Mulit-ethnic Metropolis
Almost two years ago, I was aboard a Lufthansa Boeing 747 descending over the palm-lined beaches along the shores of the Straits of Malacca, a vital global shipping lane once infamous for piracy, flying into Changi Airport in Singapore. This being my first visit to Asia, I was not only amazed by the spectacular design and dimensions of the airport which is indubitably one of the world’s best, but also by all the scents, impressions and noises I perceived as being so different from Europe and North America. Singapore, located on the tip of the Malay Peninsula between Malaysia and Indonesia just 90 miles north of the equator, is a Southeast Asian city state that is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It boasts the busiest container port in the world, the lowest crime rate, the highest level of hygiene and one of the most harmonious, well-educated and most diverse societies in the world. Each traveler who disembarks an aircraft on the island for the first time will understand how this unique urban ecosystem strives to achieve more and outperform anything else.
Out of curiosity about foreign places, I was already very familiar with the countries recent history. Given this background, I was admiring how advanced and futuristic everything is, knowing that when Singapore gained its independence from Britain in 1965, it was a relatively small, developing world society that comprised several ethnic groups from different cultural, religious and language backgrounds. The only unifying factor was the fact that these people shared one tiny island which takes less than one hour to cross by car.
The person who had probably the largest influence on the new nation was Lee Kuan-Yew. He was leading the country from 1959 to 1990 (TIME) and comparing what he took charge of in a turbulent time in the late 1950s to what he left his well-prepared successors with is mind-boggling. Singapore in its early years was a tiny island, lacking resources, creditworthiness, infrastructure, education, international support, the ability to defend itself and a national sense of unity. It was Lee and his party, the People’s Action Party, that gradually fought off communists, criminals, pirates and colonists to build the foundation for a modern state: A very strict legal system was established, that strengthened the government’s control over society and gave Singapore the nickname “fine city”. Even today foreigners might be disturbed seeing signs warning people of what fines they will have to pay if they break any of the countless rules. These signs can be seen virtually everywhere and read like the following examples I encountered:
In the subways, smoking a cigarette costs $1,000, eating or drinking results in a fine of $500. Bringing flammable goods costs $5,000, jaywalkers get charged $500 (up to $2,000) and those who use a cell phone while driving a car have to pay $1,000. Drug traffickers are sentenced to death. A little less lethal but still extreme to many foreigners is the $500 fine for eating or possessing chewing gum without prescription (Singapore, the FINE City).
During my first days in Singapore, I was watching my behavior in public extremely carefully to avoid breaching any of the countless rules. Once I overheard a conversation between an American tourist and her travel mate: The lady said “This is not my city,” after having had to pay a fine for lighting a cigarette at the airport station. I got especially cautious when walking by at some of the many machines where fines can be paid electronically which can be found in most stations and government institutions. As I explored Singapore and the lifestyle of its people, I realized that the enforcement of the rules has become a little more lenient over the years in an attempt to not scare away foreign tourists and investors. There is hardly any police presence visible in the streets. Only spectacularly designed advertisements on the subway windows seeking recruits for the Singapore Police Force gave me an idea of how a local police officer would look like: Neatly dressed in a dark blue, tight uniform with short black hair covered by a police cap. Nevertheless, surveillance cameras can be found virtually everywhere which sort of reminded me of the book “1984″ by George Orwell who anticipated a surveillance state. This impression is reinforced when seeing the Supreme Court Building in the city center which has the shape of a flying saucer towering over the government district with the ancient colonial palaces of the British.
While a number of Western visitors that I met during my stay expressed how uncomfortable they felt being constantly watched by “Big Brother”, it did not bother me too much and the trade-off between privacy in public and extremely successful crime prevention, cleanliness and convenience seemed to be worth it. Literally at all times of the night and day I was roaming up and down the avenues, elevated walkways, underpasses and intersections of the city, without having to fear for my safety.
Another priority of the first Singaporean governments was to build a world-class public infrastructure. The roads, public transport, electricity, waste water treatment, port, airport and law enforcement infrastructure are efficient, well-maintained and convenient. Schools and universities are amongst Asia’s best, recreational facilities are advanced and the tax system is highly transparent and attractive for businesses. As of 2010, Singapore was number one of the Transparency International Index for the least corruption. (Reuters)
One of the issues Singapore was confronted with in the early years was poverty, homelessness and crime. To counteract these hindrances to growth and stability, the government started a humongous public housing program. Even today, roughly 80% of Singaporeans live in high-rises built and subsidized by the government to provide accommodation for those in need and bring the cost of living down. (Clammer 40, 111) Within these public housing units, the government tried to maintain the same ethnic ratios as on the island-wide level to avoid the formation of “ghettos”(Clammer 40). Instead, Singapore’s northern territories comprise numerous “new towns” that seem like semi-urban communities, providing its residents all the amenities of urban living. Even the daily commute to work is not much of an issue since the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) subway network stretches out to the most remote settlements on the island.
Facing the challenge of forming a unified nation out of several ethnic groups, Singapore has embraced multiculturalism from the beginning (Neville 251). According to the CIA World Factbook, the vast majority (76.8%) of the population are ethnic Chinese, even though the cultural differences with mainland Chinese are significant. The second largest ethnic group with 13.9% of the population is Malaysian while Indians account for 7.9% (CIA) The remainder includes all nationalities, mostly Europeans, other Asians, Americans, Arabs and Africans. Next to the ethnic aspect of diversity, there is the language aspect. Singapore has four official languages (Mandarin, English, Malay and Tamil) next to many dialects and other languages (CIA). Education is bilingual, with instruction in English and a requirement to study at least one of the other three official languages. Hence, almost all Singaporeans are able to speak at least one or two additional languages next to English. Higher education in Singapore has been taught in English since the early years of Singapore to give Singapore a “pro-Western identity.” (Sidhu) Amongst all the language diversity, locals, especially youths tend to communicate in a slang called “Singlish” which is a mixture of English and several phrases and syllables from Chinese and Malay. This makes everyday conversation harder to understand for outsiders, which could indeed be one of the benefits of the slang to some locals.
The third aspect of diversity is religion. As CIA statistics show, more than 40% of the population is Buddhist, around 15% are Muslim, Taoism accounts for 8.5%, Hinduism for 4%, Catholicism for 4.8%, other Christian religions for 9.8% and most of the remainder does not belong to any religion.
Considering these incredible challenges to forming a successful state and society, it is astounding to see how Lee Kuan-Yew left a prosperous, globalized and highly competitive economic powerhouse to his successors in 1990. (TIME) New York Times writer Nicholas D. Kristof describes how Lee, despite his authoritarian policies and views, voluntarily passed on power to the next generation of leadership within a democratic system where the ruling party’s success has created such strong support among the population that Lee’s party is still in power, regularly legitimized by voters, almost 50 years after its founding. Kristof elaborates by showing how this made Singapore a role model for the development of many Asian countries, combining values and traditions from the East and West.
In 1978, the then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore and fascinated by the success of a mostly Chinese society that thrives with a democratic, free market system, he started a far-reaching reform process in China that set the country on the pathway to becoming the economic superpower it is today (PAP).
The harmony within Singapore society is unparalleled. As a sense of competition and materialism is already instilled in Singaporean children at pre-school age, most of the population seeks to achieve Singapore’s infamous five Cs (Cash, Car, Credit Card, Condo, Country club)(Hussain).
Individual wealth and prestige is one of the most important concerns of Singaporeans and in my view part of the reason why pragmatism prevailed when it comes to celebrating selected religious holidays of each major group and maintaining traditions and diversity. Taking a look at the public holidays in Singapore, it stand out that next to state holidays such as Labor Day and National Day, the remaining public holidays are equally given to the various religious groups that make up Singapore’s society: Vesak Day for Buddhists, Hari Raya Puasa Adilfitri and Hari Raya Haji for Muslims, Deepavali for Hindus, Good Friday and of course Christmas for the Christian minority next to New Year’s Day and Chinese New Year were all created to allow religious and ethnic groups to celebrate their traditions (Ah, Eng Lai 2006). Since everybody gets a day off no matter what their religious view is and everybody gets to celebrate selected important dates like in the countries of their ancestors, Singapore has mastered the challenge of combining the traditions and demands of multiple religions while establishing dates for celebration of national achievement.
Food might be another reason why Singapore’s diversity is so tension-free. Most of the islanders have a great passion for food, and the multitude of cuisines from all over Asia and the world that formed a blend of uniquely Singaporean cuisine make the country a culinary paradise. One of my first meals after arriving in Singapore was one of the national dishes that is related to the cuisines of the surrounding cultures but is ultimately a Singaporean creation: Laksa. It is a coconut curry noodle soup with shrimp and tofu. Due to the locals’ preference for spicy meals, that Laksa was one of the hottest dishes I have ever tried. The same night, I was able to have an originally Indian curry in the outskirts of what today still is called China Town. One popular feature of Singapore’s culinary variety is the many hawkers, small food stalls, usually a number of them gathered in a roofed square, that offer affordable, local quality food to go. Even for the most cautious travelers it is safe to try the street food at the hawker centers as the same level of hygiene is practiced as in other parts of the city. A widely popular snack in Singapore is either toast, muffins or bread with Kaya which is a sweet, brown-greenish spread made of sugar, coconut milk and eggs. From what I experienced staying in Singapore and talking to locals I can only agree to the impression many visitors have: The cuisine is “central to Singapore’s national identity” as it is put on the website HalalInfo.com which is a blog on food in accordance with Muslim rules and customs. The country’s ethnic and religious diversity the multicultural melting pot of Asia is so famous for is represented by the large variety of food choices Singaporeans enjoy.
After about two weeks in the city state, I had a pretty good impression of its lifestyle which was not too different from other wealthy Asian societies such as Japan and Hong Kong, with the major difference being the diversity and the internationalism of the place. Singaporeans like to spend their past times flocking the malls, eating at the food courts, going to the movies and heading out to the beautiful beaches with man-made attractions on Sentosa island and West Coast Park. Entertainment, light & sound effects turn these places into beach theme parks. When visitors come, they are often recommended to enjoy the view on the breathtaking skyline of mostly brand-new and futuristic skyscrapers with landmark buildings such as the Esplanade Theatres with its two huge domes and the traditional Raffles Hotel whose colonial charme can still be felt today. Named after the founder of Singapore as a British colony, Sir Stamford Raffles, the hotel has been prestigious ever since it was first opened in 1887 according to the Philippine newspaper Manila Bulletin.
Having traveled boom towns in China and having experienced what immense pride residents of places such as Shanghai and Hong Kong feel for their cities, Singaporeans are much more modest when talking to foreigners about their hood. One of my first friends from Singapore once asked me curiously about the reason for my excitement for one of the “smallest red dots on the map” and what was so special about all the fancy new buildings that have not been around for too long. Sharing my fascination for the accomplishments of the country and asking how Singapore has changed since their childhood, which must have been significant as most buildings that comprise Singapore’s skyline today are less than 10 or 15 years old, this question has puzzled most of the people I talked to. My impression was that many natives of Singapore are taking the city as they know it for granted without even thinking back to the by historical standards extremely short time period during which all the development took place. Looking into the future, my guess is that we can expect to see many more surprises coming out of this tiny, yet powerful Southeast Asian nation which proved to be brilliant at adapting to changing circumstances and taking advantage of new developments.
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Fig. 1. Fines sign in Singapore MRT train. Personal Photograph by author.
Fig. 2. Singaporean Supreme Court Building. Personal Photograph by author.
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