  Three of my best friends had kids within two weeks of each other about a year ago. All three were boys.
Yup ... had to fork out some hard earned moolah to get gifts. The time has come again as they turn one. And I have been reminded of this by the eager parents. What is it with them? As if I would forget. Make sure you buy a good present ; Don't be a cheapskate ; No favouritism for your god-son (yes I know it's hard to believe that I am a god-father).
As if life is not pressurising enough. I have to now worry about whether the presents I get are good enough for their kids! Anyway, I decided that I would get them all books. Figured I might as well get them something fun and educational. So today I made a trip to Borders. Turns out they have a pretty great selection of kiddie books. Pop-ups, board books, Ladybird books, audio books etc. Spent a whole afternoon looking at childrens books. Cannot believe it myself. Me, the guy without a kid, spending so much time in the kiddie section of a bookstore. Ran into an old school-mate who was buying childbirth/first-child books for his wife. Was getting my books wrapped and didn't notice he was also getting his wrapped.
His wife is expecting sometime in July and was going to K.L. to deliver. Why? So that the kid would automatically have dual citizenship. She (yes it's going to be a baby girl) would be both Singaporean and Malaysian at the same time. That got me thinking a little bit. Why would he want dual citizenship for his daughter? He has spent most of his life in Singapore, his friends are here, he served in the army, he has family here.
Why would he think of leaving Singapore? Or why would he think his daughter may need Malaysian citizenship? I hope that it has nothing to do with loyalty (or lack of it) or being marginalised in Singapore. I do not think that he is alone in thinking aboutthis though. If the perception in Singapore is that some are being marginalised, then I think that should change.
We should see tangible results of any changes that are made. Racial integration is important for Singapore and I personally think that more of an effort should be made by everyone. It would be a sad day if people got the best out of Singapore only to leave in dab times. Think I had better stop now in case someone actually reads this and takes offense. 
