(Reuters) - It takes a lot to start a mass campaign with political overtones in Singapore, but there's no better catalyst than food.
Tens of thousands of people in the Southeast Asian city-state said they would cook or eat curry on Sunday in a protest highlighting growing anger over increased immigration.
The campaign began after an immigrant family from China complained about the smell of curry from a Singaporean Indian neighbor's home and local officials brought about a compromise.
A Facebook page devoted to the row after reports were published in a local newspaper has drawn over 57,600 members, many of who said they were cooking curry on Sunday in a show of solidarity with the Indian family.
Read more :
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/21/us-singapore-curry-idUSTRE77K0TB20110821
Sometimes little things can be turned into a big issue. Perhaps the locals just kept silent regarding the presence of foreign immigrants into Singapore due to their government policy. But this culinary protest is something to think about.
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Before the protest :
Singaporeans will be launching the largest ‘protest’ since independance over the recent ‘currygate’ incident if the numbers on the organizer’s FaceBook page “Cook and share a pot of curry on Aug 21″ translates to action.
As of 1400 hours, 21st August 2011, at least 57,000 FaceBook users have pledged their support for the organizer’s call to cook a pot of curry this weekend (today), “to express national pride because curry, in one form or another, was loved by people of all races.”
Ms Flor Leow, a Singaporean of mixed ancestry in her 40s who started the biggest protest movement in the ‘currygate” case formed on social networking website Facebook, said that she didn’t expect it to go viral.
Explaining why the movement, she said :“We put up the event to say ‘let’s not argue, let’s not quarrel, let’s learn to tolerate, embrace and appreciate our multicultural way of life.’”
In her message to new citizens, she said: “We sincerely hope you integrate into our local culture and make attempts to assimilate.”
“Curry is ‘not just an issue of our Indian fellow citizens, it is a beautiful symbol of what co-existence can create – of being Singaporean in spirit,” she added.
What Happened
An old dispute between a Chinese family and their Indian neighbours over the cooking of curry caused a new uproar in Singapore, prompting some netizens to start a spicy protest movement against intolerance.
The controversy broke out when a newspaper article about mediation cited the case of the Chinese family that had moved to Singapore and soon complained about the smell from the neighbours’ kitchen.
The family took the case before a Community Mediation Unit under the Ministry of Law for a ruling in the matter.
According to the article, mediator Marcellina Giam got the Indian family to agree to cook curry, their national dish, only when the Chinese family was not at home.
* The mediation agency was quick to rebuff the report, stating that ‘Madam Giam did not propose the solution, neither did she impose it on the parties.’
The report sparked an outcry in multiracial Singapore, incensing even many of Singapore’s native Chinese population which eyes new immigrants from mainland China with some disdain.
As the island state with its population of 5 million people takes pride in the generally harmonious coexistence of its Chinese majority and substantial Indian and Malay minorities, the curry case hit a raw nerve.
Although the neighbours’ dispute dated back about seven years, Singaporeans in internet forums have boiled over with anger at the reported outcome of the mediation, criticising it as unfair and condemning the Chinese immigrants for their intolerance.
Kerana gulai mereka bersatu hati. Kita? letih buat program nak bagi bersatu padu. Sana, gulai sebekas boleh jadi satu hati.
Hai sedap sedap sedap
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