Interview #5: Ms Liu :)

What does the Singaporean identity mean to you? A sense of  pride and belonging to the country. Why? Our country has done very well, very prosperous. Why did our country prosper? Because we were a fishing village and then now we are a metropolis. I think LKY helped the country a lot, our govt is not corrupt, it's stable. What can be changed in our society? I think we are too diverse, leads to a lot of contentions. Why do you think diversity is a big problem? Because we need to learn to see eye to eye, many Singaporeans argue a lot. For example, we are already a very diverse society now with even more races coming in, Singaporeans are feeling like they do not belong in this country. Maybe, it's because their voices are not heard. Do you think that due to our diversity we do not have an actual identity? No, I disagree. I think we are unique in the sense that we live in HDB blocks, in a lot of countries, they just have their own private homes. It kind of originated from the Kampong spirit, community spirit, everyone was close to their neighbours, although now we are not as close as we were before. Why do you say that we are not close anymore? Because now the only reason why you meet nowadays with their neighbours is during Chinese New Year or Hari Raya and Deepavali. Are you close to your neighbours? Yes, quite. I would give my keys to my neighbours, I trust them that much. Once, I forgot my keys and my neighbours were Japanese and they allowed me in their home to relax. So, what exactly is the Singaporean identity? Love for food, especially for different cuisines, very integral part for every society but more so in the Singaporean society. Multi-racial society, non-corrupted government and the kampong spirit which is still there.Is it important to have a national identity? So that people feel like they belong and they are rooted to one place. Is the government doing enough to make Singaporeans feel Singaporean enough? Have a lot of events going on, especially national day with the same songs playing every year and a new song every year. I guess people become more bonded when there are shared activities. How do you think the foreigners think of our Singaporean identity- kiasu, complaining? They find us amusing. We speak with a very weird accent, which is not British or American. What kind of impression does this create? They still like our country. I think they still like us a lot because a lot of foreign men still marry Singaporean women. We are educated people and they find our country very efficient. The benefits outweigh the demerits. What is good about Singaporeans? We are hospitable people, most of us are open-minded as we are accepting of foreigners. Does Singaporean mean you have to be born and bred here? No, people can easily learn how  we speak so no.