CULTURAL EROSION
ISSUE
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What does it mean to be a citizen of a country without being able to identify with a culture that rightfully belongs to him or herself? While Singapore has been widely known as a country of diverse cultures, we face the risk of it being eroded in the modern world today (Ng, 2014). Culture has always been part of what we identify ourselves with and needless to say, it can be seen in our daily interactions with one another, the language we speak and the food we consume. Over the years, however, as Singapore is developing to become an economic hub despite its lack of natural resources, the country has grown to become reliant on foreign resources. Inevitably, Singapore is caught in the wave of globalization, as seen in the rise of foreign owned companies and MNCs in our home ground. This has caused a prevalent issue of cultural erosion.
One of such is the globalization of food, where the preferences for local food have shifted to McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and many more. We are slowly losing the essence of what roots us, from something as simple as eating. Even in recent years, the Geylang Serai Bazaar has also been criticized for its loss in its cultural heritage. Being the common ground for Muslims to express their cultural identity for the upcoming festival, the bazaar has always been a place where traditional clothes, food, carpets and many more are sold. Today, the bazaar is now flooded with increasing number of youths in search of “hipster” street food, replacing authentic Malay dishes, such as the Dendeng (grilled meat). If you carry on walking down the bazaar, you would be blasted by western EDM music instead of Hari Raya tunes coming through the speakers.
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Moreover, with declining birth rates and influx of foreigners, it is no wonder that we are slowly losing the exposure of cultural influences. We slowly become individualists who are focused on self-attained economic and social goals instead of interacting with the community - where we can experience, first-hand, the importance of culture and traditions. We are now modernised such that we neglect the local entities of what Singapore encapsulates - be it food, media, apparel and more. Gone were those days where we would order Kopi O at the coffeehouse located at the neighbourhood, we now opt for Americano at Starbucks.
CAMPAIGN PROMISE
The 21st Century Democrats aim to resurge the culture that Singapore originally has. We believe that through the revival of the cultural grounds, we will better be able to develop a strong Singapore belonging and identity that we can proudly call our own. We, as a party, propose to retain local, home ground brands and talents, instead of being over reliant on foreign MNCs and companies.
While Singapore is dependent on foreign investments such as that of MNCs, we can consider balancing out the foreign-owned companies and local-owned companies. This not only promotes the platform for budding entrepreneurs, it also provides the space for creativity since individuals are able to innovate and produce goods that are closely linked to the Singapore culture. Ultimately, this promotes Singapore to be self-reliant as well in times of crisis, making the country less susceptible to influences from foreign countries’ economic downturn. By pushing for Singapore to be self sufficient, we no longer have to worry about the potential trickling effects neighbouring countries could bring.
Thus, we will review the number of foreign-owned companies in the current market and push for the increase in local-owned companies. It is noteworthy that we are not disregarding the importance of foreign investments but simply, giving recognition and space for local talents to flourish.
