(this post was inspired by a letter in the ST forum page)
in the past weeks, there has been quite a furore and much debate over MM Lee's remarks about the possibility of rejoining Malaysia if they got their act together and starting giving equal opportunities to their minority indian and chinese populations. With all due respect to our dear founding father and engineer of Singapore's success, i think if the MM really meant what he said about rejoining the Malaysian federation, then he must truly be off his rocker.
consider this, after 40 years carving out a booming economy out of a teeny weeny island only 500+ sq km (now almost 700+ sq km thanks to reclamation), developing a society that is strongly rooted in meritocracy and forging a unique national identity that Singaporeans (generally) can be proud of, rejoining the malaysians would in one clean stroke, eradicate everything Singapore stands for as a nation and everything that singapore is as a country and a unique society.
no offence to our dear neighbours in the north, but the fact is Singaporeans loathe Malaysia. the rivalry and contempt for each other runs deep and strong among both sides (helped in part by the yo-yo fortunes of the respective national soccer teams). Malaysians like to think of Singaporeans as a spoilt haughty younger sibling trying to show off his achievements which far surpass that of the 'elder brother'; while singaporeans like malaysia for its cheap shopping, good street food, and pretty much hate everything else, such as being unable to drink from the tap.
in many ways, if i were to put myself in the shoes of a Malaysian, i would be hating singapore as well. when both nations separated in 1965, Malaysia was the superior nation in every single way and it was thought singapore would never make it on its own and would then rejoin the security of the Federation unconditionally and forever be under the thumb of the government in KL. fast forward 40 years, and the situation is so much more different. on almost every count, Singapore has matched or even overtaken Malaysia. we are among the best in the world (read: world, not ASEAN, not Asia, world) in education, healthcare, literacy, judiciary, military, transparency, transportation and of course in our economy and financial well-being. the phenomenal growth of Singapore is something that flabbergasted the world and Malaysia and is a source of pride for all Singaporeans. and how could that legacy be given up by rejoining Malaysia?
Granted, Singaporeans are an arrogant bunch. we go over the causeway and complain about their dirty toilets, turn up our noses at their lack of utilities, decry the lack of security when shopping in the streets, stare in horror at the traffic that never stops at traffic lights for pedestrians, openly insult their government, make jokes about the Proton Wira and Proton Saga, snigger at their boring television networks, decry their 'astronomical' crime rate, gloat about having the best airport, sea port and cleanest government in the world, and wonder in horror how everything can be taught in Malay. while singaporeans should never be arrogant about our achievements, we should always be mindful and proud of them. there's a fine line between pride and arrogance and many times i believe we've overstepped them, to the chagrin of their leaders. still, malaysians, while annoyed at our arrogance, are envious of our achievements and probably wonder how their smaller neighbour down south managed to overtake them in a matter of 2 or 3 decades and is now leaving them biting the dust.
i imagine the reaction of singaporeans if we were to rejoin malaysia would be a ginormous one. Singaporeans are generally politically apathetic, obedient and accepting of a government's unpopular policies. however, one thing we always put our foot down on is malaysia. perhaps the older generation would have fond memories of our brief union with malaysia, or some would enjoy the security of being in a larger nation, but i can say for certain that my generation would react so repulsively against a merger that it would be unprecedented. singapore has proven that it is possible for a small country without natural resources, surrounded by much larger, hostile neighbours, to not only survive, but thrive and blaze the trail for the rest to follow. while many singaporeans like to demean their country's achievements in a mix of modesty and pessimism, the general sentiment is that singaporeans are still proud of all we have achieved in the past 42 years (without malaysia).
for a country that is obsessed with keeping up with the Joneses and constantly looks toward the future, for a society that is throbbing with an international, modern beat, a reunion with our neighbour to the north would represent not a step forward, but an enormous step backward. and should never, ever be considered, in this lifetime, or the next. Singaporeans did not put up with years of taunts from Dr. Mahathir only to sheepishly rejoin his country.
Malaysia as a nation has much to be proud of. in 50 years, they have enjoyed considerable development and have taken strides to establish themselves in the world. Malaysian people are probably the nicest and most talented people you can meet. sadly, the warped policies of their leaders have hampered the country's progress. this opinion is not solely my own, many others agree that the controversial bumiputera policy has hurt rather than helped malaysia. i have many malaysian friends, and the two countries will always maintain an intertwined relationship. one cannot do without the other. however, ever since the British left Malaya to its own devices and designated Singapore as a crown colony, the two were destined to go their separate ways and forge their own distinct destinies.
Never, ever should Singapore rejoin Malaysia. Malaysians won't want it, Singaporeans will vehemently oppose it, if singapore were to rejoin malaysia, malaysia's GDP will double, and perhaps the only good feeling that will transpire is in the KL government level, where politicians will rub their hands in glee at having a thriving city-state rejoin them.
