To carry on from last month, on what makes you truly Singaporean — the three Ls of lah, leh, lor, and the three Cs of char koay teow, chicken rice, chee cheong fun, amongst other such fancies — a natural extension would be the tangibles.
As in what would be concrete examples that are culturally appropriate to and for us we could put on display in a museum?
Such as Sentosa’s Madame Tussaud’s.
Of course, there is the glaring question – would you pay S$44 to stare at a packet of tissue paper! (Entry fee.)
Well maybe a Madame Tosai then (includes pancake and tea).
The list could be endless, to every true-blue Singaporean his defining idiosyncrasy.
So I’ll start the ball rolling and kick it as far as it’ll go and you readers can add on (I could buy you tea and tosai for your contribution).
By example, America’s The Smithsonian Institution (a complex of museums) showcases stuff like Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, a tube of pureed beef astronaut John Glenn brought into space, Archie Bunker’s chair (TV character).
Would we consider immortalising the glass of teh-o kosong then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong would sip from between language change in his National Day speech? (No, not the purple or pink or red or blue shirt.)
In the UK a national treasure like Paddington Bear is honoured in its London Madame Tussaud. And only this month the golden icon of true Brit cuisine, the not-so-humble sausage roll, secured its place on a velvet cushion in the same museum.
Yes, a wax facsimile. Thanks to the vote of 45 percent of its flaky pastry fans.
Our equivalent would be an Old Chang Kee curry puff (fried) or a Polar Cafe curry puff (baked).
(Taylor Swift asks for it for her backstage crew in England concerts.)
Cast your mind to what and who has shaped Singapore culture, the someone and the something we can revere in our own space, to remember, historically, and even hysterically (Singaporeans made reservations with a tissue pack?).
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An item of import top of the list, the first recording of Majulah Singapura, our national anthem.
And if you don’t know the words, shame on you!
A shout out to Sim Wong Hoo’s Sound Board, remember him, one of our pioneers in creative technology?
The Singapore Airline uniform of the Singapore Girl, she is a great way to ply. Passengers with food and drink and service.
The Pierre Balmain design remains unchanged in more than 50 years. (I speak from having been on its inaugural flight to London.)
And for that rainy day, the general issue of a Green Umbrella when you reach collect-CPF-day.
You recognise that those letters could be read as ClosePersonalFriend?
Could a scrapbook plump with all the campaigns Singapore has run, from exhorting us to don’t waste water to eat more wheat to be more courteous to stop at two.
(Be polite, do not ask for more water, and when you eat bread, stop at two slices.)
Coupled with all the acronyms, it’s quite a tome.
The pair of creatures free to roam unconfined by our zoo and bird park.
Singa the Lion and the Merlion.
The NDP Goodie Bag, there’s a winner, the singular most coveted freebie for all time.
Do you know of someone, anyone, who has bagged those fun packs since its inception in 1991?
I salute you.
Singapore made it to number 3 in this year’s Happiest Cities, after Copenhagen 1 and Zurich 2.
Google the details dear.
Suffice to learn that hawker food has to be a contributing factor.
When a Singaporean is asked what would you miss from Singapore if you had to uproot to settle elsewhere, the answers almost never vary.
Char Koay Teow, Chicken Rice, Laksa, Nasi Lemak, Prata.
It baffles me no one thinks to say my friends, my family.
I mean, surely you can share the char koay teow and the chicken rice with your family and friends?
So those dishes will be celebrated in our cultural fabric then.
And of course with no sense of modesty at all, I would include a copy of Eh Goondu, the first book to document Singlish, on the list.
