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What Integration?
All this talk by Lee Kuan Yew on Singapore Muslims not integrating has left me more than a little reflective, if not somewhat nostalgic.
It was during last year’s Ramadhan that Kelly Teo, a classmate from our Pre-U Class of 1971, made his twice-yearly trip back home from Holland. A bunch of us would gather and celebrate his ‘homecoming’, and thence make a trip somewhere to Indonesia for a round of golf, good food and drink, and strengthen our bonds stretching back to almost exactly 40 years.
Only this time, his trip came during Ramadhan, and our good host Ronald Tan had insisted that we Muslims break fast at his home. I had hesitated, but decided to ask him anyway: Can I also perform my Maghrib prayers in his house? Otherwise, I would have to do it at the nearest mosque, get caught up in other iftar activities and would not reach his home until several hours later.
“No problem,” he replied. “You’d be blessing our home with your prayers.”
“But I don’t know the direction of the Kaabah,” he added, quite seriously. I laughed, never expecting him know.
“No problem,” I replied. “I’ll bring a compass.”
And so, this little episode came to a happy ending. I performed my salat and my iftar (breaking the fast) in a non-Muslim home with the owner’s delighted permission,
I can’t remember what we had for dinner (seafood pasta I think) but it was halal. We even had dates from Dubai, courtesy of Abdul Rahman Mohd, another classmate who works there and had also flown in.
Since I performed my Haj in 2003, the gang had stopped asking me if I’d like a scotch just like they were having.
Here is a group of 50-something men and women who have continued to maintain a 40-year relationship forged when we were starry-eyed teens.
It’s a motley group – mainly Chinese, three Malays, three Indians, one Sikh. And the group continues to grow as FaceBook enables us to discover each other.
But we all shed a tear recently over the death of Gurtek Singh, who left us in a motor accident in Amritsar. He was VP for Finance in SATS based in Mumbai and had gone to the holy city on a pilgrimage with his wife and young children. Mercifully, his wife and kids were bruised but not seriously hurt.
We remember well the warm hospitality given by Gurtek and his gracious wife when we visited them for Deepavali.
All of us dropped everything to attend his funeral, the first Sikh funeral most of us had attended.
So, what is this talk of integration that LKY is talking about?
That I could perform salat and iftar in a non-Muslim home; that we could shed a tear for a fallen comrade of another race and religion, are profound living testimonies that no government propaganda could ever match or deny.
Contrary to what LKY thinks, I don’t have to drink beer (or scotch) or partake of non-halal food to be part of the group, to integrate.
In 40 years, we never talked about integration or racial/religious harmony. It came naturally for us. I never had to become ‘less strict in my religious observances’ to be part of the group, because my classmates understood what I needed to do as a Muslim.
In those years, Ang Kok Leong has become more a brother to me than a friend. We used to smuggle food into the coffee house next to the old Hollywood cinema in Tanjong Katong because we couldn’t afford what our richer classmates were consuming. The class differences never prevented us from being part of the group.
I remember well how nervously I walked into the notorious Kampong Eunos to visit Kok Leong during Chinese New Year, and the warm hospitality his father and the rest of the family extended to me.
When Kok Leong’s father passed away, I joined other mourners in the chartered bus that took us to the crematorium. I even remembered the vegetarian lunch that followed.
So, spare me this diatribe of Muslims not integrating. We’ve been doing it since God knows when.
The only people on both sides of the exchange (LKY included) are those with an axe to grind.
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I'm a Chinese-Singaporean who was most annoyed and offended by former MM's comments. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to see your post until recently, when somebody directed it to me on Facebook. It may be many months too late, but I thought I should express a word of gratitude for your very moving words - I shed more than a few tears reading it. Thank you once again.
Dear fellow Singaporeans,
First of all – you cannot expect homogeneity in cultural practices. To be multiracial is to expect – and respect – cultural differences. By and large, the Malays of South East Asia and Singapore in particular – are an Islamically conservative lot. Historically that was why Communism did not take root among the Malay masses – because Communism is atheistic in nature – and thus lies contradictory to Islam.
In view of this special role of Islam in the Malay community, as well as to respect the culture of the other communities – the founding fathers of Indonesia and Malaysia wisely chose Unity In Diversity as their maxim.
The correct way to go for Singapore – is to REJECT Singaporean Singapore and Malaysian Malaysia – only to replace them by UNITY INDIVERSITY so as to be in consonance with the rest of ASEAN.
Dear Singaporeans – the way forward does NOT lie in demanding the Malays to dilute Islam – which they won’t anyway – BUT the way forward for Singapore is to respect and accept DIVERSITY.
The PAP has always demanded conformity and homogeneity. Just look at their elitist eugenics programs like the SAP, Graduate Mothers, Gifted Education etc.
But has this worked ? Of course not ! In the absence of a level playing field, meritocracy ends up becoming a plutocracy. In the PAP’s meritocracy – it is the rich and privileged that is favoured. Today – Singaporeans debate about social mobility. Why ? Because under the PAP’s brand of meritocracy – the rich are favoured since they can afford all the extras needed to give their children a boost in an elitist education system. The rich can afford expensive tuition, enrichment programs and so on. But the poor cannot. So where is social justice ?
Dear Singaporeans, the way forward for Singapore lies in a RACE-BLIND, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR THE LOWER-INCOME GROUP.
We need to help ALL poor Singaporeans irrespective of race or religion.
Finally – let me say it once again – forget about trying to achieve cultural homogeneity because thats NOT possible. Instead, Singapore should learn to accept UNITY IN DIVERSITY.
Best Regards
Dr Syed Alwi
I read with tears that your experience.
To hear that Kuan Yew dismissing real integration as utter rubbish that the pleadge is an aspiration is an insult to the attempts of many sincere men to disregard his race in his dealings.
If we accept his opinion, then the Malaysian model would be correct where everyone takes care of his own race so avoid the labelling of sincerity.
Kudos to Pak Rahman, and I understand fully what you are talking about.
In similar fashion, I still cant fathom why there's a need for integration campaign such as 1-Malaysia and so forth, because like you said, integration came very naturally. Only a racist would be talking about how the ppl are not integrating and so forth.
If one cannot accept integration, cooperation among all the races for mutual benefits, would be enough.... cooperation in all aspects of life in a win-win situation.