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Should National Day merchandise do more to reflect Singapore’s multicultural identity? One reader thinks so.
After coming across National Day T-shirts featuring English and Chinese text, Stomper Sugiman says the designs raised broader questions about how Singapore is represented through merchandise associated with national pride.
“The Chinese words themselves are not offensive,” he said. “They simply refer to Singapore and the date of independence.”
However, Sugiman feels merchandise marketed specifically for National Day carries greater significance than ordinary commercial clothing.
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“It is not simply selling a design; it is selling an image of Singapore,” he said.
He added that Singapore’s four official languages — English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil — together reflect the country’s multicultural and multiracial identity, while Malay remains the national language.
“These are not merely administrative arrangements,” he said. “They reflect the historical and social foundation of Singapore as a shared home for different communities.”
Sugiman stressed that his concern was not the use of Mandarin itself.
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