Give a little, take a little….

Khartini Khalid

– August 15, 2009Posted in: Uncategorized

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew recently commented on the issue of foreigners and new migrants to Singapore.

I think Singaporeans generally agree on the point that Singapore needs foreign talent and that closing doors to foreigners would be a foolish (actually, impossible) thing to do due to economic needs, a drop in birth rates and an outflow of talent.

The question is not whether we need them or not, but rather how much of them do we need? To some extent it is understandable for Singaporeans to have these concerns and insecurities because over the past few years we seem to have had a sudden deluge of foreigners coming into the country. These concerns and insecurities will have to be managed well.

I am all for integration but there are some things I think that can be done better to facilitate this process. In a Straits Times article (English Still 1^st Language, 14 August 2009), MM Lee said “We cannot make (the requirements for residency) so onerous that they will not come, for example, by requiring permanent residents or new citizens to be fluent in English, which even some existing citizens are not.”

Requiring migrants to be fluent in a language is something debatable, because it depends on the level of fluency that is expected. While expecting a high level of fluency in English may be a tall order since it takes time, I do not think it is too much to ask for a basic, or rudimentary command of English since it is the language that has, for many years, become the bridge for Singaporeans of different races to communicate with one another. I’ve met some migrants who work in the service sector and who could not even answer a simple question like “How much (is this)?” It may make economic sense for employers because of the lower labour costs involved, but it does not make logical sense to have people working in a sector that requires communication to not be able to even communicate at a basic level in a language that is spoken by the majority of people in the country. Over time, this will increase customer frustrations and may turn people away from certain establishments where there is an overpopulation of staff who cannot even answer the most basic questions.

As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” likewise it would not hurt to ask future migrants to at least have a rudimentary command of English before they come over to Singapore or are granted PR or citizenship status. Some other countries, like Germany, have requirements for some categories of migrants to have knowledge of the German language.

That said, I do admire the spirit of some migrants to Singapore who are trying their best to learn English. There are those who are very proactive in seeking knowledge and in upgrading themselves, and this spirt that they have is something to admire and perhaps, emulate. It is these people who will perhaps, have less of a harder time integrating with Singapore society. It has led me to wonder if some of these migrants are willing to go all the way to learn English if it means improving their lot in life, why aren’t more of our non-Mandarin speaking Singaporeans showing the same spirit in wanting to learn Mandarin if doing this may lead to more job opportunities?

In this respect, I wonder if the government should introduce subsidies for Singaporeans of all races to learn each other’s languages. Surely, in the long term, that will lead to better integration all around be it with old or new citizens. While English remains the main language for business and work, knowing a smattering of Malay, Mandarin or Tamil can certainly help smoothen ties. Having a higher level of fluency of Mandarin can even help non-Mandarin speakers who desire to learn Mandarin in order to be more marketable to employers secure jobs, since many advertisers who say that they need “bilingual speakers” in reality mean that they need “English and Mandarin speakers”. It will also be in line with our life-long approach towards learning.

At the end of the day, I think what’s important is to remember that integration is an all-way process. It is not just between Singaporeans and foreigners, it is about everyone who wants to be part of this society being able to give a little, and take a little.

About the Author

Khartini is the C, M and I in CMIO. She is 1/4 Chinese, 1/2 Malay and 1/4 Indian. She is bad at Math but managed to figure these portions out with a family genealogy and calculator. Some people call her multiracial, but she prefers to be known as rojak. She was a print journalist and an educator, and has dabbled in broadcast journalism, mountain climbing and wakeboarding (albeit in a sitting position). She has also been a clown for a day, no kidding. She is in her 30’s and volunteers actively, including at weekly Meet-the-People Sessions. She speaks and writes fluent English and Malay, knows pasar Mandarin and can speak some French to save her life. She is about to leave for the United States to do her Masters in International Relations degree. She loves books, and books love her.

Tan SM

Dear Miss Khartini Khalid, Vikram, Mr Teo Ser Luck, P65 bloggers and writers and young PAP members.

And not forgetting my dear fellow discerning Singaporeans.

I think you guys (Miss Khartini Khalid, Vikram, Mr Teo Ser Luck, P65 bloggers and writers and young PAP members ) are missing the ‘context and purpose’ of my reasoning of the perceived non-partisanship of this new blogging platform similar to its’ previous incarnation as a P65 blog by Members of Parliament.

This response is in reference to Miss Khartini Khalid’s letter ‘P65 bloggers keen to engage in meaningful debate - no party line to toe’ which was published in new media in the ST Forum Online.

1. Dear Miss Khartini Khalid, you wrote ‘Some of us, like Mr Vikram Nair, are members of Young PAP, as he has written in a post on the blog. Others are not.’

Who are the writers and contributors of this blog other than Vikram who are the ‘some of us’ members of the Young PAP?

Who are the writers and contributors of this blog who are the ‘others are not’ members of the Young PAP?

2. Dear Miss Khartini Khalid , more than 5 million Singaporeans read in the traditional national media that this is a non-partisan blog totally unrelated to the PAP. It was printed in all Singaporean media that “none of the [the writers] are affiliated to the Young PAP”.

Mr Teo Ser Luck said in August 12 2009 that ‘We have our own Young PAP website for the politically inclined… The p65 blog is to allow other young people to share their views, which are non-partisan, neutral and can be constructive criticism of policies.’

Why aren’t the Young PAP members of this blog contributing articles to the Young PAP website?

Why isn’t Vikram who is a Young PAP member posting on the Young PAP website instead of the perceived ‘non-partisan’ blog like the ‘the p65.sg site’?

3. Dear Miss Khartini Khalid, you wrote ‘There are websites where people support the Government and websites where people condemn the Government. Some express their views with reason and facts, while others use cyberspace as a vehicle to vent their frustration.’

Are you implying that those that condemn the government use cyberspace as a vehicle to vent their frustration?
Have you read the hundreds if not thousands of blogs and websites since the 1990’s that have been advocating constructive criticism of Singapore.

These people love Singapore just as much as you and have every right under the constitution to air their feelings. There have been a lot of solutions out there in cyberspace by ordinary Singaporeans to tackle our current social and economic woes. Unfortunately, it is traditional national media and the PAP which dismisses these ‘views with reason and facts’ as ‘condemnations’.

My warmest wishes.
Adrian

Andrea - Thanks for the encouragement! :) But honestly, it's a bit hard when all of my cousins (and I'm the youngest of my cousins) speak English among ourselves, and the only ones that really still speak Malay are the people one generation up, and I only see them once or twice a year. :P

But nevertheless, I'll still try not to lose what little I know of the language. Still can understand somewhat, but the speaking part is not good at all. More importantly for me right now, some of the cousins must start compiling all the recipes from the older folk before there's no one left to hand them down! My ayam buah keluak!! :O
Andrea

Hi all, great to see the responses :) totally agree on the point about Edward, that communication is key to integration. On hindsight, learning a language too allows us to know each other's culture better :) that too is a plus point for integration.

Adrian - I'm peranakan myself and yes my family, esp mom's uses Malay to speak with one another. I can understand your 'plight' being half past six for the language bit, so I've been trying hard to speak with my mom whenever we can, hahaha I used not too bad as a child, perhaps that's because my grams was still alive then, so in order to communicate with her, I had to use it :) - so its never too late, you can start today ;))
Adrian

Puvan & Khartini - Hey cool! I'm so totally supporting you guys in that lor! I've a colleague at my workplace. He's an Indian chap, quite old, and nearly illiterate in the sense that he can barely read and write, but he can speak fluent English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and Hokkien. You can imagine how useful he is to the office staff when dealing with callers from other races. :)

In fact, I'm half-Peranakan, and most of the uncles and aunties on my dad's side actually speak Malay to one another, yet my Malay is abysmally half-past-six, and without doubt the worst among all my cousins. That is actually a real regret for me, that I never really learnt it unlike all my cousins. So for you guys to want to take up Mandarin, I really take my hat off and salute you guys! :D
Khartini Khalid

Hey Puvan, like you, I'm gonna try pick up Mandarin too! It may not necessarily get me a job but who knows when I'd need it, right?Now my command of Mandarin is quite basic - I can say a few things to save my life but I often mispronounce words and end up saying "dog" rather than "enough" - have also made other gaffes. It's a tough language but one needs to have thick skin when learning a language, let others laugh we'll just go ahead and practice it!

Actually in the past the advertisers in the papers used to say "Chinese only" (which refers actually to the race, even if what they need is actually Mandarin speaking people). I think it'll not only be racist to say that but employers would also be foolish cos there are also Chinese people here who can't speak Mandarin well so they won't be serving the language need then! Nowadays employers at least say "Mandarin speaking people" which is more of a needs base.

I've heard some people saying that even though they say "Mandarin speaking" some employers have rejected non-Chinese Mandarin speakers but who knows for sure if race is the real reason.
Puvan

there is a question i will like to raise. when we talk about the race involved, do we talk about the spoken language or the race? for example, in a traditional chinese restaurant, should they hire chinese people or chinese-speaking people? At the end of this year, i am going to pick up Mandarin for one reason. to prove a friend wrong. My friend says that we are the minority race group and it is difficult to be recognised because of our race. But my argument is always the same- its the language spoken which counts, not the race... So, which is right?
Khartini Khalid

Yeah Edward. Good point :) Migration is already happening anyway. I think knowing more languages can only make our people more culture-savvy.
Edward Ong

I agree to the point that learning an additional language helps the new migrants to integrate with the society. Taking a typical restaurant setting as an analogy: When a Malay / Tamil waiter/waitress wants to take an order from a native china person, it would be better for the waiter/waitress to communicate in Chinese. In a way, it saves time and effort and improves efficiency in the restaurant. For the customer who may not understand English, the act of communicating using his/her home language certainly gives him/her a sense of closeness. It may help to boost sales (or more tips) as the customer knows that the service is beyond his/her expectations.

Next, it helps Singapore to develop from a bilingual society to a multilingual society and give an advantage for her people in doing businesses and traveling overseas. The common barriers of economic development are removed and he locals are able to tap into foreign markets considerably well.

However, this double-edged sword has its negative impacts.

It indirectly leads to the locals emigrating to China, India or Malaysia as they are able to communicate with the people over there. This may be true in times when these countries are doing much better than Singapore. If it really happens, it would be counter productive to the efforts put into social integration. By learning a third language, it only enhances the competency of the people and does not lead to social integration directly.

Communication is required in integration. However, the unity and commitment of being rooted to the country has to there. Otherwise, the efforts of integration would be wasted.

Give a little, take a little….

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