A Land of Colours

On the way back home from work, I was sandwiched between a Malay woman and an Indian woman in the MRT train. The distinctive smell was kinda unbearable for me but gotta tong. Her hair was all long and wavy, although it was tied up in a ponytail it didn’t fail to sweep my body whenever she made a movement. Bopian, I’m the penniless commoner cum public commuter.

Traveling in the MRT everyday reminds me of our multi-racial society. Just like today, getting stuck in between a Malay woman and an Indian woman (instead of a shuai Chinese or Ang Moh guy [sidetrack]) brought to my mind the issue of integrating different races in the same country. All along I thought this is a distinctive character of Singapore society, to have various racial groups living in the same community. But after the recent France riots, all other immigrant groups/ minority/ neglected groups surfaced in publicity and made us realise how they have been sidelined in their residing countries.

During the Europe trip last year, WW and I toured mostly tourist attractions rather than the locally-favoured small towns. Thus, we saw the better fronts presented by these countries – cultured performers, accordion players, painters, smart and courteous waiters and store assistants – and mostly are the European Whites rather than say Turks or Africans. However, when it comes to food, they are known for their “fast-food” – Kebaps. That’s a Turkish dish, and prepared by the Turks in small cafes and eateries. But kebaps are considered much a cheaper food alternative as compared to the European food (bratwurst in Germany; veal, goose meat and bread dumpling in Prague; some meaty stuff in Swiss) and other Chinese food served there. So hmm, those racial communities may be making their mark gradually in these second homes.

Yeah, so we should appreciate the racial diversity here better. I work together with a Malay lady and an Indian in my working team, and even benefit from an improvement in my spoken English. No more Singlish!