Local Straits Chinese Vs New Immigrants Chinese Singaporean

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Straits Chinese are terms used for the descendants of the early Chinese immigrants to the Nusantara region, who have partially adopted Malay customs in an effort to be assimilated into the local communities.
The language of the Straits Chinese, Bahasa Straits Chinese, is a dialect of the Malay language , which contains many Hokkien words. It is a dying language, and its contemporary use is mainly limited to members of the older generation. English has now replaced Bahasa Strait Chinese as the main language spoken at home amongst the younger generation.

Yours grand parent was born in Nusantara. Your parent also was born in Nusantara. You were born in Singapore too. You speak Singlish like English like Chinese like Malay, you are Straits Chinese?

You are different from new migrants Chinese Singaporean who write and read Chinese well?

 

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Singapore-born, second class?

[Photo: From left, Judy Kong, Ivy Singh-Lim, Lee Bee Wah, Jessie Phua and Annabel Pennefather.]

After yesterday's first instalment in The New Paper's new and bold Face to Face series, today sees Sports Editor R JEGATHESAN, LIM HAN MING and ERNEST LUIS asking Singapore sports' most powerful women why local-born athletes are still second-class citizens in sports.

JESSIE PHUA: I THINK it's time we review the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP).

One of the countries I always look up to is South Korea.

When an athlete wins a gold medal, he gets a certain percentage of the cash reward up front, and he gets financially supported for the rest of his life.

The reward system for Singapore has been static and stagnant for so long (since MAP was introduced in 1993). There's also inflation that you have to factor in. It's time for a revamp.

If the qualifying criteria have been upped, I don't see why we are not raising the bar on the reward system.

LEE BEE WAH: From what I know, Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei is given $3,500 every month for as long as he lives.

IVY SINGH-LIM: There's an advantage in doing that. The athletes are likely to be bound to the country that they have won the glory for, unlike some foreign talent athletes who just pack their bags for home.

PHUA: The system has to be adjusted to support the local athletes. Unlike foreign talent, not every local athlete gets a monthly allowance from the SSC.

The Athletes' Career Training programme is supposed to help produce well-balanced otustanding Singaporean athletes who can manage everything.

But the reality is that if you don't get a decent allowance to cover your meals, or the transportation costs from home to the training venues, there is no way you can put a roof over your head, or even support a family.

Athletes are still second-class citizens in Singapore.

LEE: Not only that, we are competing against ourselves at the school system, as we start to encounter difficulties when it comes to NSAs (National Sports Associations) and schools gearing up for next year's Youth Olympic Games.