I am not sure if it's the first time I am doing it on this blog but I going to praise prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. During a citizenship ceremony held yesterday, PM Lee pointed out that new citizens must learn to integrate into Singapore's society.
He stressed that new Singaporeans should make an effort to socialize with locals and expand their network via making friends with people of different cultures and customs. It is obvious that he is referring to a certain nationality that tends to discriminate other races.
PM Lee might have had a negative experience with a foreigner-turned-Singaporean who does not wish embrace the Singapore identity which made him mention the above points during his speech.
He even came up with the example of the word "curry" where a new Indian immigrant was confused when he heard the phrase "chicken curry" as "curry" sounds similar to the Indian word for meat (kari). Although Indians are mentioned here, one can clearly see that he is indirectly talking about another nationality.
But the third prime minister of Singapore still contradicted himself, or rather his father, a little when he said that it would be even better if new citizens were able to converse in Singlish. Now, is the government telling us to speak good English and asking foreigners to learn Singlish?
He stressed that new Singaporeans should make an effort to socialize with locals and expand their network via making friends with people of different cultures and customs. It is obvious that he is referring to a certain nationality that tends to discriminate other races.
PM Lee might have had a negative experience with a foreigner-turned-Singaporean who does not wish embrace the Singapore identity which made him mention the above points during his speech.
He even came up with the example of the word "curry" where a new Indian immigrant was confused when he heard the phrase "chicken curry" as "curry" sounds similar to the Indian word for meat (kari). Although Indians are mentioned here, one can clearly see that he is indirectly talking about another nationality.
But the third prime minister of Singapore still contradicted himself, or rather his father, a little when he said that it would be even better if new citizens were able to converse in Singlish. Now, is the government telling us to speak good English and asking foreigners to learn Singlish?
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