The secret Singaporean teleportation device.

Singapore has invented teleportation. Yes, that is right. The fabled means by which a person is transported, whole and intact from one place to another, unharmed, in many a science fiction film, appears to be operating well and truly, in Singapore. I say this for one very clear reason: where has Singapore gone?

If you are in Singapore, today, I invite you to look around you. What language are people speaking? Where are they from? How do they think? What do their passports say? Yes, that is right: they are speaking Chinese and they are from China.

Though I entered Singapore, some years ago, I have been transported, without my will or permission to China. I have been teleported...and so, too, has everyone else who chose to live, or was born, in what they thought was Singapore.

Let us look at the evidence. On public transport, recently, I have begun to notice advertisements written ENTIRELY in CHINESE. Now, that struck me as especially telling. You see advertisers only ever tell the truth in one way: by what they do. If they try to write to you in Chinese, it means, without question, that most of the people they are trying to reach are, in fact, Chinese speakers. That advertisers would do this, at all, in a country that, until recently, had English as its first language, means that these people they are trying to reach, are NOT comfortable in English, at all. Therefore, they cannot be native born Singaporeans, who learn English at school. No, the advertisers are telling us that a large chunk of their audience are now exclusive Chinese speakers. That can only mean one thing: the vast hordes of Chinese immigrants to Singapore, are now so numerous, that they constitute a major audience for advertisers.

Listen, too, as I have, to the complaints of Chinese PRC students who come to Singapore to learn English. What they say is very funny, really. Many a time, they have complained to me that they thought Singapore was an English speaking country - so they chose to come here to learn English - but what they find, instead, is that EVERYONE seems to be speaking in Chinese. They hear Chinese everywhere. On the minority of occasions when they hear English, it is, they complain, usually Singlish - which, even they recognize, is a poor form of English that is not what they should be learning, if they plan an international career (which they tend to). Thus, they feel cheated. They were led to believe that Singapore would be a good place to learn English - but it turns out to be pretty much just like another province of China.

The speed of this change is astonishing. The whole character of Singapore has changed, since I first came here, in 1999. It has become much more Chinese - in every way that it could become more Chinese. Such is the speed of the change that it is little exaggeration to refer to it as "teleportation". It is as if one fell asleep in Singapore and awoke in Shanghai.

Although I am an outsider, to Singapore, I am concerned to witness this change for it means that Singapore's minorities are becoming ever more marginalized within their own nation. Think what this means for Malays and Indians, Eurasians and "Others", who grew up in Singapore, being told it was a racially integrated, multiracial state in which all could live happily together and each race, culture and religion were equally respected. This is what they were told and led to believe. Yet, what do we see happening now? There is a flood of immigrants of such huge proportions that it is distorting that balance in one racial direction. Singapore is drifting away from its multiracial roots - and becoming a monoracial Chinese state. Even if this is not publicly admitted, the ADVERTISERS know this. They would not be crafting adverts especially for a Chinese audience ONLY, were it not for two circumstances: there must be present large numbers of people who do not speak English, but who do speak Chinese and THE OTHER RACES ARE BECOMING NUMERICALLY UNIMPORTANT.

Quite simply, advertisers would not advertise in Chinese, unless and only if there were more Chinese speakers, than English speakers. It must be so, that more people in Singapore understand Chinese, now, than understand English - otherwise it would not make good sense to create Chinese only adverts. It is easy to see how this could be so. Singaporean Chinese people generally understand both English and Chinese. PRC immigrants, however, almost always have atrocious English, but speak Mandarin. Thus, some advertisers have chosen to pitch their ads in Chinese - to cater for the influx of Chinese immigrants, whilst still being accessible to Singapore's native Chinese community. However, I personally find it rather galling that they are ignoring those who speak English, Tamil and Malay but not Chinese.

One set of ads I saw, by SMRT, addressed the issue by having an English version and a Chinese version - and that is fair enough. However, I have yet to encounter an English version of the other Chinese ad, I saw, recently.

This emphasis on Chinese is worrying. You see Chinese is the language of a particular race. The way the school system is set up in Singapore, children get to learn their mother tongue - or racially specific tongue. Thus, generally speaking, non-Chinese Singaporeans will have little or no Chinese language proficiency. However, English acts as a unifying tongue, in that all learn it. So, they would speak, Chinese and English; Malay and English; Tamil and English. This was fine, because all could relate to each other, in English. Yet, let us look at the future of Singapore. The emphasis is turning towards China, the Chinese and the Chinese language. This is a language not taught to Singapore's minorities. It is, therefore, an exclusive language and a DISUNIFIER, if I can use such a word. The Chinese language is a barrier to understanding between Singapore's races. If Chinese becomes the dominant language of Singapore (which it may very well, looking at recent trends), then Singapore's minorities will be shut out, from this new Singapore. They will be even more marginalized than they already are.

There is strength in diversity - be it racial, linguistic, cultural, or in terms of religion. Yet, that inherent strength does not appear to be appreciated by the powers-that-be, in Singapore. The aim, now, appears to be towards a lack of diversity and a predominance of one race, one language and one culture. To my mind, this is a pity, since much of what made Singapore an interesting place was its historical diversity. Should Singapore's future lack that diversity, I think it will have lost something that it will only miss once it has gone.

What puzzles me about all of this is why Singapore thinks it needs to become more Chinese, just because China is on the rise. Singapore was already three quarters Chinese. Most Singaporeans already speak Chinese. So, what benefit can there be in making it more Chinese than it already is? There are no real advantages to doing so. Already, Singaporeans had enough people conversant in Mandarin, to communicate with and trade with China. Importing legions of immigrants from the poorer provinces of China (because people from the richer provinces won't come), does not, to my mind, improve Singapore's ability to trade, do business, or co-exist with China in any way. Singapore already had the ability to do such trade, commerce, communication and so on, very well.

Making Singapore into a little China is going to weaken it. You see, Singapore's diversity has allowed it to relate well to many parts of the world. Reducing that diversity, will only reduce its ability to deal with the wider world. The more Chinese it becomes, the less Western it will become. This may make Singapore less appealing to Western countries, doing business in Asia. What has been of great benefit to Singapore has been its open-ness to the West. Western businesses have found Singapore very easy to relate to - because of its English and Westernized set-up - and this has brought great wealth to Singapore. Making Singapore more Chinese, might also make it less appealing to the West - since it will become less easy to communicate with. So, just as Singapore might think it is increasing its ability to relate to China, it is also decreasing its ability to relate to the West.

Perhaps Singapore doesn't care. Perhaps Singapore thinks that China is going to be so huge that it doesn't matter about the rest of the world. Well, pause. China is but one source of income. If China runs into real trouble and Singapore has become too dependent on its relationship with it - then Singapore will have a real problem too.

Singapore should not become too Chinese, if it is to remain a country open to the wider world. Its diversity has given it many options, in the past - throwing that diversity away, will only narrow its options as a state.

Another factor that has been forgotten in this headlong rush to become Chinese: the effect on Singapore's existing minorities. No thought has been given to how it must feel for the minorities to become increasingly marginalized. Suddenly, they are surrounded by people who cannot speak either their mother tongue, or English. Suddenly, adverts are popping up, written solely in Chinese. Suddenly, their work places are filled with people who only speak Chinese and who expect them to speak Chinese. Suddenly, Singapore seems less open to them, less welcoming. So, I am left to wonder: how has this upsurge of Chinese PRC immigrants affected the EMIGRATION of Singapore's minorities? Has it increased? Are more Malays and Indians, Eurasians and "Others" leaving because Singapore is rapidly becoming unfamiliar to them, perhaps even closed to them?

I doubt that I will be able to find figures for this emigration - but, if there has been an increase in the departure of minorities, this will only quicken the transformation of Singapore into a monocultural state. Yet, I suppose, that must be the plan, anyway. Were it not the plan, there would be an equal balance in the kind of immigrants brought into Singapore. There would be a healthy influx of Malays, Indians, Eurasians and "Others", so that the racial mix would not change. However, that isn't what is happening. Almost all the new immigrants are PRCs from China. So, though it is not stated, Singapore is clearly planning to become effectively a Chinese nation. Who knows, perhaps one day it will even be a part of China. By that time, of course, no-one would notice any difference, because it would already be a part of China, in essence.

Looking back on all the countries I have visited and lived in, in my life, I realize that the interesting ones had great diversity of people, cultures, races, religions, lifestyles, ideas, hopes, ambitions, loves and dreams. Singapore's history has given it diversity, has given it the potential to be an interesting nation. It would be a shame to see it throw that away, in exchange for a sterile uniformity. Whatever the Chinese and China have to offer Singapore, it would be unwise to forget that other races and other nations have things to offer too. So, I hope for a diverse future for Singapore and hope that the present trend to monoculture, is never fully realized.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The urgings of Singaporeans.

It is very interesting the way a people react, when an outsider holds a mirror up for them to peer into. I do this, daily, for Singapore. However, it is abundantly clear that many Singaporeans don't appreciate being shown their own reflection. They have a typical reaction to it. Each and every poster, from Singapore, who has commented on my tendency to comment on Singapore in a truthful manner tells me one thing: leave.

I find this very interesting. The universal response of Singaporeans to anyone who writes in the least bit critically, or honestly, or openly, is to ask them to leave Singapore. Not one of them has said anything along the lines of "We find your viewpoint eye-opening, however it might be difficult to admit, so please hang around and comment some more...". No. What they always say is: go away.

What I find most interesting about this tendency of theirs to urge the messenger to depart, is that they never actually look at the validity or content of the message itself. They never seem to consider whether, in fact, the point being made is true or not. All they seem to be able to see is that the comment is not a COMPLIMENT...and then they react negatively. In Singapore, there is freedom of speech, as long as you only say wonderful things about the way things are. The moment you actually speak the TRUTH...everyone gets unhappy about it. I find this most amusing. It is land that not only lives in denial, but rejects those who are not in denial along with them.

It is not just on the question of critical comment that Singaporeans have urged us to leave. Only a small fraction of my posts are critical of Singapore (though it is telling to note that the Singaporeans who complain of them, write as if all the posts are critical...even though some are even complimentary). I am also urged to leave whenever I write of educational matters or tell of the lack of solid support we have received for our son's educational needs. Again, the response (this time in very aggressive words) is for us to be asked to leave.

Now, none of this would really matter. Except for one thing. You see, what I find most odd is that not one commenter, whether it be on my blog writings, or my educational writings, or the situation with respect to the education of our children, has ever asked us to stay. Not one Singaporean has ever suggested that we should stay on and enjoy the hospitality of their nation. Not one has extended a verbal welcome online...all of them are urgings to go elsewhere.

This is, I think, the most revealing aspect of the situation. You see, to my mind, the most valuable person in a society or an organization, is the person who is telling you what you don't want to hear. For that person, and perhaps that person ALONE, is the only one who is telling you the truth of things as they are. The ones who always tell you what you want to hear, are lying to you. They are the "yes" men, who will never let you see things as they are. Yet, in Singapore, the truth tellers are asked to leave and the yes men are urged to stay. We have never been in the category of "yes men" and so have never been offered any real kind of welcome, on an ongoing basis.

Singapore is a country that doesn't know who to value. The ones they embrace tend not to be ones who can offer anything new or substantial to the country (just think of all the "top guys", here, who seem not to have a single idea of their own, as far as I can determine); whereas the ones they wish elsewhere are actually the ones who have something novel to offer. No doubt this is largely due to the fact that Singapore is a nation built on conformity: it is a case of the bland leading the bland. Anyone with any real spark of originality or character, or insight, in such a framework, is really, really unwelcome.

Some Singaporeans wish we would leave, because we challenge the way things are, in some ways. I tend to express my thoughts on the place - and we are trying to do something non-standard in the way of educating our children. These two characteristics do not endear us to those who like their city to be a place without change; a place in which no one challenges the way things are, in any way, at any time.

The funny thing is that what I am doing is very mild. I am doing nothing more than trying to meet the educational needs of my children - and speaking my mind on what I observe happening in Singapore. In most societies, these activities would be regarded as SO inoffensive that no-one would mind in the least. In fact, they would probably welcome the stimulus of the conversations that result. In Singapore, however, to comment freely is regarded as unacceptable; to wish to educate one's children in a non-standard way, is also not to be tolerated. The problem, therefore, is not with what I am doing or saying - but with the way Singaporeans are: they just do not have much tolerance for outside views or ways different to their own. There is only one way to do things: the Singaporean way. Anything else, is to be asked "to leave".

This is darkly amusing. You see, if a nation's people are so intolerant of outside perspectives or new ways of trying to do things, then that nation is on a path to extinction. Nowhere that is not open to outsiders, open to change, open to review and feedback, is going to develop in a healthy way, in the modern world. It is going to fail.

So, please, by all means ask all who give Singapore feedback, to leave. Please, by all means, ask all who challenge the educational system, to depart. In the end, it is Singapore that shall lose by its closed-mindedness.

P.S: I am writing this post in response to yet another commenter who has asked me to leave Singapore. He is doing so because I wrote negatively of Singapore's electricians and entertainment industry! A more rational response would be to regulate both industries to eliminate the problems revealed...but no, the Singaporean approach is get rid of the critic, not to address the problem! (You see it is quicker and easier to silence a critic, than to solve a problem. If no-one is left to speak about a problem, Singaporeans think it is equivalent to solving the problem, because no-one is speaking about it anymore. Great stuff.)

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Electricians in Singapore: beware.

A few days ago, we had an experience that calls into question the idea that Singapore is a "squeaky clean" state. We called "Mr. Tay", an electrician. It seemed an innocent enough thing to do...but it was the beginning of nightmare.

We agreed a price with Mr. Tay to have his workers grout a bath and get a couple of lighting fixtures to work (which didn't work even with new bulbs in them). After much negotiation, a price was agreed.

The worker came very late, at 10.30 pm that night. He was a scrawny, mentally very slow, almost dead looking man. Clearly, he was being overworked by his employer. He did the grouting (not well), then said that he would be back the following day to complete the electrics. He asked for payment in cash, for the full amount. He wouldn't give a receipt but said that his boss would issue one. After some hesitation, we paid him, largely because he seemed too stupid to be a trickster.

The following day, three men including the one we had already met, turned up. They "worked"
for an hour on the wiring, ostensibly checking it for problems. They then demanded almost twice the fee already paid, in cash, in addition to the money already paid, before they would continue the work. Now, my wife was alone with them, for I was working. A great argument ensued, with my wife telling them, time and time again, that the full fee had already been paid. She even spoke to Mr. Tay...but he spent all his time lying down the phone, saying that the agreed fee of the day before had only been for the grouting. He wouldn't budge from his demands. When it became clear that my wife was not about to pay them an additional sum of twice the agreed fee of the day before, all three "electricians" left the house. The trouble was that they had left wiring exposed everywhere, in a real mess.

When I came home I argued with Mr. Tay for some half an hour, on the phone. This was no fun, since he spent most of the time shouting. His cries were of: "Your money so big, huh?" on the fact that we had already paid enough. "I have to pay for petrol and my men." and the real classic:"Be a gentleman". I thought this was hilarious since he was the one trying to extort extra money from us, beyond that which had been agreed.

The wiring was in a terrible mess, so we got another electrician down to look at it. He observed the wiring carefully and was clearly very puzzled. He said: "It looks like someone has deliberately messed up the wiring...it will take some time to work out what they have done."

So, during their hour of studying our wiring, what they had actually been doing, was messing it up, so that they could create problems which they then would offer to solve for a large fee. To my mind, that makes Mr. Tay and crowd, criminals.

The new electrician spent a couple of hours fixing it all - and, you know what, after all the trouble we had been through, he didn't even want to be paid. He was doing it out of kindness. We did, however, give him something...though much less than the extortionate fee demanded by Mr. Tay's crooks.

The experience was a real lesson for us. Singapore is not a haven from criminality. Criminals can easily be found in the classified section of newspapers (where we found Mr. Tay). Our conclusion is that one should only engage people, of any kind, in Singapore, by RECOMMENDATION ONLY.

There needs to be more regulation and certification of electricians, plumbers and the like, in Singapore. There needs to be a body that guarantees the skills, quality and integrity of these people. Until then, do this: NEVER book an electrician, a plumber or anyone similar, via an ad in a newspaper or anywhere else. ONLY go by recommendation. That is the only safeguard there is, right now.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)