Singapore Day 2013 Gone Wrong

Hey man, I really really enjoy reading your blog and updates. Could you do a post on the recent "WOO HA" on this http://sg.news.yahoo.com/man-gets-turned-away-from-singapore-day-in-sydney-for-being-caucasian-152736128.html. Really am interested in hearing from your views on this. Cheers.

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Erm. What happened? Sounds like a hype up over a picnic. Apparently there were more than one white Caucasian Australian man unhappy over this, according to reports flying all over the internet from different sources. So an event was organised in a public place. A big carnival-like party with plenty of delicious food but only Asian-looking faces were permitted to enter and seemingly all whites were turned away. Alarm bells went ringing loud and indignant locals were close to making their stale "Fuck off from my land" calls. Singaporeans are racist, so what's new? Only not this time - and the rejected men with bruised egos have to understand.


Let's make a guess who will turn up at a German gala. More white faces than any other colour. A Japanese Kimono Exhibition? More kawaii Japanese girls among the other Japanese wannabes other Asian countries. Anything amiss? If any minority of Australians were expecting something different from a Singaporean Day event and pick a bone out of it. they should calm down and assess the situation rationally.


"Yes," they said. "We understand that a German event will have more German attendees than any other nationalities but they would not turn anyone away like what the Singapore Day event did. That's discrimination!" Unfortunately in reality, most of us would not walk up to a random Saturday picnic group and ask to join in. If we do, we will be very likely to be invited to join in. That is because most people living in Australia, regardless of ethnicity, are nice people. But in such a situation if our request is politely turned down, we shrug and walk away. Why would we think of it as discrimination if there is no racism in a our minds? It takes a racist to recognise another, if you think about it.


Unfortunately, the community who screamed discrimination did not understand the event was a pre-registered one. That is regarded as a ticketed event. You don't expect to be let into a Mexican circus without a ticket and throw your toys out of the pram when you are denied of entry. Yes, one can cry discrimination just because the majority of the attendees munch on nachos and cry, "Tengo sed!" but that's just making a fool of oneself. Bear in mind, there were non-Singaporean Australian Caucasians among the big Singaporean crowd because they were pre-registered (they've got a damn ticket!) as a guest. That actually meant the same people who complained of being turned away would be admitted if they had gotten themselves registered. If they were genuinely interested in our Singapore food and culture as well as meeting Singaporean cuties in the event, it should be fair to expect them to do a simple registeration on the internet. I believe that isn't too much to ask for if they know how much did every Singaporean in Australia had to go through to get us invited to Australia just to work - not party, booze and feast that they relished from the Singapore Day event.


There might be an agenda behind Singapore Day, no doubt. The Singaporean in us know very well the government will not do anything without an agenda but let's not go into that today and focus on one of the main "official" mission of the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU) for organising Singapore Day. With a core mission of attracting Singaporeans to return to the island to serve the nation once again, tell me, is it fair to say the event will lose its bearing if it admits a melting pot of nationalities into it?


Lastly, the successful Singapore Day was a day-out for overseas Singaporeans who have been yearning for an experience of a single day of the yester-years where Singaporeans made up the majority of the population in their homeland. It was a rare chance for them to congregate with the people, food and culture so close to their hearts. For some, it might even be a one-in-a-lifetime experience. Never again in our homeland. Perhaps never again in Sydney, because of this childish outcry.

5 comments:

  1. asingaporeanson writes...
    ["Unfortunately, the community who screamed discrimination did not understand the event was a pre-registered one."]
    I think you might not have looked into this issue deep enough. Did you listen to the 2GB podcast:
    http://www.2gb.com/article/singapore-day
    ^ I liked the comment about the ad for Singapore Tourism: "Get Lost"


    From the official FAQ
    https://app.singaporeday.gov.sg/faq.html
    Q: Who can attend Singapore Day?
    A: Singapore Day is an exclusive event for Singaporeans and their families.
    Q: Why is Singapore Day an event for Singaporeans only?
    A: Singapore Day aims to bring a slice of home to Singaporeans abroad so as to emotionally connect them back to Singapore. It is also an event to galvanise the Singaporean community so that the sense of identity and belonging remain strong.
    Q: What must I do to attend Singapore Day?
    A: This is a pre-registered event. Successful registrants will receive an electronic ticket for admission. However, registration for the event has closed.
    Q: Can I bring along my non-Singaporean friends for Singapore Day?
    A: Singapore Day is an event organised exclusively for Singaporeans and their families.
    Q: Who is eligible to register for the event?
    A: Singapore Day is an event for Singaporeans and their families. All Singaporeans are eligible to register.


    Now compare and contrast the above official FAQ with the news article you linked to containing a statement from the organisers of the event, the OSU:
    http://sg.news.yahoo.com/man-gets-turned-away-from-singapore-day-in-sydney-for-being-caucasian-152736128.html
    In a statement provided to Yahoo Singapore on Sunday evening in response to queries, a spokesperson for the OSU noted that the event is a pre-registered and ticketed event, "for purposes of crowd control and catering".

    "Singaporeans could bring along a guest who might be non-Singaporean, and also attend with family members who are non-Singaporeans as a family," the spokesperson added.
    ^ Oh really? Do these guys even read their own websites? I'll cnp the revelent qanda:
    Q: Can I bring along my non-Singaporean friends for Singapore Day?
    A: Singapore Day is an event organised exclusively for Singaporeans and their families.


    asingaporeanson writes...
    ["That actually meant the same people who complained of being turned away would be admitted if they had gotten themselves registered. If they were genuinely interested in our Singapore food and culture as well as meeting Singaporean cuties in the event, it should be fair to expect them to do a simple registeration on the internet."]
    It was quite clear from the official site that the event was strictly for Singaporeans only. As the caller to 2GB noted, that was never mentioned anywhere on the advertising for the event. You can chalk this up as a big customer service and PR fail. Where were the Pinoys? They should have been in charge of the website, the event, and every official at the event should have been a Pinoy. Maybe then this disaster could have been avoided.

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    1. No, I was requested to give my comments and I did. I will give additional reading or listening a pass because I have no interests in this topic. I get the gist from your list of quotes. I don't see what is the problem putting the event strictly for Singaporeans. Like I put it earlier, a man don't gatecrash a all-woman event and cry sexist. We have our fair shares of Pinoy beauty contest and other what nots in Singapore. Yes, exclusively for foreigners only. No locals and dogs allowed. That happens everywhere. If we can bottom it up, I don't see why the Australians, who always prided themselves to be laid back and big hearted, couldn't look beyond trivialities and make a mountain out of a molehill.

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  2. The problems include:
    * None of the advertising mentioned that the event was for SG people only. Not even on the event website was it mentioned(well it was buried in a very hard to find FAQ).
    * This private event was held in a very public place, it took up about half of The Domain, a very popular park in Sydney. When an event is hosted at a public place, the general public's expectation is that the event is open to the public.
    * The perception of racism, the caller was denied entry citing that the event was for SG people only, but observed other people walking in without having their tickets, IDs, or passports checked.

    The caller didn't have a problem with it being exclusive as long as it was going to held in a private venue. This essentially was a community event held in a public place however it wasn't open to the whole community. Compare and contrast with other community events like St Patrick's Day or Octoberfest, the advertising gave the impression that this was SG's version however that certainly wasn't the case. It left a bad taste in the caller's father who commented that "How many Australians died defending SG?". I'm sure they walked away with the equivalent of a slap in the face.

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    1. To be fair, there isn't many outdoor venues that can hold a crowd of 6-7k. You don't want hawkers to flare their laksa smell in an auditorium and the Aussies start complaining Singaporeans stink and are uncouth. If you hold it behind the closed gates of a stadium, they can get annoyed because we ruin the sacred ground of whatever footy team they support.


      I am not defending the shortcomings of OSU but I don't think any organization can do up a perfect event for such a big crowd without annoying someone. When someone commented, "How many Australians died defending SG?" it reflects the sense of entitlement some of them have which they are giving in grudge to the tribe they robbed their land off.

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  3. Did Teo start the fire before he left Sydney?

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