Most of the time, when you hear Malaysians talk about Singapore, it’s not with fondness. Not this time with Syed Saddiq.
As Singaporeans, all of us have grown up to regard Malaysians as The Enemy. We must be better than them, richer than them, happier than them. Everything they do, we must do better. Why? Because we are Singaporeans!
While rivalry does sometimes bring out the best in us, sometimes you just have to set aside ego and reach out a hand in friendship.
Which is the perfect time to introduce Syed Saddiq.
Saddiq’s not a Singaporean. He’s a Malaysian politician who’s the Minister of Parliament for Muar.
Born to a Singaporean dad and a Malaysian mum, Saddiq grew up in Johor and studied in Malaysia. He’s pretty much as Malaysian as you can get.
Which is why his comments are so surprising.
It’s rare to see a Malaysia political figure so open towards Singapore. For decades, Mahathir’s been driving a wedge between the two countries and something like that takes a long time to forgive and forget.
That’s why this post is all the more wholesome!
He doesn’t talk about how he’ll make Malaysia (or Muar in this case) better than Singapore. He doesn’t throw shade in any way. Hell, the guy even says that he’s looking forward to have Singaporeans in his constituency.
Think back…when has this ever been the case?
While it might be him grandstanding, from what I’ve seen and read about Saddiq, it does seem like he means what he says, unlike the usual political doublespeak.
He’s right you know…like it or not, Singapore and Malaysia will forever be intertwined. Our history and proximity to each other practically guarantees that. So why the disdain for one another? Apart from the national borders, we’re practically the same people.
The mentality of Us vs Them should be ditched with all the other backwards thinking ideas. Instead we should be thinking about Us AND Them.
Perhaps we all should be thinking about a trip to Muar once the borders open, just to show him we’re all willing to take him up on his offer.