The Impact of Globalisation on Singapore's Culture
By Joan Tan
Over the last
century, the world has enjoyed the convenience globalisation has provided in
terms of transportation, communication and tremendous economic growth through trade.
Despite the numerous benefits that globalisation has brought, there are some
drawbacks to this worldwide phenomenon. One of which is the loss of localized
culture and this causes cities to become increasingly similar to one another. Also, economic growth is of more importance as compared to culture and heritage and
the loss of such culture is, unfortunately, permanent.
However, it is
fortunate that governments have begun to realise the need to preserve the culture
and heritage of a nation and to build a national identity with such local
culture. For instance, in Singapore, national education has been introduced in
the curriculums of the youths studying in primary and secondary schools. The
increase in the efforts towards conservation and preservation of monuments and
cultural districts has also successfully slowed down the erosion of culture in
Singapore. The report will be evaluating the efforts by government institutions
on the preservation of culture and heritage in Singapore and suggest alternatives
to improve the situation.
First and foremost,
the preservation of culture is necessary as such national education exists to fulfil
the purpose of educating Singaporeans to embrace their own culture and hence, create
a national identity. Some features of national education include learning how
to appreciate the peace Singapore enjoys from racial harmony and the uniqueness of
the various cultures and how they have evolved to become part of the Singapore culture.
Educating youth on their history and the nation’s sufferings in order
to achieve the economic growth and standards of living Singaporeans enjoy today
helps build a national identity as it reflects something common amongst all citizens.
It creates a sense of belonging and allows Singaporeans to feel attached to
their homeland (Ministry of Education, 2013). However, national education
has its limits and this is especially so for “global citizens”. As
globalization has promoted the free movement of people and goods, we often find
that one is never a “pure” Singaporean. The mix of various nationalities makes
it difficult to enforce national education. In fact, it is nearly impossible to
create a national identity amongst such global citizens with their vast background
differences.
Therefore, instead of
focusing on enforcing propaganda on children today, national education should be
focusing on allowing children to enjoy the freedom of speech and to encourage
them to play their part as Singaporeans in terms of environmental conservation,
providing platforms for them to participate in the local political scene and to
encourage active community engagement. By encouraging the young to participate
actively in nation building, they may feel inclined to remain and help the
country prosper due to the obligation to protect the country they have helped
shape. Although there may be downsides to this proposal, it certainly helps in
creating the identity Singapore urgently needs, an identity where citizens are
all engaged in deciding the future of their country. It is more important to
look forward and create an identity that cannot be erased simply by the fact
that global citizens have not been through the era of “suffering”. Educating the
young on the past is simply not enough.
Furthermore, the
government is actively seeking to preserve national monuments for cultural and heritage
purposes. According to the National Heritage Board (2013), the preservation of
monuments and significant sites in Singapore has been on-going since 1971 when
the Preservation of Monuments Board was set up. The board has since been merged
with the National Heritage Board and is responsible for researching possible
preservation sites and to provide the support to maintain and restore such sites. They are also responsible for creating awareness amongst the public
and act as an advisor to businesses and the government.
Despite the
urgent need for the preservation of national sites, there have been numerous
occasions where such sites have conflicting interests with the
modern economy. For example, Bukit Brown, which was featured on the “World
Monument Watch 2014” has become the newest victim of the land transportation development in Singapore. Part of the Bukit Brown cemetery will be
converted to roads that will help improve the congestion during peak hours (Urban
Redevelopment Authority, 2012). Land scarcity in
Singapore has resulted in the inevitable loss of cultural and heritage sites
due to the need to cater to the rising population and growth of Singapore’s
economy.
Therefore, there
is a need to strike a balance between the use of land for urban development and
the preservation efforts of cultural sites. One way that could provide the
balance is to promote restoration rather than preservation. Restoration may
seem to be a cure rather than a preventive measure. However, cultural and
heritage sites that were forced to give way to urban development could
incorporate elements of buildings or monuments that were once part of the area.
Developers could be made to install certain facilities such as museums in the
present office buildings or even work with the exterior of the buildings to
preserve the elements of culture and heritage. For example, developers could
retain traditional Chinese rooftop designs on newly developed skyscrapers in
Chinatown to give an idea that the heritage site used to be located in that particular
area.
In conclusion, the loss of
culture caused by globalisation has resulted in a lack of sense of belonging among
young Singaporeans. However, present efforts such as national education and the
preservation of cultural sites and monuments are insufficient to prevent the
rapid loss of local culture. Therefore, there is an urgent need to cultivate an
emotional attachment among the youth in Singapore and the most efficient way
would be to allow them to participate in the country's policy making process and to actively encourage environmental conservation and
community engagement. The inevitable loss of national sites due to land
scarcity should be reinforced by restoration rather than simply preserving
rundown and old buildings which serves little purposes. By adopting such
methods, the pressing need to integrate global citizens and to create a unique
culture can be alleviated.
References
Ministry of Education. (2013). National Education. Retrieved from http://www.ne.edu.sg/
National Heritage Board. (2013). About Preservation of Sites & Monuments. Retrieved from
http://goo.gl/CsuhPO
Urban Redevelopment Authority (2012). News Releases. Retrieved from http://www.ura.gov.sg/pr/text/2012/pr12-26.html
