It
is an honour to be a Singaporean these days, especially if you are living
abroad. For the Singaporeans living abroad, each milestones and achievements of
our motherland, makes us stand taller in a foreign land. Thanks to my fellow
Singaporeans back home, I have always felt proud of being a Singaporean. We are
the cleanest city. We have the best airport. We produce the best students. We
are the most expensive city (oops, maybe not this one!).
But
whenever I scan through comments on social media or through personal
conversations with my friends back home, I get the feeling that my sentiments
are not reciprocated. To the average middle-class Singaporean, life seems like
a constant struggle to stay above waters. There never seemed to be an end to
their grievances and feelings of unfairness. While I dream of going back home
to Singapore one day, my friends are dreaming of getting out one day. Is the
grass always greener on the other side?
To
my friends who sang praises of Japan and dump complaints of Singapore on social
networks, I have always told them that things are not what it seemed in Japan.
I have lived for more than a decade in Japan, and had spent three years in Hong
Kong and one year in Kuala Lumpur. So I guess I qualify to tell people back
home that they are really blessed in many ways compared to the Japanese or
other nationals. But telling people how lucky they are do not make them less
angry. We have to start by understanding why they are angry in the first place.
Many have blamed it on the rat-race and the stress of our meritocratic society.
Many see meritocracy as dangling the carrot in front of the donkey. They see it
as the tool by which the government enslaves the people.
I
wish to defer. I have benefited greatly from the Singapore’s system growing up
in the 70s and 80s. My generation and those before me are tied down by our love
for a country which had risen from an era of struggling and nation building. I
am still touched by that song, “there was a time when people think that
Singapore won’t make it, but we did….there was a time when troubles seemed too
much for us to take it, but we did…..”. It was hard work, but we built a world
class nation out of meritocracy, not mediocracy. I know it, because I went
through it. My parents were uneducated and poor. But the Singapore system gave
me a chance to work hard and break free. I was never denied opportunities
because of my background. Meritocracy may give rise to an elite echelon, but it
also makes sure that those who work hard have a chance. The argument should not
be whether to do away with Meritocracy, but rather, how to manage it and narrow
the income gap.
Just
look at Japan. Their Yutori (in a way anti-meritocratic) education system and
their patriarchic society based on seniority had not saved them from decades of
redundancy and deflation. Many may argue that Japanese are still the most innovative
people and they are producing Nobel prize winners and champions. I do not deny
these facts. Japan has 120 million people, so it is just unavoidable that
someone shines out once in a while. Can you imagine that Singapore has a
population of 120 million? With our education system, our diligence and
competence, who is to say that we won’t produce even more winners? Which makes
me think about why can’t Singapore too have 120 million people?
Of
course I am not suggesting that all of them squeeze into our 700㎢
piece of land. A few years back, when the Singapore government announced its
plans towards a 6 million population, there was a big backlash from the people.
People are angry because there just isn’t enough space for so many people on
this island. People are angry because the infrastructure cannot cope with a 6
million population. The lack of resources and land drive prices up and make
their living miserable. Singapore has the land mass of only about 30% that of
Tokyo, 0.2% that of Japan. Our problem is not Meritocracy. Our problems are that
our population is too small to produce enough talents so we ended up
over-rewarding just a small group of achievers, and that our land is too small
for us to increase our population so that we can stop over-stretching our small
of pool of residents.
So
how can we have a population of 120 million on land this small? I have a
suggestion. It may sound ridiculous at first, but not infeasible. Since our
problems stem from our physical size, why don’t we just stop restricting
ourselves to that 700 ㎢? Let’s make the
world our stage! Jews do not need to be living in Israel to be Jews. Japanese
are Japanese no matter where they live. Like them, being Singaporean need not
be a matter of physicality, but more of an identity. There could be a hundred
million of us living all over the world, each contributing intellectually and
financially to this identity we call Singaporean.
We
are a physically small country, so we need to think out of the box. If we were
to continue to run Singapore as a country, then we will forever be restricted
by our size. Before we could reach our population limit, I am afraid the
country would be overrun by chaos and instability. Singapore has to become a
brand, an identity, a multi-national company headquartered on an island called
Singapore. Being a Singaporean means a prestige membership to the world’s
richest club. Members pay taxes and make contribution to the brand. Our
headquarters will have the best infrastructure and living experience for those
of us who may want to spend a holiday there. It is our headquarters where we
gather for meetings, or where we meet for gatherings.
While
the older generation’s love for Singapore is tied to our physical country, the
younger generation, who grew up with the internet and social networks as their
platforms for expressions, are more likely to find bonding virtually. Thus the
best way to unite this generation is not through a common land, but through a
common identity. A common identity shared throughout the world by tens if not
hundreds of millions of us. The Pope can rule Christians all over the world. So
too, can the leaders of Singapore rule Singaporeans all over the world.
We
should start sending our people overseas, to study, to work, or just to live.
Instead of sending our youths to national service, we should send them overseas
to live on the government’s credit. Sponsor our young to work and live overseas
and they will build the next worldwide company, be the next winner, or discover
the next breakthroughs. Instead of spending money training people to protect a
small piece of land, we should spend money on opening up our people’s frontiers
and reach. For the younger generation who are used to boundless reach in the
digital world, it should not be difficult to get them to comprehend the concept
of a Singapore identity instead of a Singapore nationality.
Let’s
not restrict ourselves to just a small dot on the map. Let the world be our
stage and let’s make our next generation of Singaporeans really proud!