Collective Fear

I always thought that my 'kiasu' (fearful of losing out) nature could have risen from adverse childhood experiences in KL, Malaysia. Constantly scoring close to bottom positions in the top class of a good primary school dented my self esteem. Coming from a poor family and surrounded by relatively rich classmates could have made me feel deprived. I hence concluded that these experiences created the constant need to "keep up" with others.

However an article I read entitled ' A Formula for Happiness' made me rethink my conclusion. The article described how Singapore kept sliding in the global ranking of countries' overall happiness over the years, dropping from 22 in 2016 to 34 in 2019 despite faring well in GDP, employment, life expectancy, education and absence of corruption. Meanwhile depression is on the rise among Singapore teenagers.

Experts opined that Singaporeans seem to have adopted the unhealthy narrative of "kiasuism", the need to have more and the fear of losing out. Moreover the education system drummed into students that academic excellence equates to career achievement and happiness. Furthermore the collectivist culture where the opinion of family and friends influence one's attitude and action, perpetuates comparison and competition.

I now have to further analyse whether I actually picked up this communal trait after I moved back to Singapore at 15. My earliest recall of being competitive wasn't really in secondary school or junior college nor working in a statutory board shortly after graduation. Life then was pretty mundane and I was grateful to secure a job which is described as an iron rice bowl. It was in the 70s and 80s and I guess people were generally just grateful with the improved housing, health care and living standards.

My first real taste of competition was to secure a place in a good school for my children in the 90s. Back then after the PSLE (Primary School Leaving examination) results were out, the newspaper would list the entry points required to get into every secondary school. Thus there was a mad competition to place your kids in a reputable primary school which  has a track record of churning out students with high PSLE scores. Even at primary school, the education system introduced another examination at primary 3 to siphon student into different types of upper primary classes. In summary the school system has always focused on ranking based on academic performance. That was the beginning of parents sending their children for tuition classes,a practice which not only persisted but intensified several fold. Even for ECA (Extra Curriculum Activities) in school, a student has to show some level of skills or aptitude before admission depriving many who have the interest but not the means to acquire the skills outside of school.

Another reason for this national 'kiasu' trait could be the inherent 'scarcity mentality' of baby boomers many of whom have experienced poverty in childhood. Baby boomers in general need to buy and hoard things/assets in case of calamity. This is reinforced by the government's persistent brainwashing message of how we need to strife due to a lack of natural resources. To spur citizens to be achievement oriented is necessary for economic growth. Thus the media is obsessed with ranking and winning, consistently splashing about Singapore topping this area and that in global ranking.

I recalled the comment of Tash Aw in an interview with Straits Times on why Singapore never produced an internationally acclaimed author like him. He said in Malaysia there is less expectation of success. "If you don't make it, you are basically measured to the mediocrity around you, so there is no pressure......I think most Malaysians in general enjoy the freedom to find their own level, their own space"


Well looks like the lasting adverse impact of my so called childhood 'strife' may have just been my imagination. It is more likely that I got myself caught up in the Singaporean collective fear of losing and country fervor to win and never to be left behind. Still it is no excuse to sit back and blame external factors for character weakness. If the country is slow in finding a wider range of narrative for happiness, I have to do so on a personal level even though I should have started long ago.