, and eventually lead to a higher quality workforce in the long run. This can only be more attractive to investors in the greater scheme of things. 

Conclusion

Over the past 55 years, Singapore society has gone through a transformation as we moved from a developmental phase to one where we now have one of the highest standards of living. However, as we lurch towards the next phase of development in search of a vision of success, we should never forget the fundamental tenets of what makes us truly Singaporean. 

Ultimately, it isn’t our love for food or shopping that will define our success or failure in the future, but certain fundamental beliefs that we as a society, hold dear. 

In a times of crisis, let us close ranks, stay united, and we will emerge stronger.