Shapeshifting Singapore

As a country Singapore is only 45 years old. It's crazy to think we've evolved so quickly to even successfully putting ourselves on the world map (although I still meet people who think Singapore's in China). As I watch Singapore change before my eyes, my biggest question is "What IS the Singaporean identity?"

Here are bits of information I found after some casual research on the internet. 1) 1000 Singaporeans renounce their citizenship every year. 2) There are 150,000 Singaporeans living abroad. 3) Without immigrants, Singapore's population will decline. 4) As of July 2010, Singapore's population hit the 5 million mark. About 3.2 are Singapore residents, 0.5 permanent residents and 1.3 non-permanent residents. The foreign population has seen a dramatic increase in the past two years.

Singapore is consequentially in the process of a huge shift. Cost of living has gone up. She is the second most densely populated independent country in the world. Here are some of my own observations. I hear many foreign kids in local schools speaking with strong Singlish inflections. Will these children stay and be part of the new Singaporean identity? How will Singlish evolve because of foreign influence and with Senior Minister Lee's stamp of approval on American English? Food, culture, art.. everything is set to evolve and fast. Is this speedy change good? Or will Singapore lose its distinctiveness as she opens her arms to the world?