Ethnic Relations and Nation-Building in Southeast Asia

10. An Outsider Looking In at Chinese Singaporeans

Sharon Siddique 220 ฀฀Chapter฀10 An Outsider Looking In at Chinese Singaporeans SHARON SIDDIQUE The term “outsider” requires some explanation. I have lived in Singapore for almost thirty-five years, but I will always be an outsider to Chinese culture. For one thing, I am illiterate. When I pass banners in Chinatown on the way to my office, I wonder what they are announcing. Not reading Chinese means that Chinese newspapers, banners, street signs, and restaurant menus are undecipherable. Riding the MRT, I cannot eavesdrop on people’s conversations if they are in Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, or Teochew. Although, after thirty-five years, I can at least tell the difference amongst them when they are spoken, and understand a bit of “market talk” (about vegetables and prices). In some ways, it is presumptions to live in a society for thirtyfive years without making an effort to acquire at least a rudimentary knowledge of the language spoken by the majority. But when one thinks about it, this is relatively easy to justify in the Singapore context, where there are four official languages, and English is certainly dominant in public discourse in the bureaucracy, and in interfacing with foreigners and members of other races. Besides, one can also rationalize that very few (I have not met one) Singaporeans are fluent in all four of these Reproduced฀from฀Ethnic Relations and Nation-Building in Southeast Asia: The Case of the Ethnic Chinese, edited฀by฀Leo฀Suryadinata฀(Singapore:฀Institute฀of฀Southeast฀Asian฀Studies,฀2004).฀This฀ version฀was฀obtained฀electronically฀direct฀from฀the฀publisher฀on฀condition฀that฀copyright฀is฀not฀ infringed.฀No฀part฀of฀this฀publication฀may฀be฀reproduced฀without฀the฀prior฀permission฀of฀the฀Institute฀of฀ Southeast฀Asian฀Studies.฀Individual฀articles฀are฀available฀at฀©฀2004฀Institute฀of฀Southeast฀Asian฀Studies,฀Singapore 221 10: An Outsider Looking In at Chinese Singaporeans© 2004 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore official languages (Mandarin, Malay,Tamil, and English). I am fluent in two of them, Malay and English, which in multiracial Singapore gives me a passing score of 50 per cent. Besides, I have many Chinese friends and acquaintances, even a Chinese sister-in-law. We have attended each other’s weddings, nursed each other through pregnancies and baby-minding, celebrated Chinese New Year, and Hari Raya, and Christmas, gone on holidays, and shared coveted information about the best tuition teachers. I have learned to play mah-jong (badly). Of late we are attending the weddings of these children we have raised. Now we are collectively waiting for grandchildren . And, as is the way of life, we are also attending the funerals of our parents. How much of my Chinese friends’ lives have I missed because I do not speak Chinese? Probably a great deal, but not in terms of friendship. So I am an outsider looking in. The fact that my hair is now white, and I have been an observer for more than three decades, qualifies me to record my thoughts. The fact that I am a social scientist propels me to order these observations, and search for an appropriate methodological vehicle to convey them. The noted anthropologist, Clifford Geertz, in his book, The Interpretation of Cultures (New York: Harper Collins, 1973), describes culture as “webs of significance”. He sees the analysis of culture as an interpretive, rather than a normative, process. Geertz proposes a methodology of “thick description” to explain these “webs of significance”. This “thick description” is not necessarily chronological. It is simply a term to acknowledge that culture is a complex, organic process, with myriad interfaces, levers, levels, and lens. From the vantage point of an outsider looking into Chinese Singaporean culture, and employing Geertz’ “thick description”, I propose to comment on what I perceive to be three cultural nodes — Nanyang University; the Speak Mandarin campaign, and Chinese New Year. Cultural Nodes Nanyang University I was most impressed with my first visit to Nanyang University in 1968. Sharon Siddique 222© 2004 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore Jurong was still mostly mangrove, and in those days, it was a long drive from the University of Singapore campus in Bukit Timah — where I was a student in the Malay Studies Department — to the arched entrance of Nantah. The distance was not only physical. I felt I was entering another world. For me, it was China, or what I imagined China to be. The large, solid, impressive buildings, the landscaped grounds, and the...