This is my land!

Note: I have many friends, and many of them from countries all across ASEAN and all over the world. I have a diverse range of friends of all skin colours and all nationalities, perhaps much more diverse than an average 18 year old. I've met them during conferences, during ceremonies, during field trips and programmes, and I'm proud to have such great friends. This note obviously is not directed to any of my friends, and bears no malicious intent to their honourable countrymen.

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I know the importance of the SAF and NS. I am Singaporean and I'm proud to be part of this island state. My parents were born here, in this very land. I was born here, in this very land. I am proud of the history and culture of this land. I am proud of our leaders (raja, LKY, marshall, GCT etc. ) and I am proud of our success. We are Singaporeans and we stand proud and tall.

But a week ago I realised that perhaps Singaporeans, the rightful owners of this land, are being trampled upon in our very own soil. My very own uncle, who lives just 50 m from where I am seated right now, was insulted and assaulted by a bunch of foreigners in his very own home. Uneducated, uncivilised foreigners who claim to arrive from the "most civilised" country in the world - australia. (note how I use my punctuation)

On the stroke of midnight this bunch of unruly aussies were making a din at the pool side at my uncle's condo. They were drunk (not suprised, really), and making loud noises at the pool. My uncle's apartment was just beside the pool. He has a family, as all of us Singaporeans do, a young kid and an venerable mother (my grandma duh). He has work the next day, to contribute to the economic success of our motherland (unlike those bitches who drink whole day). The family has to sleep.

He went down to the guards to tell them abt the situation at the pool. The guards came, and told the aussies to leave. They did. But not for long. After 15 minutes, they returned. This time louder, wilder, and more disrespectful and unaware of their environment. They continued to party, to create a din, and make noise. My uncle was calm. He observed this quietly and went down to the guards post to make another complaint. The guard arrived, and told the hooligans to leave. The party did not move. Instead, they confronted my uncle, who was present at the pool.

My uncle told them to leave, as he had work the next day. The gangsters then launched a barrage of verbal attacks against him. A girl, reeking of alcohol (not surprised, really), confronted him, and insulted him repeatedly. "What rights do you have to ask us to leave?" "I dare you to hit me, come on, hit me!"She challenged my uncle.

Insults after insults, my uncle swallowed them all with bated breath.

Then came the final insult, the last straw, the tsunami of all provocations - the phrase "fucking Chinese" was used. Following that, the aussies started to attack my uncle. They took a goblet and smashed it against the railing, causing one of the glass fragments to penetrate my uncle's soles. They hit him on the head, and on the body. They never stopped with their attacks - both verbal and physical.

By this time the noise has attracted the neighbours to the scene. All Singaporean. All stood tall and proud, and united by justice and civility. One threatened to call the Police, the Home Team. The aussies were afraid that the iron grip of justice would subdue them, finally. They only had themselves, and we had the Police, the Courts of Justice, we had 4 million other Singaporeans behind us. If they were caught, they would be sent to the Police Station with nothing but their bikini and boxers on. They backed down. They apologised to my uncle, and never returned to make a scene.

My family has never been afraid to use legal action against these uneducated, uncivilised hooligans. We have lawyers in the family, and we are not short of the financial resources to file a civil case. We have each other, generations of family members, living here, and we have the best minds in the nation in each other for counsel, for advice, and for support. We are educated, we are sound, and we have committed no wrongs.

But this matter is not about winning a court case. There is no kick in that. This episode serves as a reminder to us all: That if Singaporeans allow foreigners to trample over us, they will do so. They are racist, and they think they are the elite, because of the colour of their skin. They have no respect for us: Chinese or Malay, Indian or any other Singaporean, they look down on us. In their eyes, they are supreme.

So we will fight. We will fight to remind them of their place in this land, OUR LAND. We will use rhetoric, we will use our brains, we will use pure intellect to remind them that we are the owners of this land. We will not resort to violence, like them, for violence is the first refuge of the incompetent. But in times of need, we have the military might to take them down.

We are holders of that red passport, and we will fight to protect that right. That is the reason why I am going to Tekong next week, and that is the reason why thousands of mothers, fathers, sisters, girlfriends and even wives will see their beloved 18 year old boy shave bald every year. Singaporeans, we live on this island, and we welcome foreigners to our small nation with open arms. But we must not allow them to trample over us. They have no links with this country, they can leave anytime. But we can't. We have to fight for our rights to live on this island.

This is my land, and these are my countrymen. You may be kings in your kingdom or shell, but over here, we are kings. And we will not hesitate to remind you of your place in this land.