Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Ang Moh
Yes, it’s finally out. The inconvenient truth about foreigners here in Singapore. It has been awhile before this topic has been brought up in Singapore. LONG, LONG AGO, say 2001? That was the time of major changes here in Singapore. I just bought a book (YAY!) yup. It is Neil Humphreys’ Scribbles from a small island. Apart from the OCCASIONAL expletive, it is a very good book, depicting Singapore from a Caucasian point of view. Thus the birth of this blog post. I decided to revise the stereotype that all Caucasians in Singapore has fat wallets. This is a known fact that at that time, Caucasians who come to Singapore has an automatic social pedestal to stand on. It is quite sad actually, that Caucasians are automatically associated with some rich CEO of a big company.It is quite ironic, as in every facet of Singaporean society, there is a growing realization that white skin does not automatically equate to a greater talent of bank balance. You would have to be living in a cave all this time if you still think that this is the case. However, there is still a wide gap between the foreigners and us. There is actually no difference. Just because they are of a different skin colour and speak differently, does that mean we should have a clear divide between us? All men are created equal, and racism will not be allowed. Take Michael Fay for example. He thought that since he is Caucasian, he can get away with crime here in Singapore.
Singapore's The Straits Times newspaper in 1993 ran stories about car vandalism in Singapore. Unknown individuals, thought at first to be residents of the HDB flats in which 85% of the local population lives, damaged their neighbours' cars with hot tar, paint remover, and hatchets. Taxi drivers complained that their tires were slashed. In the city center and the condos, cars were found with deep scratches and dents. Fay pleaded guilty to vandalizing the cars in addition to stealing road signs, as he was advised that such a plea would preclude caning. Fay later maintained that his confession was false; that he never vandalized any cars and that the only crime he committed was stealing signs. Under the 1966 Singapore Vandalism Act, originally passed to curb the spread of political graffiti in Singapore and which specifically covered vandalism of government property, he was sentenced on March 3, 1994 to four months in jail, a fine of 3,500 Singapore dollars (US$2,214 at the time), and six strokes of the cane.
Yes, this is what we need! Equal treatment for all!
5:28 AM By Eugene
