Stay to fight or take flight?

Posted by SEAH CHIANG NEE under Features on 27 August 2002

Encountering its first real crisis, Singapore's new generation–well educated, serious and self-centred–is tearing a little at the seams. At least that is what the leaders are fretting about as the state celebrated its 37th National Day on August 9.

With the country facing economic hardship and terrorist bombing threats, how many will go soft and leave it for "greener" and "less dangerous" places?

The question was raised by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in his National Day speech .

When the chips were down, Goh asked, would they stay to fight for the nation or take flight at the first sign of trouble. "Are you a quitter or a stayer?"

Emigration has, of course, been around for a long time. After all, it is a migrant society. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew had tearfully touched on the subject 15 years ago.

Since then the economy has become more global. That means more Singaporeans have gone abroad for study, work or business – so the pull is rising.

Aggravating it are two social factors.

The first is a more self-centred generation with – it is feared – less personal bond to the nation compared to their parents. Secondly, more highly-trained women are marrying foreigners who work here and will likely follow their husbands home.

The signs are everywhere. Several letters from Singaporeans had declared they would "run at the drop of a hat" or felt "no sense of belonging here".

Earlier, a number of Singapore's top government scholars sent to the United States on public funds had refused to serve their bonds upon graduation, preferring to remain and work abroad.

Singaporean attitudes towards emigration have also been changing.

Twenty years ago when people wanted to leave to settle abroad, they would do so quietly without advertising the fact.

A journalist colleague of 20 years packed up his family and left for Sydney. Another was an old friend, an executive at the Singapore port authority who left for Vancouver in the 70s.

Both went without fanfare. Only very close relatives were told about their move a few days before they left.

Leaving the nation in those days, when Singapore was a lot poorer, was not something you wanted the world to know.

There was a sense of embarrassment, even shame. Today, it is – in many cases – an open boast.

As a migrant society, people come and go. It has been like this since the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles.

Singapore is a small vulnerable society whose opportunities are limited compared to the United States, Canada and Australia, which are attracting foreigners who can contribute to their economies.

There's a case to argue that Singapore, because of its small size and short history, is more vulnerable to the outflow than larger, older nations like China, India or the Philippines.

For Singapore, the loss is not only an economic cost but damaging to its long-term process of nation-building.

Some, however, say the government is over-worrying, fretting about a potential rather than an immediate dilemma.

"The government just wants to highlight this point and get the nation to think about it before the situation gets worse," said a social worker. "It's not a bad thing, though."

Depending on how you look at it, the statistics are not as worrying. Last year, 1464 Singaporeans left for Australia, the most popular destination – a large increase from 966 in 2000.

From 1997, 4590 Singaporeans have become Australians. In 1997 only 460 took up American citizenship but by 2000 it had climbed to 671.

For every one person leaving, Singapore takes in three – most of them equally skilled.

But the government thinks the outward flow will worsen. Not long ago, a media survey on youths aged between 15 and 19 revealed that three in 10 are thinking of emigrating.

A separate university poll also showed that a quarter of young people would rather be Caucasian or Japanese. All these show a lack of a sense of belonging or national pride.

Some 10,000 Singaporeans are working and living in Hong Kong and China, 6000 in the United States and more in Britain. Another 29,000 are living and working in Australia.

"The Singaporean diaspora may well be over 100,000," Goh once said. If they did not return, Singapore faced a bleak future, he said.

Feelings of older citizens towards Singaporeans who abandon their birthright to take up citizenship in another country has not changed: they view such people as "ungrateful."

After digesting all the benefits of Singapore citizenship – including subsidies of education and housing – they cash them at market value, collect their CPF and leave.

The prime minister's challenge to his citizens to declare if they are "stayers or quitters" has provoked a heated debate.

As expected (as it would in most countries), it brought forth patriotic commitment from the majority who say there is only one answer. A Straits Times poll of almost 100 Singaporeans found older established professionals generally more vocal in declaring their ties to the nation.

Tour leader Zubaida Mohammad Salleh, 52, said : "Why should I run elsewhere? I'm a Singaporean. My family are all here and although I've travelled to many places, I've never thought of living elsewhere."

Undergraduate Mervyn Sek, 23, said: "Quitting has never crossed my mind. This is home, where you grew up, where you establish your first friendships, your first relationships."

But for many others, the issue was not so clear-cut, the paper found out. They said they would leave for better jobs and a less pressured lifestyle.

Some criticised Goh for using the word "quitter."

Law undergraduate Keith Ong, 21, was quoted by the paper as saying: "If the opportunity was there, I'd be a sort of quitter, I suppose. It's a natural instinct – you want to live your life to the fullest and lead it somewhere else."

Emigration is, of course, not exactly the same everywhere. Compare Japan with South Korea.

Since 1945, the number of Japanese settling abroad (mostly in Brazil and the United States) numbered about 800,000 (out of 127 million).

In comparison, South Korea (population 53 million), ravaged by World War II and the Korean War, has about 8.4 million of its people living overseas.

If it has to happen, Singapore would rather be a Japan.


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