On 15 November 2017, Dr Sharon Siddique spoke at our monthly Singapore Platform for East-West Dialogue. She explained how colonialism still colours Singapore’s views, and why it is important for Singapore to get to know her neighbours better.
The following is a selection of tweets highlighting some of the main points she made.
On post-colonialism
#SharonSiddique: I’m interested on the impact on postcolonialism and how it colours our view on the present. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: The “post” of post-colonialism suggests that we’re done with colonialism. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: Even after seven decades, we’re still stuck in the post-colonial phase. But have we truly rid ourselves of Western influences? #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
Our neighbours’ idea of what constitutes Malay-ness
#SharonSiddique: Singapore, Malay, Brunei, and Indonesia have very different definitions of what is Malay. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: The idea of Suku Bangsa (ethnic group) is integral to the idea of understanding Malayness in Indonesia. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: The concept of Bhumiputra (Sons of the Soil) is integral to Malaysia’s idea of Malay. To complicate things, Malays are under the protection of the Sultans. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
Singapore and her neighbours
#SharonSiddique: An Indonesian friend agreed that Singapore is a pearl. But they cannot forget, how it was created—a grain of salt entered the system and irritated them. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: We have to rebalance Singapore’s frozen colonial moment. We’re good on Malaysia, unfamiliar with Indonesia, and poor with regard to Riau Islands. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: Singapore is comfortable as a global city. It has always been so since the Anglo-Dutch Treaty in 1824. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: There’s a creeping sense of colonialism when you are more familiar with London and New York, than any of the provinces of our neighbours. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: Open yourself to the many fascinating avenues in your neighbour. For starters, take a ferry to Tanjung Balai Karimun #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: Knowing our neighbours can only be a source of strength. But we are more comfortable with being global than neighbourly. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
Looking to the future
#SharonSiddique: We never left colonialism since WWII, nor have we entered a new era. But we’re at the tipping point into something new. What it is, we don’t know. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: It’s important to look closer to home. Singapore seems to assume that the constellation of nation states will always be there. But who’s to say this won’t change?#NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
#SharonSiddique: I was in Bonn the year the Berlin Wall fell. Before that, I attended several diplomatic functions with my husband, and no one thought the wall will be breached. Likewise, we can’t expect things will stay the same for us. #NTUParaLimes #SGEastWest
— NTU Para Limes (@NTUParaLimes) November 15, 2017
