Are you Singaporean Enough?

Went for a though-provoking talk yesterday on what it means to be Singaporean i.e.what is the Singapore identity. The talk given by the 4 invited guest was interesting, but what really caught my attention was the Q&A session. 2 old ladys, who married foreigners and settled down overseas, were "forced" by Singapore to give up their citizenship against their will. Now they feel like they are outcasted/2nd class citizens although they are Singaporean at heart and yearn to go back to Singapore.

I have never given this idea of citizenship much thought until yesterday, probably because it is something I take for granted. I did not undergo the "traumatic" experience of the old lady whose pink IC was taken away from her at the airport customs without questions and replace with a blue IC. But even that was taken away from her and now she is no longer considered a citizen of Singapore.

The takeaway i got from the talk was that the Singapore identity is very individualistic that is formed from personal upbringing and experiences. Being Singaporean means different things to different people, but it boils down to the emotional attachment that ties one to Singapore. For many foreigners who have studied and worked in Singapore for a period of time, some of them consider Singaporeans at heart i.e. they have been naturalised. But are they really Singaporeans or do we consider them Singaporeans? For me personally, I guess it boils down to how the individual feel and not what the individual has. It does not matter whether the individual holds a Singapore passport/IC or not? For him, it may just be a matter of but he does not feel Singaporean at heart. On the other hand, an individual may be very Singaporean at heart e.g. speak Singlish, like the food and way of life but may not own a Singaporean passport/IC. I would consider the latter a Singaporean.

Perhaps it's good to give this idea some serious thought. With globalization greatly increasing the mobility of humans, what impact (economic, political and social) does it have for a nation like Singapore whose only resources are its people? Is the idea of dual-citizenship feasible or will it dilute the Singapore identity? One can only wonder...