18/09/2025
居銮,这座宜居小镇,却并非青年发展最理想的土壤。
以我为例,漂泊新加坡多年,在决定不成为新加坡公民后,决定回流,但时而仍会想念大城市那种无可抗拒的魅力,虽然生活节奏快速,但当下班后的喧嚣渐渐褪去,灯光映照在高楼大厦的剪影之间,反而能照见另一种深邃的安宁。
过去在下班、晚餐之后,我常常独自到金融区的一间 café 坐下,读着书,度过片刻宁静。偶尔,也会让自己“凡尔赛”一下,在高档餐厅点一份威灵顿牛排,配上一杯红酒,洗去一整天的疲惫。城市既有属于她独特的高贵与矜持,也有属于平民的自在与悠然。
然而,居銮是家,也是根。我的家族已在这里延续三代,而我,是唯一归来的第四代。大多数同辈的堂兄弟姐妹,早已散落世界各处,在更繁华的都市扎根生长。顶着长辈的劝阻,我依旧选择回来,深知这条路并不容易。
有时,我也会犹疑:是该重返熟悉的大都会,还是在这片养育我祖辈的土地上扎根?
或许,这正是南洋移民后代始终逃不开的宿命式抉择,在故乡与他乡之间,在血脉与梦想之间,一代又一代,反复漂荡、反复寻觅。
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Kluang is a livable town, yet not the most ideal place for the younger generation to thrive.
Take myself as an example. After spending years in Singapore, I eventually chose not to become a SG citizen and decided to return. Still, there are moments when I find myself missing it. Big cities possess an irresistible allure, their rhythms relentless and fast, yet when the bustle of workday life gradually fades, and the glow of lights casts shadows upon the towering skyscrapers, one often discovers a deeper, quieter kind of peace.
Back then, after work and dinner, I would sit alone in a café in the CBD, reading, enjoying a pocket of solitude. Occasionally, I would indulge myself with a Wellington steak and a glass of red wine, letting the weariness of the day melt away. Metropolises carry a certain nobility and elegance, but at the same time, they also offer spaces of simplicity and ease for ordinary lives.
And yet, Kluang is home. My family has been rooted here for three generations, and I am the only one of the fourth generation who has returned. Most of my cousins have long since settled in more prosperous cities. Despite the discouragement of my elders, I chose to come back, fully aware that the path would not be an easy one.
At times, I too, waver, should I return to the metropolis I know so well, or should I take root in this town that once nurtured my ancestors?
Perhaps this is the inevitable dilemma faced by the descendants of Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia, caught between homeland and foreign land, between bloodline and aspiration, drifting and searching, again and again, generation after generation.
新闻链接:
https://johor.chinapress.com.my/20250917/%E6%9F%94%E4%BD%9B%E4%BA%BA%E5%A4%B4%E6%9D%A1%EF%BD%9C%E6%85%A2%E6%AD%A5%E8%B0%83-%E6%B2%BB%E5%AE%89%E5%A5%BD-%E7%8E%AF%E5%A2%83%E4%BD%B3-%E5%B1%85%E9%8A%AE%E5%B9%B8%E7%A6%8F%E6%84%9F%E7%88%86/
#居銮 #居銮幸福城市