Whether it is in the form of its national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim or the floral-motif shirts and dresses, the obsession with national icons, symbols and identity is prominent in Singapore.

The Merlion at the mouth of the Singapore river, the national carrier, Singapore Airlines, the persona of Lee Kuan Yew, the republic's economic competitiveness and its reputation as a clean and green city - all reveal the obsession of the government and its people have for a national identity. Even the regular Singapore-Malaysia row can be seen in this light!

The government has, since the island's independence in 1965, pursued a number of policies to gel the multi-cultural population. It strongly promotes bilingualism with English as the common language.

The intention - to facilitate cross-cultural communication and to make all citizens viable digits of the global economy.

The authorities have also nationalised the educational system with a standardised curriculum. Additionally, they have cajoled young Singaporeans into paying allegiance to the national flag and pledging allegiance by singing the national anthem at the start of each school session.

Military service

To complete this process, compulsory military service was introduced for all males above the age of 18.

An aggressive policy of housing the people in socialist-type pre-fabricated apartment blocks and the construction of satellite towns that had to observe an ethnic ratio of residents in order to avoid minority ethnic enclaves, were pursued as complementary policies.

To ensure citizens who worked and studied abroad did not lose sight of their connection to the republic, Singapore clubs, students associations and schools have also been set up with public money.

The icing on the cake has been the inauguration of the Singapore International Foundation whose principal mission is to keep in touch with Singaporeans overseas. The Contact Singapore offices abroad also serve this function.

However, the simultaneous promotion of the English language with that of a mother tongue resulted in Singlish . A hodgepodge of English underscored by Chinese vocabulary and grammar interspersed with Malay.

Even though, many have touted it as the lingua franca of Singapore with its infamous la particle, the visitor will find that not all the islanders speak alike.

Mr Kiasu

When speaking English, the British and American accent prevails among the overseas educated. The working class continues to be ethnically centred.

In spite of government policies, many fail to acquire competence in the English language in local schools. In the arts, literature and entertainment circles, this linguistic divide remains and bears testament to the island's multi-cultural heritage.

Food has also been touted as a common experience, which the island's hawker centres can easily, but misleadingly, bear witness to. However, when the visitor looks closely, even in food the people are different.

An annual survey once placed chilli crab as the most popular Singaporean dish. However, in reality, this remains a middle-class Chinese dish because of its price range and dietary restriction for Muslims.

The extreme materialism of the populace have often been cited as yet another example of a national characteristic.

'Kiasu-ism', a Hokkien term which means the act of getting ahead for personal gain over others, is well-known. There is a tendency in Singapore for people to think individually and look out for themselves.

It prompted one enterprising local company to exploit the opportunity by developing a cartoon character - Mr Kiasu!

This is one reason why the government embarked on its policy of Asian Values. The individual was urged to place community and nation above oneself. There was a realisation that the focus on economic development had resulted in extreme individualism and a lack of concern for others.

Digital divide

But beneath all this economic fever, the population continues to be divided along class lines. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow wider.

The latest separation is the digital divide. There is much talk of harnessing the power the Internet for business and government.

In this respect, statistics on increased usage and computer ownership is proudly paraded for local and external consumption, but differences between those who are online and off remain. The emergence of a cyber community in Singapore has created another chasm in reality.

However, if it is any consolation, many will be quick to point out that in spite of the population's many dividing traits, government policies have been adequate enough to prevent the outbreak of ethnic violence on the island.

A theme so oft repeated that it, too, might qualify as a national characteristic if not for its sceptics!

The tension between individual identities and the attempt to construct a single national identity remains an ongoing exercise in contemporary Singapore.

With government policies to increase its talent pool, formulated at the end of the millennium, this process is likely to continue to preserve the cosmopolitanism of the island republic.

An indicator of this trend lies in the increasingly vocal reactions to the government's foreign talent policy. Singaporeans are complaining, in spite of acknowledgment that additional manpower is needed for the economy, that there are too many foreigners living and working in the city state.

Many want restrictions over the numbers and ease with which they qualify to be permanent residents.

But meanwhile, Singapore remains a country without a settled identity and likely to remain so in the years to come.

This tension between identities will ironically remain the one true Singaporean image. Something, even the casual visitor cannot avoid noticing.

JAMES GOMEZ is author of the book Self-Censorship: Singapore's Shame and director of the Singapore-based NGO, the Think Centre.