This post was published 4 years 2 months 4 days ago which may make its actuality or expire date not be valid anymore. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.If I win the English course in Singapore I will have two advantages. The first advantage is of course I could learn a Standard English. Where could I learn proper English so close to Indonesia if it isn’t in Singapore? Australia maybe is another choice but Australia is not as close as Singapore. Singapore nestled in the same archipelago as Indonesia.
Singapore has been renowned of its long history on advanced education system, one of the best in Southeast Asia. It was carefully nursed since colonial time. As an island without any valuable resources except its strategic position, Singapore was planned to meet with the challenges in the future. A stable politic, high economic attainments and strong education system are Singaporean value. English is widely used here, replacing the bazaar Malay as a lingua franca, making Singapore closer to international wide community.
The second advantage is I could learn the unique Singaporean English patois or singlish. My friends think I’m ridiculous. But for me it’s interesting. It’s the work of a long interaction between ethnic groups that live in Singapore. It shows the strong bond of Singaporean as a nation. Maybe in the future it could evolve into a distinct language. Who knows? Afrikaans was once an offshoot of Dutch but know it became one of the official languages in the Republic of South Africa. That goes the same to Swahili; a blend of Arabic and Bantu languages; the national language of Tanzania.
Some people consider singlish could deteriorate the ability in mastering Standard English. I think it’s not true. In Indonesia for instance, the people that live in the capital speak a variant of Indonesian or Malay I would say. But when it comes to formal conversation they would use the standard Bahasa Indonesia without much difficulty. The patois is actually an expression of the unique identity of an area where they share the same bond.
But unfortunately Indonesia and Singapore doesn’t always have a cordial relation. There is a well known saying in Indonesia, tak kenal maka tak sayang. In my opinion this saying is the best way to explain the relationship between Indonesia and Singapore.
There are strong prejudices and ignorance on both sides and in some ways it had hindered mutual understanding between the two nations. Even though these two nations are neighbors but actually they don’t know each other very well. I hope if I have the opportunity to study English in Singapore or in other word I win this competition I could contribute more understanding for both sides. Of course I’m not Bandung Bondowoso who has the ability to build 1000 temples in one night. But at least I can meet and chat with as many Singaporean as possible while I stay in Singapore. This is the way I believe how we build mutual understanding, by interacting. No government barriers and no media tendencies, a much healthier understanding, I hope. By the way I would call you all in Indonesia with my Simpati. Bye.
(This article submitted for Quiz of English Course in Singapore which provided by SIMPATI-Telkomsel in 2005)
Hilmi Arifin, biasa dipanggil 
