When the esplande was finally constructed, there were spades of Singaporeans unhappily exclaiming “London has its Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, America has its Statue of Liberty and Australis has its Sydney Opera house as globally recognisable icons, and all we have is this…this…this durian?”. When comparing this iconic building to the icons of the world cities, many felt ashamed to be Singaporean, many felt ashamed to know their little home would never quite measure up to other cities in terms of grandeur, history or aplomb.

What makes a Singaporean a Singapore? In the same way the Esplanade did not have years of history behind it, or size or grandeur to recommend it against other iconic buildings in the world, Singaporean society does not posess a native history, language or culture that makes Singapores unique in any special way. We don’t posess Saris like the Indians or a guzzle down native pasta like the Italians do, so its often difficult for most to pinpoint what exactly makes a Singaporean a singaporean. The multicultural and migrant nature of the Singapore population has resulted in a culture that most would simply call “Rojak” or mixed up.

The funny thing, is that when we try to examine and identify when it is that makes Singapore so unique, it is also the self-same multicultural mix. The mingling of races and cultures has produced a globalised city that differs from all the rest, because of the very fact that each culture has adopted a bit of other cultures practices, deviating from the original practices of their ancestors home-countries, and producing a unique culture of its own.

Being Singaporen isn’t about the pink IC that you carry around, or being able to identify with the icons of the nation, such as the Merlion and the Esplanade. It isn’t about having a rich and long history of conquerors, castles and civilisations.

What makes a Singaporean a Singaporean, is the simple things that he does in his daily life, small things that identify him as a denizen of Singapore and Singapore alone. Being Singaporean is about having adopted practices or qualities of other cultures, and making it part of who you are.

Singaporeans…
scurry to car accidents, in the hopes of striking toto and 4D.
stuff their children with Brands Chicken Essence just before exams.
whip out their handphones to snap and send pictures to STOMP when anything serious happens.
eat Nasi Lemak for breakfast, Char Kuai Teow for lunch and Mutton curry for dinner.
have neighbors who are Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others.
speak with leh, lah and lors.
are kaisu, to the extent of queing for free tissue paper.
complain about their government year in year out, but still vote for them anyways. (No choice mah!)

It is the little things that make a Singaporean a singaporean, the small quirks that form a unique culture from a motley crew of migrants many years ago. Its fitting that it is the small things that make us Singaporean, for after all, we do live in one of the best little red dots in the world.