Why they don't see her as one of them

Why They Don't See Her as One of Them
by Wong Yang

Just three days ago, Singapore's table-tennis star Feng Tianwei won Singapore's first individual medal in the Olympics in 52 years. ("I'm so proud of Feng')

Just three days ago, China-born table-tennis player Feng Tianwei won the Republic's first individual medal in the Olympics in 52 years. ("She's not a Singaporean")

Singapore's first individual medal in the Olympics in 52 years has been won by Feng Tianwei, our table-tennis table player part of the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. ("She's just another one of them")

In an online poll conducted by Yahoo News, 77% out of 17,227 respondents said that they are not proud of a "foreign import" who wins an Olympic medal for the Republic. Facebook user Jack Lam asked in a poll on the social networking site, "China born Feng Tiang Wei (FTW) won Bronze medal for Singapore. As a Singaporean do you feel proud of this achievement by a foreign born mercenary player brought in specifically to win medal?" About 84% of the 1,921 respondents answered "No, this is glory for FTW and China. I don't feel proud about this." The most replied comment to her win on Yahoo is “No matter how successful you are in any Games, it is useless. I am sorry to say this. It is not won by a true Singaporean. No ill feelings to the participants. It is just that you are not a true Singaporean.” Questions and debates have always surrounded our table-tennis players on whether they are committed to Singapore, or whether they are just aiming for personal glory.

What defines someone as a "true-blue" Singaporean needs to be better understood. Is it simply loving the country, the people, the Roti Prata? Does it mean that you have to be born in Singapore to be considered a Singaporean? Judging from the smile on her face when she carried the nation's flag as the Singapore contingent walked into the Olympic Stadium a week ago, I am sure that her heart is up there with the crescent moon and the 5 stars.

Imagine how our "foreign imports" would feel reading the netizens' comments, hearing all the "noise" on the ground. My name has two words, and in a nation whereby non-Christian names usually consists of three words, people often ask me whether I come from China, where two-word names are more common. I was born in Singapore, my parents, grandparents are Singaporean, and when I hear this, I do feel a little upset. My example may be a little different from the case of Feng Tianwei, since I was born in Singapore, but both examples show how society discriminates people.

The people's attitude towards the LionsXII is a stark contrast to how they see foreign imports. If only the excitement and pride shown by the supporters below applied to our paddlers' achievements. They represent Singapore, they deserve our fullest support.













Singapore has always been seen by the world as a multiracial society. People admire and respect us for that. We need to stay united despite our diversity. Our ancestors hailed from different lands, but managed to form one nation, and we don't want to waste their effort.

National Day is coming, shouldn't we see this as an early national day gift? Why continue to lament? Celebrate our nation's achievements, celebrate our athlete's endeavours, regardless of their place of birth. After all, we are all Singaporeans.

Even 9GAG Singapore, an image-based social media website where users can upload comical images dubbed "gags", takes her win seriously.

By the way, FootballMania has discovered something interesting:

Take 2012 and divide it by 9 and 8, since Singapore gained independence on 9 August, 1965.

1) 2012 ÷ 9 ÷ 8 = 27.9444

Take the 27 and add it to Feng Tianwei's age, which is 25 years, and you get the number of years Singapore has waited for an individual medal in the Olympics.

2) 27+25 = 52

Not that we are superstitious, but it is interesting, right?



Sources:
TREmeritus
RedSports
Yahoo! News Singapore
9GAG Singapore (SGAG)
The Straits Times, Forum Page, Friday, August 3 2012