Singapore gangs

The recent appearance of “street-corner” gangs such as “369” has shocked many - the government, netizens and citizens living in small neighborhoods. While one week ago, one may think that local gangs have been eradicated, this assumption is totally proven wrong one week later, with a serious gang fight (over 10 casualties, 3 dead) in Bukit Panjang.

It may seem foolish to join gangs, especially in partially law and military state like Singapore. However, if we sit down and take the time to properly think of this matter, we would realize the gravity of this social problem - from the overwhelming drivers that encourage youths to join gangs, to the overarching adverse social effects this would bring.

The most attractive factor about gangs that encourage many youths nowadays to join, is the fact that is gives these youths, who mostly come from broken families or have family problems, a sense of identity, and a false sense of brotherhood and home, which actually merely translates to fighting and playing in arcades together in reality.

For some, they can easily be victims of bullying in school themselves, or are cowards want or are afraid to step out of their “security zone”. These timid people join gangs, usually prestigious ones to seek a sense of security and safety, as well as to gain back their confidence, because they are not afraid only when they are all together.

Why do we often find that youths involved in gangs have unsatisfactory academic results? The reason is simple - students who have lousy grades often lose their sense of usefulness and worth, as well self-confidence. As such, they join gangs because only in street-corner gangs, they can easily score A1 in things like gaming, billiard, poker, drinking, drub-abusing, and fighting, and this helps them regain their sense of worth and self-confidence.

Lastly, some of these youths are simply lonely - they may be the only child in the family, or live in broken family. They simply want to seek entertainment with a bunch of friends that can accompany them.

So, what dangers do these timid, lonely or cowardly youths exactly bring to Singapore, that caused it to be such a hot topic?

Firstly, because these youths have a strong desire to prove themselves, and find their confidence, they often get involved in fights, and more major gang fights such as the recent one in Bukit Panjang. From these gang fights to a small action of throwing away a beer bottle, these actions do endanger residents, and threaten the peace of the neighborhood. Even if the physical consequences are not serious, residents will constantly live in fear and cannot have a peace of mind.

Furthermore, gangs often go to pub and disco places such as Clarke Quay, which happens to a tourist attraction too, due to its night clubs and beautiful scenery. If vulgarities, cigarettes, beer, rowdy / violent behavior is what Singapore has to show these foreign tourist, then Singapore’s reputation as a safe city and “global hub” would be tarnished.

Lastly, gangs also have personal harms to the youths themselves. When in a mob attitude, they often do not think clearly, and may do foolish actions, such as drug abuse, gang fighting, that can easily lead to years of imprisonment.

As such, the government should and must seriously consider the social gravity of this issue and carry out some feasible measures to solve the problem. These youths are inherently timid, so the government can suppress them and eradicate them using force. Once they are not in mob, the government can also consider giving them counselling to regain their confidence, or set up associations that operate classes to help them pick up a skill that can secure them reasonable-paying jobs, so that they can find their sense of worth.