Ai Race Mai

A popular slogan in one of the local car forums. Not meant to provoke anyone in hope of inviting a real race but just a fun one liner that was started way back when... it was still Ai Kum Mai which obviously is suggestive and the underlying connotation was definitely not allowed on the public forum. I just borrowed that for my title...

Was thinking about the topic Venetta Lopez brought up this morning. What is the main purpose of having the check box "Race" in some of the forms that we see? Doesn't that promote discrimination? Given all the efforts we've put in to create racial harmony, is that what we're going to do to separate the people again? Food for thought...

Some days ago, I read on the news on some Eurasian child who score tops in some PSLE for his racial group but he wasn't listed as a Eurasian child. In the very first place, why do officials have to separate the different races. The best should be named and awarded but truth is, it should matter more that you scored best in a certain field/subject rather than your race. The definitions of some races are still very grey. Would an American Asian mix be Eurasian? No? American with European ancestry and Asian mix?

And as for younger generations who can't speak their mother tongue? Is it that important? I was brought up to be effectively bilingual and trust me, helped me a great deal in handling many situations in life and of course, my job. Mother tongue or not, having the ability to be able to speak more than one languages will definitely help. As much as I'd like to advocate one to pursue their mother tongue and be able to at least speak it, I am not ready to put anyone down based on their inability to do so. But I do know with my kids in future, I'd want them to be able to speak their mother tongue just because they have the advantage than to pick up something totally foreign.

What's your take?