Every time you hear a Singaporean complain about how people of other groups and nationalities have each others backs, give each other priority etc, and then you stop and realise how many Singaporeans are actually in influential positions and how we usually have high levels of English literacy which should put us in an advantageous position.
Unfortunately, years of conditioning in the behavioural sink that is the overcrowded 600km2 piece of land we call home, has worked so well that we bring this behaviour with us overseas when we become migrants, so the term "Sinkie pwn sinkie" applies to us when we become migrants and we try our best to get rid of this behaviour, sometimes, unfortunately, by choosing to disconnect with the rest of the Singaporean community.
In keeping with the listicle theme, here are the types of Singaporeans who exemplify the Sinkie pwn sinkie attitude:
1. The empire builder
Can be of any age, sex, status etc. the behaviour from people like these is already incalculated into them from young. From the president of some useless Singaporean club who behaves like they are saving babies and curing cancer, to the Overseas Singaporean Unit ex-Singaporean senior civil servant liaison, to the middle aged lady who wants to be the big sista, the need for power and recognition is international, and never far from a Sinkie's mind.
2. The SPG
We don't really need to say more about this (there are books written about this), but a word of empathy for the ah lian walking proudly and talking condescendingly to other migrants with her trophy AMDK boyfriend, is that not all people have the opportunity to be exposed to the world (and Angmos) at an early age and after awhile, they normally realise having a AMDK boyfriend isn't a big deal and calm down and become the normal, nice people they were before.
And that their AMDK boyfriend can't understand what they are saying because of the thick local accent they are trying to put on.
3. The person who used to be something back in Singapore
Usually applies to Singaporeans who used to hold managerial level positions in Singapore who had climbed their way up due to a combination of ass-kissing and simply because they had a degree from a local university (especially Singaporean public servants who were degree level officers), but not actual job skill or ability.
When they arrive here and realise they don't really have any transferable skills and are forced to take jobs they consider beneath them, they start whinging and start every sentence with "Back in Singapore, I used to manage xxx and liaise with xxx".
Why come over in the first place?
4. The well-integrated Sinkie who has one angmoh friend and isn't really sinkie
Similar to the SPG (and usually good friends), this type of Sinkie sometimes, for survival, has disconnected from all the Singaporeans and made one or two angmoh friends and now refuses to talk to any Singaporeans (or ABNN, Pinoy, Ah Tiong,) etc. because they are sooooo well inteegrated.
Usually found moping around alone at those Singaporean gatherings once they realise they have no friends.
5. The one who knows it all
Usually, this is a Singaporean who had been consigned to mediocrity in Singapore and suddenly found a new lease of life in Singapore. I'll be honest and objective, a few of us on this blog probably fit into this category, including myself, which I consciously try to avoid.
Just like that middle-aged small business owner who never had any education (and a big chip on the shoulder) and goes around telling everyone how education is useless and everyone should tear up their transcripts, these Singaporeans somehow, through a combination of luck, hard work or skill, managed to get into their comfortable and happy lives today and tell everyone the only way they can do it is the exact same way that I did it.
Conclusion
The general theme is that Singaporeans need to relax a bit ok, and realise there is a big world out there that we haven't seen in our little tiny dot (as your parents might say, sua teng). This befalls sometimes even those who claim to be well-educated and exposed and have spent years overseas, like hello brudder, calm down, you think only you got satki job for 10 years in satki angmoh country meh?
Remember this, for every thing you can do well, there is a Chinese kid on youtube who can do it 20000x better. Yes, even at driving utes and being racist, there is a Chinese kid somewhere who can do it better. So relax and enjoy your beer, and stop trying to convince everyone how fucking fantastic you are, and just be yourself.
It is not all bad news though, there are good and nice sinkies who are more than willing to lend a hand when needed. The world is rarely black and white, and sometimes, you might find these unlikable characteristics in people but then suddenly they surprise you and do something nice and helpful. If the world was that simple, most of us wouldn't have jobs and would have had been replaced by AI and robots a long time ago.
Nice and helpful Sinkies - they are just like that rare Pokemon that you have to find, and besides, bitching about people is a lot more fun, no?
Unfortunately, years of conditioning in the behavioural sink that is the overcrowded 600km2 piece of land we call home, has worked so well that we bring this behaviour with us overseas when we become migrants, so the term "Sinkie pwn sinkie" applies to us when we become migrants and we try our best to get rid of this behaviour, sometimes, unfortunately, by choosing to disconnect with the rest of the Singaporean community.
In keeping with the listicle theme, here are the types of Singaporeans who exemplify the Sinkie pwn sinkie attitude:
1. The empire builder
Can be of any age, sex, status etc. the behaviour from people like these is already incalculated into them from young. From the president of some useless Singaporean club who behaves like they are saving babies and curing cancer, to the Overseas Singaporean Unit ex-Singaporean senior civil servant liaison, to the middle aged lady who wants to be the big sista, the need for power and recognition is international, and never far from a Sinkie's mind.
2. The SPG
We don't really need to say more about this (there are books written about this), but a word of empathy for the ah lian walking proudly and talking condescendingly to other migrants with her trophy AMDK boyfriend, is that not all people have the opportunity to be exposed to the world (and Angmos) at an early age and after awhile, they normally realise having a AMDK boyfriend isn't a big deal and calm down and become the normal, nice people they were before.
And that their AMDK boyfriend can't understand what they are saying because of the thick local accent they are trying to put on.
3. The person who used to be something back in Singapore
Usually applies to Singaporeans who used to hold managerial level positions in Singapore who had climbed their way up due to a combination of ass-kissing and simply because they had a degree from a local university (especially Singaporean public servants who were degree level officers), but not actual job skill or ability.
When they arrive here and realise they don't really have any transferable skills and are forced to take jobs they consider beneath them, they start whinging and start every sentence with "Back in Singapore, I used to manage xxx and liaise with xxx".
Why come over in the first place?
4. The well-integrated Sinkie who has one angmoh friend and isn't really sinkie
Similar to the SPG (and usually good friends), this type of Sinkie sometimes, for survival, has disconnected from all the Singaporeans and made one or two angmoh friends and now refuses to talk to any Singaporeans (or ABNN, Pinoy, Ah Tiong,) etc. because they are sooooo well inteegrated.
Usually found moping around alone at those Singaporean gatherings once they realise they have no friends.
5. The one who knows it all
Usually, this is a Singaporean who had been consigned to mediocrity in Singapore and suddenly found a new lease of life in Singapore. I'll be honest and objective, a few of us on this blog probably fit into this category, including myself, which I consciously try to avoid.
Just like that middle-aged small business owner who never had any education (and a big chip on the shoulder) and goes around telling everyone how education is useless and everyone should tear up their transcripts, these Singaporeans somehow, through a combination of luck, hard work or skill, managed to get into their comfortable and happy lives today and tell everyone the only way they can do it is the exact same way that I did it.
Conclusion
The general theme is that Singaporeans need to relax a bit ok, and realise there is a big world out there that we haven't seen in our little tiny dot (as your parents might say, sua teng). This befalls sometimes even those who claim to be well-educated and exposed and have spent years overseas, like hello brudder, calm down, you think only you got satki job for 10 years in satki angmoh country meh?
Remember this, for every thing you can do well, there is a Chinese kid on youtube who can do it 20000x better. Yes, even at driving utes and being racist, there is a Chinese kid somewhere who can do it better. So relax and enjoy your beer, and stop trying to convince everyone how fucking fantastic you are, and just be yourself.
It is not all bad news though, there are good and nice sinkies who are more than willing to lend a hand when needed. The world is rarely black and white, and sometimes, you might find these unlikable characteristics in people but then suddenly they surprise you and do something nice and helpful. If the world was that simple, most of us wouldn't have jobs and would have had been replaced by AI and robots a long time ago.
Nice and helpful Sinkies - they are just like that rare Pokemon that you have to find, and besides, bitching about people is a lot more fun, no?
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