Who will fight with us?

BM: Baby... Using our MBA class and Cambridge experience as a reference point... Do you think any of our Singaporean classmates would have stood up for us if we got into a fight in Cambridge?

GF: *pause* In general, unlikely... But maybe if there were Singaporean Ah Bengs overseas with us, I think they would stand up for us.

BM: But it's Cambridge, where got Ah Bengs?? Did you have Ah Beng classmates in Oxford?

GF: Yah... Dun have Ah Bengs in general... But I think one or two persons from Oxford may stand up for me. Like XX and YY.

BM: Wah lau! XX is not really Singaporean! He's from Taiwan lah! So... only YY out of so many Singaporeans in Oxford? Seriously... If you compare with other nationalities... I'm sure our Korean classmates would stand up for one another without question. The PRCs too. The Indians too. The Russians!!

GF: Singaporeans only gather together for meals to celebrate Lunar New Year, or watch National Day Parade via cable as a group. Superficial merry-making stuff.

BM: Yah... Superficial is the word. True colous revealed in everyday life... That $#^#$%*$ XXX in class, he just wants to one-up other Singaporeans. I'm sure the Koreans see one another as competition too (South Korea is a highly competitive society, even more cut-throat than ours), but they also understand that it's important to band together in face of foreign competition. That's something, I feel, is sorely lacking.

Worse still... I know of Singaporeans who won't fight along with you, and would even turn against you, using you as an excuse to approach the opposing group for his/her own benefits. Remember ZZZ?

GF: Yes. Wait... I know when other Singaporeans will stand up for me in a fight oredi. 

BM: When?

GF: During the Singapore Oxbridge Games lor... When it's Singapore Oxonians vs Singapore Cantabs... Shoving the other team around... "An zhuar... An zhuar??"

BM: Wah lau... 自己人打自己人 meh?! No meaning.