Hard work & desire to do better, not just NS & hors & lors, are the essence of what it means to be a Singaporean

SINGAPORE: In a recent LinkedIn post, Baldev Bhinder, the managing director of law firm BlackStone & Gold, endeavoured to define the essence of being Singaporean. He drew on his own experiences, noting that people have a hard time believing he is from Singapore, though his grandfather arrived on its shores almost a century ago.

His post has since been shared and commented on by a number of  LinkedIn users, many of them agreeing with the points he raised and praising the clarity and sincerity with which he expressed himself.

Mr Bhinder opened his post with the question, “Where are you actually from?”  which he was asked by immigration officers at Bogotá International Airport. He added that he is asked this question regularly, both in Singapore and overseas.

“In the last 20 years of Singapore’s push for immigration, I have and continue to be interrogated on my nationality, particularly in my home country with veiled comments such as — ‘oh, you don’t look Singaporean or speak like one.’”

He wrote about the wariness with which new immigrants and citizens regard each other. He asked if such things as familiarity with Malay and Singlish, having done National Service (NS), or peppering one’s speech with ‘hors’ and ‘lors’, are what make a person more Singaporean.

“What is the essence of a Singapore citizen — what is the benchmark on which we measure a new arrival as compared to my great grandfather when he first arrived close to 100 years ago?” he asked, acknowledging that there are no simple answers to the question. According to him, new citizens are needed in a country for different reasons, though he noted that they are sometimes regarded uncharitably, especially if they’ve not done national service.

“If we put aside lofty and nebulous aspirations of contributing to the country, isn’t the essential quality of a Singaporean like our forefathers before us, the desire to do better?” he asked. He stressed that what “has made this country exceptional — people like my father and grandfather, who just put their heads down and got on with it. They paddled hard for themselves and by extension collectively moved the boat that is Singapore. This country wasn’t built off champagne brunches and convenience. It was built off good old fashioned hard work and that can only come from people wanting to be better.

“I still aspire for a Singapore, where I am no longer asked where I am from but where I am recognised because I’m the one with my sleeves rolled up, ready to be better,” he wrote.

“This in my mind, is what it means to be Singaporean.” /TISG

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