Kiasu in Singapore

What is Singapore described as? Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore - About Singapore Singapore is a sunny, tropical island in South-east Asia, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. The city-state is 710 square kilometres and inhabited by five million people from four major communities; Chinese (majority), Malay, Indian and Eurasian. What are Singapore's values? The five officially shared values are: NATION before community and society above self. FAMILY as the basic unit of society. COMMUNITY support and respect for the individual. CONSENSUS, not conflict. HARMONY among races and religions. Amidst global economic headwinds, Singapore remains one of the world’s strongest economies. Anchored in political stability, low corruption rates and transparent public institutions, we are a trusted partner for businesses.

Kiasu is a term derived from the Hokkien “kia” meaning afraid and “su” meaning to lose. It is commonly defined as “the fear of losing,” and is directed at a person who behaves competitively to either attain their goal or to get ahead of others. The term has been part of the Singlish (formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English) lexicon spoken in Singapore since the 1980s.

For example, a kiasu parent would be mindful of other parents sending their children to enrichment classes after school. If somebody else’s kid is learning to play the piano, the kiasu parent won’t let up on such (an imagined) “competition”. On the same note, comparing grades of one’s kids with their peers is another favourite activity of kiasu parents. This often results in children having to go for tuition classes just to catch up with other kids (who seem to be scoring higher marks from) attending said classes!

In a way, such competitions are good for the economy. Witness the plethora of early education schools targetted at toddlers and pre-school-going children. Many schools shamelessly use the “Montessori” theme to brand their business so as to appeal to parents sourcing for ideal places of learning. Never mind that the fees for attending such branded schools are sky high. After all, the exclusivity should be good for their kids, giving them a big academic head start. And anyways, that’s what being kiasu is about — the one-upmanship can be a great source of satisfaction!