CLEMENTI Polyclinic doctor Anuj Gupta is a former Indian national, but the 35-year-old prides himself on being able to speak Hokkien with his patients.
He also speaks Mandarin and Malay.
His wife Yang Kaimei, 34, is a former Chinese national from Shandong who works as a clinical research assistant.
The couple, who are now Singapore citizens and have two young children, chose to live here because it will be difficult for either of them to live in their spouse's home country, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament yesterday. He cited them as examples of newcomers who make Singapore society more interesting because of their different outlooks and social habits.
'While we work to make them a part of us, we should also appreciate the little differences that make our social landscape more varied and vibrant,' said Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister.
Dr Gupta and Ms Yang came to Singapore as students. He came here in 1992 at the age of 17 to study at Temasek Junior College on an SIA Youth Scholarship. He later studied medicine at the National University of Singapore. She came in 1995 after securing a nursing scholarship with the Health Ministry, and studied nursing at Nanyang Polytechnic.
They met in 2000 while working at the National University Hospital and got married four years later. They immediately decided to make Singapore their permanent home. Said Dr Gupta: 'Singapore is the only country in the world where our family can feel at home. If we go to India, my wife will feel out of place. If we go to China, I will feel out of place. In a Western country, the culture will be different.'
To prove how 'Singaporean' they have become over the years, Ms Yang jokingly told The Straits Times that the family is looking for a flat near a good primary school because their five-year-old daughter will start school soon.
She said: 'We want our children to study and grow up here. Here, people are valued according to their abilities, not who they know or who their parents are. People don't care whether you're from China or India. Everyone gets treated the same and we like that.'
NUR DIANAH SUHAIMI
