志异 Draft by Drama box July 2014 (english) | Page 17

Our Singapore

To those of us born and bred in
Johor, Singapore has always felt like
part of the Malay Peninsula, even
though it gained independence
in 1965. The histories of these two
nation-states are too brief, thus
for the older generation, they
were one and the same for the
better part of their lives. Those
were unforgettable memories.
As for those of us born after they
became two separate countries

to and the television programmes
that we watched from young
originated from Singapore. When
Singapore launched its Speak
Mandarin Campaign, the effects
were felt even in South Johor. My
illiterate mother, for example,
learnt Mandarin by watching
Singaporean television drama
serials. Even the common men and
women in the marketplace could
speak Mandarin in guttural tones.
NG
KIM
CHEW
:
OUR
SINGAPORE

(let’s take me as an example - born
in 1967 and only two years younger
than the Republic of Singapore),
Singapore still felt like part of Johor
due to its geographical proximity.

Perhaps that was why our Malay
was much worse compared with
fellow Malaysians from the central
and northern parts of the country.
We had the opportunity to be reliant
on 5