To Huang Wen Hong, who came to Singapore to be a radio station DJ after his graduation, a person's nationality does not matter as much as the person himself, in our globalized world today.

Having worked in Singapore for so many years, Huang is now a multi-tasking media personality involved in a diverse range of industries, including movie production and program planning, among others. However, radio station DJ remains an identity he has never thought of giving up since day one.

Huang started working at a radio station during his last two years studying in a Taiwan university. After graduation, he came to Singapore to work at a local radio station.

He said Malaysia still did not have so many private radio stations back then, and compared to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore was nearer to his hometown Kluang, making it easier for his parents to see and "hear" him.

Despite the fact Johoreans are generally quite familiar with the society and culture of Singapore, there were indeed down moments for Huang. Nevertheless, he said he was trained in Taiwan to be versatile and strong-willed.

He admitted that when he tried to apply leave to go back to Malaysia to celebrate Chinese New Year, his boss told him, "If I knew this, I would not have hired a Malaysian like you!" There was even a listener who simply told him to get lost and go back to Malaysia!

Huang said he did not actually take such negative comments seriously, as he understood people in different countries would have very different positions in something. He said as long as he did not do anything wrong, it was unnecessary for him to waste his time arguing with such people.

As Singapore opens up to more migrants, Malaysians are no longer the primary source of migrant population in the tiny city-state, nor will Malaysians be specifically targeted whenever an issue arises. At least for the past ten years he has never heard comments that want him to "get lost".

Thanks to the government's more balanced policies and education, Singaporeans are increasingly more receptive to foreigners living in their country.

Huang said it is not really that difficult for people living in southern part of Malaysia to get assimilated into the Singapore society given the close resemblance in language and culture of these two places.

Opportunity cost

Singapore is generally described as a highly stressful and fast-paced country.

"I myself have always been a fast person and can therefore adapt to the environment of Singapore without much difficulty. Sometimes I have moved too fast that when I return to Kluang, I find myself moving way too fast and should just slow down my pace and relax a little."

As his age catches up, Huang has learned to balance things out and make necessary adjustments to his life. After making clear his very high standard requirements, Huang nevertheless has learned to accept not-too-perfect outcomes, especially when dealing with young people. He knows he should learn to control himself and be more implicit in his language.

Huang has been living in Singapore for more than 20 years since his graduation. Now a Singapore PR, he nevertheless will not consider taking up Singapore citizenship yet, mainly because of his parents in Kluang.

"I go back once or twice a month to be with my parents. As my home is still in Malaysia, I have never seriously thought of taking up Singapore citizenship.

"Moreover, I am still single, and being a Singapore citizen will not make much difference when it comes to social benefits.

"There isn't yet a powerful push-pull factor to lead me to that decision!"

When asked whether he would consider coming back to Malaysia for work, Huang said it would entail a very high "opportunity cost" as he has been working in Singapore for more than 20 years now and is enjoying very stable income there, even though he would appreciate an opportunity to advance his DJ career in Malaysia.

Moreover, he has now diversified into the "borderless" movie production field and is currently engaged in his podcast platform which can be done anywhere, making it unnecessary for him to be physically in Malaysia to explore the opportunities there.

While the focus of his career is in Singapore, Huang is nevertheless very much concerned about political developments in Malaysia. Each time he returns to Kluang, he will flip the old newspapers or get updates from friends. He said he had the need to understand better the country's political situation as he has the voting right.

When asked about his views on the performance of the Pakatan Harapan government, he admitted that it would take time to change and the current progress to him is acceptable.

Citing himself as example, he said to a certain degree Malaysia and Taiwan have helped shape his personality while his working life in Singapore has molded parts of his unique characters. Moreover, he is also influenced culturally by Hong Kong and China, and to him, nationality does not really matter that much at all.

"Everyone has his strengths and shortcomings, and we cannot attribute these to where the person comes from but more to his personal conducts."