Singapore - Sunlight Illuminates the Merlion

Author: Xu Ge
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: "We Are All Singaporeans" - Strolling through the streets of Singapore, one sees a colorful "rainbow" of different ethnicities, which is a beautiful sight. Yellow-skinned, black-skinned, white-skinned, brown-skinned—different races, yet they all laugh, sing, and dance together in this Southeast Asian metropolis. People of diverse skin tones live together in harmony, united as one. This is a "humanity museum" at the crossroads of the oceans, and also a paradise on earth that envy the world. They are not just Chinese, Malays, Indians, Filipinos, Afghans, Burmese, Arabs, Africans, Europeans, or mixed-race individuals. What matters most is that they all share a common identity—"Singaporeans." Among Singapore's total population of 4.1 million, 76% are Chinese, 15% are Malay, and 6% are Indian. From the above population ratios, it can be seen that the Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnic groups are the three major races in Singapore. Due to differences in origin or dialect, these three major ethnic groups also consist of various subgroups: Among the Indians, there are Tamils, Punjabis, Singhalese, Sikhs, Gujaratis, Bengalis, Telugus, Pathans, and Sinhalese, among others; Among the Malays, there are Malays, Javanese, Bugis, Bongos, and Minangkabaus, among others; The Chinese are even more diverse, with six major dialect groups based on ancestral regions and languages: Fujian, Chaozhou, Guangdong, Hakka, Hainan, and Sanjiang. Indians speak Tamil or Hindi among themselves, while English is used in business; Malays speak Malay among themselves; Mandarin is currently the most popular Chinese dialect, while Cantonese, Teochew, Minnan, and Hakka were once the everyday languages of many Chinese. When Singapore gained independence in 1965, Lee Kuan Yew pointed out: "In Singapore, we will be a multi-racial nation. This country is not a Malay nation, not a Chinese nation, nor an Indian nation. Regardless of ethnicity, language, religion, or culture, every citizen should first have a sense of national identity and recognize that I am a Singaporean." One of Singapore's key policies is to achieve national unity among its diverse ethnic groups. All permanent residents of Singapore, regardless of ethnicity, are citizens of the Republic and enjoy equal rights, just as Lee Kuan Yew emphasized—"loyalty to the flag, regardless of race." The government advocates mixed-ethnicity living arrangements, and the original practice of ethnic groups living in isolated communities has long been eliminated. Mixed-ethnicity living has improved relations between different ethnic groups and promoted mutual understanding. Today, most Singaporean youth can fluently speak two to three languages and have a strong sense of identity as "Singaporeans." However, such identity was not as natural in Singapore three decades ago. Older Chinese Singaporeans still remember that teachers would tell elementary school students in class, "I am a Singaporean," while specifically instructing them not to say "I am Chinese," "He is Malay," or "He is Indian," but to remember that "We are all Singaporeans." From primary school to high school, every day, students attend the national flag-raising ceremony.