S'poreans of mixed race allowes to double barrel race in IC
-
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 January 2010 1737 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Singapore government is allowing a child of mixed heritage to take on a "double-barrelled" race in official papers.
This comes on top of changes that kicked in on January 2, where Singaporeans can take on either parent's race in the identity card. Before that, a child followed the father's race by default.
This means that now, for example, a child can be recorded as "Chinese-Indian" or "Malay-Chinese".
But the government said that the first race is still considered the main one, for purposes such as administering policies in education or housing.
In Parliament on Tuesday, Hri Kumar, MP, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, asked: "In light of the many different permutations, and now the greater flexibility of choices given to parents, is the selection of race on the identity card going to become an artificial exercise - you pick a race of convenience?"
Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs, said: "In multi-racial Singapore, we still need the race classification. We celebrate our diversity and this is our strength. So unlike other societies, for example in France, to be politically-correct, they do away with recording and reflecting race. But that does not mean that the problems will go away." - CNA/ms -
High time they have this change
-
Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
SINGAPORE : The Singapore government is allowing a child of mixed heritage to take on a "double-barrelled" race in official papers.
This means that now, for example, a child can be recorded as "Chinese-Indian" or "Malay-Chinese".
Now, THAT is bullshit. It wil only lead to a messed up identity crisis. Bravo PAP regime. Bravo. Unbroken record of rubbish social policies. Mess up everything. Leader is a messed up guy, everything also become messed up.
-
So my father is Chinese while my mom is Korean. Can I take on Korean as my race on my identity card? Or must it be Chinese-Korean now?
Moi is currently listed as Chinese(follow father[which I wanna change]).
-
For instance, Dick Lee (an internationally acclaimed Singaporean pop star),
in a newspaper interview in 1993, said he had suffered an identity crisis
for all of his life. "My [Nyonya] grandmother was very British. She drank
tea at four and read Jane Austen. I thought I was a character in an Enid
Blyton novel."
He only realised he was not English when he visited England at age 14.
In my description of the social and cultural history of the Babas, I have
refused to apply a modern, culturally-based definition of the Babas.
While the public focus until the electoral victory of the PAP was clearly
on Baba politics, there began -- after a decade of silence and the
Peranakan Association's intermittent attempts to restore some political
weight -- a public emphasis on Baba culture.
Ironically, this switch of emphasis occurred at a time when aspects of Baba
cultures not only began to disappear or be diluted, but they were also
commercialised and used to promote tourism.
The new cultural definition, which necessitated a deviation from the
equation of "Baba" with "Straits Chinese", is thus, in historical terms,
rather recent.
This assessment is not contradicted by the justifiable assumption that the
synonymous usage of the terms Straits Chinese, Peranakan and Baba in
written records was trailing behind the rapidly changing social reality of
Singapore and was becoming increasingly ambiguous.
In my interpretation, the Babas' newly-published distinctions between
"Straits Chinese" and "Babas" along cultural lines have to be taken
seriously when accounting for the time of their appearance and the more
recent past, but not further back (namely, the period preceding the
Japanese Occupation).According to the new cultural definition, a Baba should also be a Hokkien.
According to some purist Hokkien Babas, who regard themselves as true-blue
Baba jati, non-Hokkien Babas are only Baba chelup.
The expression suggests that the Baba chelup are only superficially dipped
in the paint of Babaness and are at best "nominal" Babas. Apart from the
conceptual history until the late '50s which contradicts such a narrow
conception of a Baba, we have a few examples of prominent non-Hokkien
Babas.
First and foremost, there is Hakka Baba Lee Kuan Yew (who regards himself
as a Baba only technically). Others are the Melaka dondang sayang singer
and serunee player Yeo Kim Swee, who is a Hainanese Baba, and Ambassador to
Germany Walter Woon, who is a Cantonese Baba...http://www.asiawind.com/pub/forum/fhakka/mhonarc/msg01319.html
-
Such unbroken series of incompetent social policies is fishy. It suggests that it is deliberate. It can't be that when it comes to social policies, everything end up rubbish with the PAP. All complete rubbish policies. Something is fishy.
-
Originally posted by Fryderyk HPH:
So my father is Chinese while my mom is Korean. Can I take on Korean as my race on my identity card? Or must it be Chinese-Korean now?
Moi is currently listed as Chinese(follow father[which I wanna change]).
I think if you consider yourself korean and you follow korean culture then you are considered Singaporean korean with chinese blood.
Are you okay with such an identity? Important thing is that you are not confused and have some sort of identity crisis.
Don't be an idiot and go and follow this PAP nonsense about chinese-korean or korean-chinese.
For instance, Dick Lee (an internationally acclaimed Singaporean pop star),
in a newspaper interview in 1993, said he had suffered an identity crisis
for all of his life. "My [Nyonya] grandmother was very British. She drank
tea at four and read Jane Austen. I thought I was a character in an Enid
Blyton novel."
He only realised he was not English when he visited England at age 14. -
out of curiosity... if let's say there's this person who is Indian-Malay (Dad-Indian, Mom-Malay).. and he marries a Eurasian-Chinese lady (who's father is an eurasian, mother a chinese).. so eventually they have a child..
based on this "double barrelled" race... which race will the child follow?
-
Originally posted by wh|te_@ng3|:oops double post.
-
out of curiosity... if let's say there's this person who is Indian-Malay (Dad-Indian, Mom-Malay).. and he marries a Eurasian-Chinese lady (who's father who is eurasian, mother a chinese).. so eventually they have a child..
based on this "double barrelled" race... which race will the child follow?
In the end there can be only ONE identity. My view is that when it comes to mix marriages, the culture that you are brought up in, the one you are closer to should be the one for you. That means that you identify yourself with that cultural group.
One problem with mix marriages is that it causes identity crisis.
Since children are usually raised by the mother, the children is more exposed to the mother side's cultural influence. But on the IC, the kid follows the father's side. So there is confusion.
-
People like Lee Kuan Yew had already made his choice to be on the chinese side.
He was raised as a peranakan but since there will be political problems if he protrays himself as peranakan, he shamelessly switched his identity to hakka chinese and suppressed the peranakan heritage.
Dropped his Harry Lee and became hakka chinese Lee Kuan Yew to come and rule over majority dialect chinese.
Nothing but a swindle from that Lee Kuan Yew.
First and foremost, there is Hakka Baba Lee Kuan Yew (who regards himself
as a Baba only technically). Others are the Melaka dondang sayang singer
and serunee player Yeo Kim Swee, who is a Hainanese Baba, and Ambassador to
Germany Walter Woon, who is a Cantonese Baba... -
Why not they print " *Chinese/Malay "
* please delete one.
-
Originally posted by caleb_chiang:
Why not they print " *Chinese/Malay "
* please delete one.
I second
-
so next time i go put Chinese/Chinese
-
Originally posted by ztreyier:
I think if you consider yourself korean and you follow korean culture then you are considered Singaporean korean with chinese blood.
Are you okay with such an identity? Important thing is that you are not confused and have some sort of identity crisis.
Don't be an idiot and go and follow this PAP nonsense about chinese-korean or korean-chinese.
For instance, Dick Lee (an internationally acclaimed Singaporean pop star),
in a newspaper interview in 1993, said he had suffered an identity crisis
for all of his life. "My [Nyonya] grandmother was very British. She drank
tea at four and read Jane Austen. I thought I was a character in an Enid
Blyton novel."
He only realised he was not English when he visited England at age 14.I'd rather be considered a Korean than a Chinese on my IC...
Closer to their culture, than to Chinese culture.
-
Originally posted by Fryderyk HPH:
Closer to their culture, than to Chinese culture.
Then there's no problem. You are korean.
-
wow now can take 2 races.
So cool.
Ok im going to change my race from "chinese" to "chinese-indian".
-
Load of rubbish from PAP regime. They must be voted out. All sorts of nonsense.
-
I wonder if I can apply to have the race on my IC changed to "Human/Earthling".
-
Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
I wonder if I can apply to have the race on my IC changed to "Human/Earthling".
-
I don't get it, y are we still identifying ourselves via our race when everyone born in Singapore IS Singaporean?
Even if they wanted to go ahead with this policy, i believe simply stating "Mixed" on the IC wld be good enough instead of all the confusion..
-
Originally posted by ztreyier:
Then there's no problem. You are korean.
Got problem. Singapore only has Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Others for administrative purposes recorded in the IC if I am not wrong.
Changing into Chinese-Korean will only end up being recorded as "Chinese-Others".
Am I right? Correct me if I am wrong. -
Originally posted by In_Between_Days:
I don't get it, y are we still identifying ourselves via our race when everyone born in Singapore IS Singaporean?
Even if they wanted to go ahead with this policy, i believe simply stating "Mixed" on the IC wld be good enough instead of all the confusion..
Mixed doesnt sound nice.
I rather have one race, two races clearly stated, rather than Mixed. -
Originally posted by Junyang700:
Got problem. Singapore only has Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Others for administrative purposes recorded in the IC if I am not wrong.
Changing into Chinese-Korean will only end up being recorded as "Chinese-Others".
Am I right? Correct me if I am wrong.My mom is listed as Korean.
-
Originally posted by Fryderyk HPH:
My mom is listed as Korean.
Ic. That's good. But if I am not wrong, its possible for you to change to "Chinese-Korean" with the new law and not just "Korean".
Maybe tml newspapers will give you a clearer insight on this. =)