So your comment was that this concept of belonging can be an oppressive one,
but is it something that is necessary when we talk about Singapore not the city, but Singapore
the city-state or the country. So would you just have a little argument for two minutes, please.
DS Cindy, why don't you kick off because I'm sure you were dying to and then
Prof Ho can respond. Yes to his comment about possibly straining into the point of
being oppressive when we talk about belonging, national identity defining who a Singaporean is,
which is actually a top voted question but I'll give that person the chance to have his or
her question read out later. So have an argument. No, not really an argument because I thought
it's a sound reminder that it's very dangerous if we make this a yes or no question about do you
belong or do you not belong because it's not that, you know. I think a sense of belonging or
even a sense of identity, it's a textured concept. There are a lot of
different aspects of feeling like you belong, but maybe there's just something else that it doesn't
resonate with you. But that's fine, you recognize it as something that's important to other people.
For example, that in itself can be a shared value, so to value diversity can be a shared value,
so I don't think the two are necessary like opposing ideas. I'm sorry to let you down,
not a fight here. But how do we then engender that, because that is very
challenging. How do you know when you draw the line? I mean in the example that Prof had cited,
neighbourly disputes because of differences in day-to-day practices where you
hang a laundry. Can you hang your Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) outside your house, you know, things like that.
It comes to nitty-gritty things that cause people to feel like you're intruding on my space,
but is that the line that needs to be enforced or is that something that should be negotiated?
I thought Prof talked about it being negotiated which is exactly what I mean if you recall my cycle,
my three-stage process. You have a choice. When you have a neighbour who is hanging the
Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) outside and it's really smelly, you have a choice in terms of how you-
you have a choice of how you behave in that situation to have a conversation that allows
a value of I recognize diversity, but there's also neighbourly friendliness and mutual respect that
is also important. Can we have a conversation about it? So I think that is where I think we would like
to have a greater understanding in terms of how different things can sit together and not
necessarily opposite or it needs to be in a fight.
So you're prepared to accept a more expansive view of belonging.
So Prof Ho, no arguments here?
No, you're being naughty here.
Trying to get more views, I see?
Because if you look at my slides 2 and 3, I actually talk about the different ways
in which identity and belonging is built. But what I want to say is that sometimes,
this narrative of belonging also runs against the reason why people are attracted to cities in the first place
and this idea of freedom, and also creativity that comes from freedoms, is also important.
So I'm just basically laying out two sides to this issue of belonging versus freedom.