The borrowed success of Singapore
I later decided to return to my country. Many have asked me why I wanted to come back to Malaysia, which is filthy, messy, hard to make a good living, and plagued with partial government policies.
By Chen Jiaqi (reader)/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily
I met up with some old classmates several times since my university graduation, and discovered that over half of my Form V classmates had gone to study, work, or even settle down in Singapore.
I knew many of the top talents from my school ended up in Singapore, but I was not aware that the number could be so big.
Those secondary school classmates of mine were among the most brilliant in school, and Singapore was more than happy to bring these independent Chinese secondary school students there so that they could get the opportunity to advance their ambitions.
Still on my internship at a government hospital here, I had a mixed bag of feelings, and to my own disbelief, I joined their rank several years later.
Only a few days in Singapore, I was told by my superior that there were plenty of my compatriots around me.
Indeed, beginning with my colleagues and looking upward level by level, I found that many of my highest level superiors were Malaysians.
They were doing their work conscientiously and had contributed significantly towards the success of the tiny city-state.
I suddenly had that feeling of pride that Singapore owed much of its success to the contributions made by Malaysian citizens.
I was told by colleagues that Malaysian talents were the most sought after in Singapore.
Due to cultural and geographical proximity, we are actually that group of foreigners who can best assimilate themselves into the Singapore society.
This can’t be more true, as the two countries were forced apart by nothing but politics!
Due to the nature of my job, I came to know many patients. Singapore is a multicultural, more so a multinational country. To these migrant workers, fundamental communication is never a problem: Chinese Malaysians are well versed in three languages plus an array of Chinese dialects.
Not all Singaporean doctors have this linguistic gift! Due to their educational system, the younger generation of Singaporeans are proficient in English, mediocre only in Chinese. For Malay language, they are largely outsiders; as for Chinese dialects, that will have to depend on whether their gandpas and grannies are still around.
As such, young Singaporean doctors face communciation problems when they encounter aged patients, resorting to hand language at times just to get their messages across.
To Singapore, Malaysian talents are what they are most avid to tout for.
Singapore’s meritocratic system knows no skin colours. But if it does, I could have bagged in more perks.
I later decided to return to my country. Many have asked me why I wanted to come back to Malaysia, which is filthy, messy, hard to make a good living, and plagued with partial government policies.
Why did I make such an unnatural decision? Perhaps the answer would be revealed in time to come, I was thinking.
The more successful Singapore has become, the more I feel proud of my Malaysian compatriots who have crossed the Causeway to serve in the Lion City.
But sometimes I would have this perverted idea: You Singaporeans need to be grateful to us, the “Made in Malaysia” yet forsaken lot, for what you have achieved!
