What is the Singaporean identity?

This question gets asked occasionally throughout the year during bouts of soul-searching, but more so every August as National Day rolls by.

The follow-up questions would then be: "Why do we need one?", as well as, "Do we even have one?"

This three-minute video is a summary of the rest of the article's talking points:

Lack of identity is problematic

While agreeing on what is the Singaporean identity is difficult as it is still not definitive, it is easier to acknowledge the implications of an absence of an identity.

It makes preserving what is considered valuable a lot more difficult, because there is a lack of a focus of who we are as a collective and the agreed upon priorities.

Identity is dynamic, not static

Although identity is a nebulous concept, the good news is that Singaporeans possess many recognisable traits that have emerged after more than five decades of nationhood.

And a lot of these traits are reconcilable with other traits.

The bad news is that discussions about a national identity has taken a back seat, even though it was something talked up a lot more after Singapore became a sovereign nation in 1965.

A lot of these traits are consequences of having circumstances foisted upon us, while others are a response to the state of affairs the country faces at any given time.

For example, being an immigrant society has made Singapore multiracial, multi-religious and multicultural. But maintaining that diversity is a matter of top-down policy.

Being kiasu, on the other hand, is an inclination that has been developed as a result of a scarcity of resources and the drive to excel at almost all cost, due to a rational and irrational fear of falling behind.

Over the years, this has resulted in Singaporeans being referred to as "efficient", "organised" and even "cosmopolitan", as economic development is a fact of life here.

Rather than being static, identity is dynamic and prone to addition of traits over time, rather than subtraction -- a point raised by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong previously.

Needless to say, a lot of Singaporean traits are defined according to the country's achievement.

But if constituent parts of identity can be categorised, some functional traits that speak to the people's utility can be identified, while emergent characteristics and idiosyncrasies can also be isolated.

Functional traits

Functional traits of the Singaporean identity emphasises the fate of the country being intertwined with the fate of its people.

Singaporeans, as the country's vital resource, are reminded that hard work pays off, or else, there is no more Singapore, and by extension, no more Singaporeans.

For example, in May 2018, Second Minister of Law, Education and Finance, Indranee Rajah, said Singaporeans have a "strong sense of self-determination", when she spoke about the Singaporean identity as part of the five-day debate on the President's Address.

This is about the fulfillment of the economic imperative of the people as the country continues to develop.

Increasingly, the Singaporean identity is talked about in relation to globalisation and the ascendance of other bigger countries that might become more intimidating or attractive because of their value propositions as rising powers.

The question of allegiance to a foreign country via an ethnic connection, will not even be an issue if the Singaporean identity is pronounced and well-articulated -- to the extent other countries' characteristics might be admirable, but ultimately, alien and unattractive, and bears little relation to us.

Even though Singaporeans do not consciously go about their daily lives trying to narrow the national income gap or go on the lookout for greener pastures to leave for, Singaporeans are reminded that equality is a key aspect of who we are, despite economic disparity and inequality threatening to develop into a major fault line.

This reconciling of a more egalitarian society with hard economic logic, might be the next step forward in our burgeoning national identity.

Emergent traits

Emergent traits that are not achievement-oriented, but about growing one's horizontal identity, are also gaining currency.

One example of an emergent identity would be the unique Singaporean ethnicity, such as Chineseness or Malayness.

This was a point that was brought up by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in May 2017.

He said that Singaporeans "are confident of our own Singaporean cultures and identities, even as we are conscious that we are ethnic Chinese, Malays, Indians or Eurasians".

He added: "Thus the Chinese Singaporean is proud of his Chinese culture -- but also increasingly conscious that his 'Chineseness' is different from the Chineseness of the Malaysian and Indonesian Chinese, or the Chineseness of the people in China or Hong Kong or Taiwan."

Increasingly, Singaporeans are less inclined to think of themselves according to ethnicity, but more so their nationality as Singaporean.

This was shown in a representative sample survey of 2,000 Singaporeans made public in 2017.

The same survey also found that the ability to speak English among third and fourth generation Singaporeans is becoming more important these days to be seen as a Singaporean, regardless whether one is a Chinese, Malay, Indian or Eurasian.

A common language spoken among first-generation immigrants in Singapore was practically unheard of.

Quirks and idiosyncrasies

As Singapore is small, certain practices that evolve locally catch on quickly without outside influence.

For example, the practice of calling total strangers "Auntie" or "Uncle", which is an extension of familial ties, is seen as a very normal Singaporean thing to do.

Likewise, the habit of reserving tables at public hawker centres is also a local invention.

Such actions, together with the development and use of an efficient creole Singlish language, serve to embellish who Singaporeans are and aids in affinity, making them instantly recognisable to one another.

Tensions of establishing identity

The obvious tensions of trying to articulate clearly the Singaporean identity is multi-fold.

Any attempt to bring a swift resolution to this identity debate would be mocked as highly premature, and even, artificial.

This is in light of the fact that Singapore is barely five decades old, while the creation of an authentic identity as a phenomenon would require extended periods of many more years to evolve and emerge.

This is also to bear in mind that manufactured identity is fraught with problems that diktats bring.

Even if the current pervasive sentiment is to help uplift the less well-off in Singapore society, any attempt at egalitarianism cannot come at the expense of sacred cow values such as meritocracy and social mobility for the masses through deservedness and hard work.

But this does not mean Singaporeans cannot be clued in as to the direction they can head in.

A study by the National University of Singapore in 2018 on immigrants’ acculturation experiences found that permanent residents and new citizens of Singapore felt Singaporeans are competitive and results-oriented.

The implication is that Singaporeans, as compared to Malaysians, Indonesians and Filipinos, are less warm as a people.

Being cognisant of this fact is already a good enough proponent for change, as being warmer on a personal level would definitely not require a top-down approach, but a reliance on the agency of individuals.

What should the Singaporean identity move away from?

A shift to refocus our identity could very well raise the consciousness of Singaporeans to be more people-oriented to exude warmth, and move away from being about our achievements.

Over time, there has been talk to unlink the Singaporean identity from the country's achievements.

Singapore is not just about developing Changi Airport into an internationally-renowned venue or about winning Olympic medals.

These are either top-down plans laid out by the government or long shot attempts at globally-recognised feats that regular citizens have very little say over.

Challenges remain the same

A perennial fundamental challenge in crystallising a Singaporean essence is the openness of our country's borders and the expanding population via immigration rather than by native births alone.

Singapore is growing by about 70,000 people a year, in a country of 5.6 million people, with a replacement rate via births that is unsustainable.

The import of new peoples to increase Singapore's 3.9 million citizens and permanent residents, inevitably exposes the country's core to disparate values.

But this should not be viewed as a threat.

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As Singapore is very open to the positive and negative cultural vibrations from all around the world, Singaporeans are prone to swinging either way, embracing fashionable values or reacting to these forces by focusing on what we stand for.

A more immediate concern that can blindside anyone in this debate would probably be the idea of a global citizenry that transcends national borders -- a concept that has since taken root and popularised.

This is where being Singaporean is increasingly a shorthand to being a globalist who possesses a more malleable identity than others.

"National Identity" is a conscious aspect of being Singaporean that is being cultivated under the purview of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.

How can it be complemented with a bottom-up, hands-off undertaking, is a work-in-progress.

Or the perennial one.