By Denise Lim
The Water Festival is a highly celebrated festival in countries such as Thailand, Burma and Cambodia. While it is greeted by the natives with ostentatious pomp and fanfare in their home countries, the same festival that will be held in Singapore for foreigners is unlikely to enjoy the same degree of reception from the locals.
In a bid to reach out to the Permanent Residents (PRs) and Citizens living in Bukit Batok, a community outreach event (water festival) will be held on 18 April, 2010. The event, which is organised by the grassroots organisations and the Burmese community in Singapore, expects to attract a turnout of 3,000.
While such a move has been lauded by foreigners, it has caused some knee-jerk reactions from Singaporeans. Facebook queries have been posted to Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development, about whether taxpayers’ monies have been put to good use, and also, if precious water will be wasted in the process.
Recently, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Environment and Water Resources, has been exhorting Singaporeans to conserve water.
Speaking at the World Water Day Celebrations, he said [1]:
“Singaporeans’ response to the dry spell last month was to use even more water (but), this is certainly not desirable should Singapore experience a prolonged dry spell. It is therefore timely to remind ourselves of the need to use water wisely.“
In line with the advice dished out to Singaporeans, grassroots organizations should consider running other types of community events that do not involve the wastage of water. This will reduce any backlash from Singaporeans.
Furthermore, the government could also consider the possibility of adopting a consultative approach, namely, involving the general public in the discussion on how to integrate foreigners into Singapore. In that way, a meeting of minds between citizens and the government could be on the cards.
For those Singaporeans who are against such get-togethers, I would like to offer another perspective, that is to show some compassion to the foreigners — Thais, Burmese, and Burmese — who have to eke out a living outside of their home countries. It can be pretty lonely working abroad, thus, community outreach events serve as platforms for foreigners to forge new relationships among compatriots, and help to assuage the feelings of loneliness which is commonly experienced by foreigners who work overseas.
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References:
[1] Channel News Asia, “Singapore marks World Water Day with bid to keep waters clean, reduce consumption“, 21 March 2010
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Why don’t the government let us celebrate more national holidays to mark the respect for all our foreign talents from different countries.
The Water Festival should be planned and sponsored by our Thailand, Burma and Cambodia embassies.
@ Denise Lim
i disagree with the last paragraph of your article.
if Singapore has money to do provide these sorts of useless entertainment to the foreigners, it means that it could’ve spent that money to feed the elderly that are poor so that those that spent their whole lives living a tough life do not need to do shitty things to get a meal.
if the foreigners don’t like SG, they can very well GTFO.
I agree with anon above. If they don’t feel welcome here, they are free to leave. They are lauded as talents so it should not be a problem for them to go back to their country or move on to somewhere else that’s more welcoming to them. No one is forcing them to stay here. Don’t like it here? Leave!
The money should be put to better use assisting citizens and not those PRs or whatever.
I agree with Andrew that the embassies should be involved, as well as any Thai, Burmese or Cambodian businesses or business people living in Singapore. There is already a St Patricks Day festival near Boat Quay every year for the Irish community and that is supported by the local Irish community rather than grassroots Singaporean organisations and it is quite successful. I’m sure there are other events for other foreign communities that are supported and paid for 100% by foreign businesses and foreigners that the wider Singaporean public is maybe not aware of.
Anonymous – Like it or not, Singapore is a diverse society (full disclosure: I am a foreigner living in Singapore) and these events celebrate that diversity. If you ever live abroad, you will appreciate what it is like to be away from your family and community and the small things like the foods and activities you are used to. This water festival is one day of the year for the Burmese and Thai communities not to feel so distant from their homeland.
In addition, these international festivals are a boon for Singapore in many ways:
1. They attract a crowd which is good for local businesses – people attending such an event will eat near by and patronise local shops and markets. There are a lot of opportunities for entrepeneurial Singaporeans and the people they employ to benefit from such events.
2. They boost the image of a welcoming and diverse Singapore. An image of a xenophobic and unwelcoming Singapore will harm its tourist industry and make foreign businesses think twice about investing in Singapore.
3. They make Singapore a more lively place. There is already plenty to do in Singapore on a weekly basis, but annual events such as the Water Festival can become part of the Singaporean calendar and make Singapore a more enjoyable place to live. These festivals are not for foreigners only – I am very sure that Singaporeans and other non-Burmese are more than welcome to participate in the fun of the Water Festival.
I agree that the government should not spend money on this for more than the first year or two – after that, it should be up to the Burmese/Thai communities to financially support it and organise it themselves. I remember a negative situation in my home country a few years ago where each year the local council would organise and pay for CNY celebrations for the Chinese (and Singaporean/Malaysian/Taiwanese/whoever else) people living there. However they eventually abandoned it, because the local Chinese community could not be bothered to pay for it or organise it themselves! If that happens here, then the grassroots organisation should likewise abandon it after a couple of years.
It is a good point about the conservation of water, however more water will be saved by _everyone_ reducing their usage than by targetting once off events like the Water Festival. Perhaps there can be some related CSR to ease the conscience of the organisers, e.g. using the festival to promote water saving campaigns, paying for some sort of “carbon offset” equivalent for water.. (e.g. contributing to a water retention project somewhere in Singapore?)
Denise Lim:
“For those Singaporeans who are against such get-togethers, I would like to offer another perspective, that is to show some compassion to the foreigners — Thais, Burmese, and Burmese — who have to eke out a living outside of their home countries.”
WE PAY A WATER CONSERVATION TAX (WCT) AND GOODS AND SERVI CES TAX (GST) FOR THE SUPPLY OF WATER TO OUR HOMES. DOUBLE TAXATION FOR A NECESSARY GOOD! THE WCT is to enforce the message that water is precious! That every drop counts!
What the Bukit Batok Community Club is doing is a double slap in the face for the double tax we pay just to use water each day. Now, you expect us to to welcome an activity that promotes wastage of water? Is the Bukit Batok Community Club going to pay WCT and GST for every drop of water used for the festival? If yes, then is it right to use taxpayer’s money to do so?
Waste water. Waste money. Waste time.
“to show some compassion to the foreigners”
Who will show some compassion to S’poreans whose jobs are replaced by foreigners???
@Croon – If you want to be annoyed, be annoyed at official policy that leads to immigration and the employers that pick cheaper foreigners over Singaporeans, not at the immigrants themselves – they just want chance to make a good living, like everyone else. A Singaporean in their situation would do exactly the same.
Say, what about we celebrate our National day same as China.
If we are to follow the opponents’ proposals, all our money and resources are to spend on the poor and elderly only and no others. Then blame the gahmen for making Singapore such a boring place and continue whinning until the cows come home.
See, the whole point to this “ball carrying activity” is that if you continue voting the same people in, they are bound to give you the same crap you didn’t ask for.
There’s really no need for whinning anymore. All you need to learn from all this is patience. Wait for that election day to come, and return the favour.
Peace will return to your souls. It’s time to white wash the men in white.
@Devagi
That’s the problem with proponents. They think opponents want all the money and resources to be spent on the poor and elderly only and no others. In reality, opponents just want a reasonable amount as they do not agree the current amount is reasonable. Besides the poor and elderly, there’s also the need to better develop our human resource.
such events should be paid for by the embassies of other countries.
Singapore is a small country, everywhere is “local”. so, u r saying because of this event, there’d suddenly be entrepreneurial Singaporeans. i think there’s a limit to how much one can BS.
u wanna preach water conservation at an event that wastes water. haha… that was a good one.
it does not seem right to me that money is spent on foreigners when the elderly poor are doing shitty things to get by everyday. if that makes me xenophobic, then so be it.
btw, there’s already this thing called water conservation tax. now u r proposing a water offset. nice.
What the problem with water festivals? They can be weirder than
http://dotseng.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/munich-a-diary-of-strange-events/
or maybe they can?
“When in Rome , do as the Romans do”
Singapore has always been advocating water conservation as a way of life here. To see grass roots organisations planning such water wasteful events really make me think whether they have any brains in them…
What has Yaccob have to say about this? Does he encourage or not. If not, publicly tell them to stop this instead of passing a sweeping statement to say that singaporeans use more water during dry spells.
They should hold it over at the large swimming complexes such as Jurong East or places such as Wild Wild Wet.
Use seawater or collect rain water instead ….
It is still stupid to use good tap water for such events.
Perhaps sea water or rain water like logic & reason suggested is better.
Singapore PAP MP’s keep getting themselves associated with dumbness. Try going to place like Ghana, I saw a girl of 12 collecting bore water in 1 bucket for almost an hour, at least 10 buckets.
I hope some people learn how to appreciate and not just suck up to bull shit. Maybe the Burmese , Thais and others got another easier festival to follow anyways, water is too expensive in Sg.
They can always go to east coast to splash sea water at each other. SAVE WATER AND DAVE MONEY AND EVERYBODY HAPPY. Never ask tax payer to foot such expense for non-singaporeans, this is totally unacceptable.
Government should not spend public fund to celebrate foreigners’ festival but we should give them the freedom to celebrate provided that the activities comply with local laws.
For those Singaporeans who will like to join them, they should join on their own.
Let’s import bulls and let them run wild at Orchard Road to show our respects to Spanish living in Singapore.
Everyone derserves a right to have fun
@Astarte hamster
no one is disputing that. what we are talking about is the SG government celebrating a foreign festival that goes against its preaching about conserving water.
SURELY, u r able to see that, don’t u?
Everybody deserves to have fun…. If they pay for it.
How about the Bukit Batok grassroots charge $5 for every person who wants to ‘splash’ water and celebrate. Then everyone can have fun, and no one’s tax dollars of conservancy fees would be misused.
I’m betting no one would complain if that happened.
@ Astarte hamster - Huh? are you so dense that you do not see the whole point of what people are trying to say here ?
Why is Minister of Environment and Water Resources so silent on this matter ?
The MPs and the grass roots leaders would “score point” in their performance based on the numbers of people turned out for the events they organize. No wonder they would think of anything to get crowd … never mind the wasting of water
Do you see other countries in the world whereby their government celebrate Singapore National Day for singaporeans?
Why is the Sinkie gahmen thru its grassroots organization, celebrating the national events of foreigners here?
If that is indeed their policy and desire, then why don’t they also raise the PRC flag and do a TienAnMen style parade to make the PRC people feel at home on PRC National Day, celebrate 4th of July and Halloween to make the Americans and others feel at home, do fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day to make the Brits happy, make Thaipusam a holiday here again and let the Indians throw coloured powder at each other on one of the festivals that I have seen them do on TV, and also have something for the Aussies, Spanish, Italians, French, Swiss etc.???
Oooh, I left out the Japs. Perhaps on their National Day we should also raise the Rising Sun flag and have as many people as possible face in the direction of Japan, sing their National Anthem and bow towards the Emperor of Japan.
This will certainly bring back memories to the older folks still among us, since they were forced to do so, when Singapore was Syonan-To in the 1940s.
My point is that Singapore should be for Singaporeans. Our government should be looking after us better than their FT pets, instead of giving them jobs and “we die our own problem, and only NS for Singaporeans”.
Mar 29, 2010
Don’t spoil message with a splash
I REFER to last Monday’s report, ‘Keeping the water message afloat’, in which the Environment and Water Resources Minister reminded people of the need to use water wisely.
Ironically, the Bukit Batok Community Club states on its website that it will be organising a Water Festival on April 18 in celebration of the New Year festivities practised by our neighbours from the South-east Asian countries, similar to the Songkran Festival in Thailand, where people splash water as a celebration to wish one another good luck.
The organisers even recommend that participants for this event keep their wallets and mobile phones in waterproof bags.
I understand the need for a community club to integrate our fellow residents into the community and I would not want to dampen the spirits of the participants looking forward to this event but I believe there are less environmentally taxing ways to do so such as a gathering to share ethnic food or maybe even cultural performances.
It is important that different government agencies or organisations work together to disseminate a similar message to the public. If not, the actions of one will simply contradict the words of another.
Kong Chong Min (Mr)
Songkran is a religious festival. It is a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends and neighbors.
People celebrating Songkran may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance (Thai: น้ำอบไทย) over them.
It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. However, the water festival that we see now has nothing to do with Songkran.
Traditionally, the water splashing was on Statues of Buddha. And water collected from the splashed or drippings from the statues are collected by the followers.
The ‘blessed’ water is then splashed on family members on the shoulder to remove bad luck.
Incidently, since it done in the month of April, which is traditionally the hottest month of the year, the younger generation started to splash water on strangers to beat the heat.
Now it has become a full-fledged water fight, where anything that moves are splashed with water. People roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby.
This however, is not always the main activity of this Songkran festival (Thai: สงกรานต์, from Sanskrit saṅkrānti, “astrological passage”) which is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year’s Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia.
Bukit Batok is organising a Water Festival on April 18 and specifically state on it’s website http://bukitbatok.sg/node/45 that (Ticket includes Water Pistol, mineral water and snacks).
In this regard, one should question whether we are actually RESPECTING (as 1 MP put it) or DISRESPECTING the true meaning of Songkran by organising this “water-down” touristy version of “water-pistolling”.
This is sacrilege!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems to me, whatever grievance , disagreements we the minority had, have also no use wan. We just have to accept whatever.
While we respect their custom they must also respect our plight. Water is precious and it must be understood and respected.
Similarly, Burmese also like to chew betel nuts and spit all over the place. We beg them not to do it here.
As far as I’m concerned, if the Thai(or Burmese/Viet etc) community here wants to celebrate their Water Festival, so be it and let them do so.
However, I have major issues with taxpayer’s money being used to do this. And why so? To prove a dumb political point and score political points for an obviously failed immigration policy. All this talk about ‘integration’ in view of the impending elections is highly infuriating.
Another squandering of taxpayers’ money to entertain the FTs.
Yes, in the short run, public funds are spent on an event enjoyed by foreigners and water is wasted. But step back and look at the bigger picture.
The water festival is a one off event while the water conservation efforts are continuous, on a mega scale to reach out to all Singaporeans. The water wastage during the water festival would, to my believe, be much less than what would be saved by their campaigns. So why make a big fuss about it?
Such events with festivals of foreign countries can possibly show Singaporeans that festivals are not just “Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, National Day etc”. It goes a long way to expand the view that the younger generation and ignorant adults have of the world.
Yes, public funds are being channeled to foreigners. However, I believe such one-day off events would at most spend S$5,000. Compare that to the millions of dollars the government has spent and are spending on the poor (since people keep saying money should be given to the “poor and needy” Singaporeans).
My personal view from the previous comments is that some Singaporeans are already too prejudiced against foreigners. So much so that they will pounce on any chance (however small) to shoot them down. Don’t forget that our grandparents, great grandparents or even great great grandparents were also foreigners, largely from PRC. We wouldn’t be here as Singaporeans today if not for the willingness of the ruling group back then to accept them.
Now even private corporations give foreigners benefits!
DISGRACEFUL!
http://www.gv.com.sg/promodetails/gv_promotions_2585.jsp
In celebration of China National Day, buy 3 The Message tickets and get 1 FREE! For People’s Republic of China citizens only.
Hey Singaporean, don’t be jealous to others. You, singaporean don’t have national culture and also traditional festivals. So if you can’t celebrate your festivals, should not disagree to others. Even Burmese and Thai are celebrating water festivals in singapore, they played with their own for the costs. It’s not your business. You have no right to prevent this. RESPECT TO OTHERS.
Money is important but not in everything.
Singaporeans are so pity! They don’t have grand history like Burma , Thailand and Cambodia. And they don’t have race either. Anyone can be Singaporean. So they also don’t have own culture, only have adopted cultures from China, Malaysia and India. How about language? NO! So they use broken English and call it “Singlish”. Their life is always stressful on this TINY island. I feel sorry for you guys! Please widen your view though you live on this little island.
i agree to *water festival lover* and *Martin* :)
Oh Well, I agree with Martin and Choke Dee…..
Love Water festival…………ohhhhhhhhhhh
Me tooooo agree with Martin.
Everybody should widen their viewsssssssssss.