Dear MS / SMS,
History.
I was in the combat engineers, as a driver and had many Malay buddies, that i would go to war with. We supported the field bridging works, set up and cleared land / tank mines, set up explosives and disable enemy explosives together. One of the first units to enter and one of the last to leave a battlefield.
American took years to have their first all black company, during the first civil war, and did not trust the native Indians till / after the 2nd world war.
Singapore is only 45 years old, it will take time. We have got our first Malay General last year, commander of our 6th battalion.
The gahmen's stand is that if we had a confrontation with a muslim enemy, would our Malay troops attack? I personally think that they would, at least the majority of them. just that Malay Muslims have not had any history against a muslim opposition. In Malaysia it is the opposite, where the chinese are only in the police force.
Gurkhas
"Their presence as a neutral force was important because local police officers were often perceived to be (or were even expected to be) biased towards their own ethnic groups when handling racial disturbances, further fueling discontent and violence[citation needed]. Officers who attempt to carry out their duties impartially and in full accordance with the law also face social backlash from their own ethnic communities, a difficult situation which can even lead to physical harm to individual officers.
In his autobiography, then Prime Minister, now Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew recounted the use of the Gurkha Contingent as an impartial force at the time when Singapore just gained independence. He wrote:
"When I returned to Oxley Road [Lee's residence], Gurkha policemen (recruited by the British from Nepal) were posted as sentries. To have either Chinese policemen shooting Malays or Malay policemen shooting Chinese would have caused widespread repercussions. The Gurkhas, on the other hand, were neutral, besides having a reputation for total discipline and loyalty."
as quoted from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurkha_Contingent
It makes sense, i mean, if we had a start a new country with many different races in the population, i would suggest the gurkhas too, as they are highly loyal. to be neutral.
In the triads of the past, if there was trouble with the chinese, Indian members would be activated.... and vice versa, they knew how to settle the problem without creating racial tensions.
My best teacher in secondary school was Miss Sinta Maniam, she really help and guided me, i was one of the naughty ones. We still call each other and chat.
MS - past history, is all politics -- to get power, stay in power... what can i say.
National service - 2-3 years of our lives, and reservist till 35 -40 years old -- is important, but not as important as studies, where in SG, any person can, with hard work excel.... they might not get a good job here or they might... but anyone can be an expat, tell ppl that you are a Singaporean, and you would be "more" accepted.
Overall, Sg did well with this gahmen... you must admit.
Yes, it is not perfect.
Sorry, quite jumbled up...
BTW, today is ex president Mr Ong Teng Cheong's 9th anniversary of his death, the guy that did not get a state funeral... Good guy.
Cheers