Singapore passport on a yellow luggage. (Photo: Getty Images)

By Divya Balji

(Bloomberg Markets) — Hi. My name is Divya Balji. I’m 40 years old, and I’ve never exercised my democratic right to vote.

A big part of that has to do with my leaving Singapore as a teenager. It seemed irresponsible to vote for the next government without having lived and worked in the city-state as an adult. Eighteen years in Toronto, one four-year job stint in Singapore and five general elections later, I still haven’t cast a ballot. Inopportunely, I moved back to Singapore the month after the September 2015 elections and left before the July 2020 round. And while I could have registered to vote in 2020 as an overseas elector, we were living in the topsy-turvy world of the Covid-19 pandemic, and I missed the deadline.

Many have asked why I never chose to become Canadian. I’ve lived in Canada for most of my adult life, I’ve paid Canadian income taxes, I married a Canadian, I understand Canadian ­politics – and who doesn’t want the highly coveted Canadian passport?

Not me. To become a Canadian, I’d have to renounce my Singapore citizenship – the country doesn’t allow dual nationality. And believe it or not, holding on to my Singapore passport is way more valuable to me. The document is not only a symbol of life in a peaceful, vibrant and rich country of immigrants but also the badge of a Singaporean diaspora whose members are in effect citizens of the world.