https://sg.news.yahoo.com/letter-quitter-043035308.html

The above article shares one’s thoughts and views of immigrating overseas from a busy “no work-life balance” country of Singapore to a cosmopolitan city like Melbourne. I find myself in a similar pair of shoes while reading the article, not because of moving from the same country and integrating to the same city, but the same set of questions I ask myself every now then since I moved over from Singapore.

The segment that really struck a chord in me was “Born in Singapore or born Singaporean?”. I found myself relating to that situation a lot, however, in a slightly different situation. I was born in Singapore, but my parents are both Malaysian citizens, thus making me a Malaysian by birth. I carry a Malaysian passport and hold a Singapore PR status. It is mandatory for second generation PRs to serve National Service for 2 years. Me being no exception, served with the Singapore Armed Forces, and it was only a matter of time before I take up the Singapore citizenship after my service. I thought it would be a simple signing of papers since I was actually born in Singapore and just renounce my Malaysian citizenship. WRONG! Apparently it wasn’t so simple, I had to be employed in a full time job and contributing to the economy and stuff like that which I found pretty off putting.

Having done my time in National Service and protecting the nation in the military, I would assume that would have been my ticket to earning a Singapore citizenship, together with the fact that I was actually born in Singapore. However, that was not sufficient enough. The only route for me would be completing my studies in Melbourne then moving back to work before I can even come close to getting my citizenship. But then again, what if I actually decide to stay in Melbourne to work instead? Does that mean Singapore would run the risk of losing a potential citizen?

The Straits Times, a daily newspaper in Singapore, reported that the government aims to hit a 6.9 million population by 2030. Which makes me wonder, in such a dense and cramped society, when is it ever enough? I am in no place to make that judgement or critic on the decisions made by my country’s leader, but solely based on my own observation, the Singapore that I knew and grew up in 10 years ago, compared to the Singapore that it has become is totally different. We have more people from all over the world immigrating over and local Singaporeans moving abroad. It might have just come to a point where it seems somewhere along the line, Singapore is just a stepping stone to gaining citizenship to other first world countries in the region.

It’s never easy taking the leap of faith leaving the comforts of home. My forefathers moved from China during the Chinese Communist revolution to escape starvation and the whole crisis that was taking place during that period. My grandfather made the decision to move to Malaya, now known as Malaysia, and planted his humble roots from there. My dad too made the choice to move away from Malaysia to across the border into Singapore to start a new career and life with his family where my brother and I spent most of our early stages of life growing up. And now I have taken the step to leave Singapore and embark on a new life in Melbourne. Although it may not be a lifelong decision, it is still quite a major one considering having to spend 2 and a half years of my life here on a university degree. Over a conversation I had with my dad during my last few days in Singapore, I shared how I was starting to feel homesick even before I have even boarded the plane to Melbourne. And his advice was, “Just don’t look back.”. It was quite abstract yet innocent at first, but can’t say I didn’t look back, as I had to at certain point to see how far I’ve come. However, it is still an advice that I hold strongly, and would not let go of it anytime soon.

“However, the influx of new PRs and citizens in the early to late 2000s has increasingly put the idea of being Singaporean to the test. Issues like NS only for citizens and second-generation PRs, a lack of assimilation among newcomers, and stories of PRs who moved on to greener pastures after using our country as a springboard – all these have left some Singaporeans asking: What am I defending?” A very strong statement from the writer of the article that rings a bell in me. Am I going to stay in Melbourne to take on a new life, or return home? An internal conflict is always ongoing, but for now, I’ll generally focus my attention on just earning that bachelor’s degree with my name on it.