As the whole nation was in celebratory mood for our Jubilee National Day, I couldn’t help wondering what makes us uniquely Singaporeans. Winning the Singapore way TODAY conducted a street poll with 525 respondents and asked for three words that best describe the Singapore identity. As everyone would have expected, the word that mentioned most was “kiasu”, or the Hokkien word behind “fear of losing”. Drive along any expressway in Singapore. If you find a car hogging on your left lane some distance behind, simply signal left and it will automatically speed up in a split second. It works over 90 percent of the time. The relaxed driver originally has no intention to keep pace with the car in front. But when a perceived competitor is in sight, the fear of losing immediately prompts the driver to take action. The drive comes not from the desire to win, but the ......