By: Sheela Narayanan

THE day after they receive their red Singapore passports later this month, twins Rajeswari and Rajalakshmi Vadivel will make their first trip as newly-minted Singaporeans across the Causeway to the waterfalls at Kota Tinggi in Johor.

At the age of seven, naturally they are more excited about the trip than the significance of their new passport. But for their father Karuppiah Vadivel, it will be a big moment when he takes his oath on Aug 22 as a new Singapore citizen.

To sink roots here was not an easy decision, and giving up his Indian passport caused some unhappiness with his extended family. Said MrVadivel: "They told me to think about it properly before I made any sort of decision."

But the 37-year-old systems administrative officer at a local firm in Sungai Kadut, near Woodlands, decided that he wanted to put down roots in Singapore for the sake of his children.

He told tabla! that when he arrived in Singapore 15 years ago, he didn't think about setting up a home here permanently and was quite happy to travel back and forth to Kottaiyeruppu in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.

This mindset did not change even when he married his wife Alamelu, who is from his hometown, in 2000. After his children were born, the notion of settling here became stronger. He applied for and got permanent residency four years ago.

"It was only after I brought my family to Singapore last year and I bought my HDB flat in Bukit Panjang that I started to seriously think about being a Singapore citizen," said MrVadivel.

"I could see the changes in my daughters when they started school here. They picked up English very fast and they became more curious and more vocal. Now they are in Primary 1, they have friends from other races and Singapore is a safe place for us to raise them," he added.

This includes the latest addition to the Vadivel family, eight-month-old Pavithra who was born in Singapore.
His wife, who received her PR status last year, will have to wait another year - to complete the minimum two-year residency requirement - before she can apply for citizenship.

Mrs Vadivel likes living in Singapore. She loves the access to public transport and "as long as I am with my husband, I will be happy", she said.

Anyway, he already considers himself a Singaporean as he loves the food here. "I love hor fun (stir-fried broad rice noodles) and also like Japanese food like sushi," he added.

His two girls are so excited about Aug 9 that they made him buy National Day T-shirts for them and he is taking the family into town to catch the fireworks over Marina Bay on that day.

Besides their children's education, Mr Vadivel also liked the fact that he could fulfil his business ambitions here. He and his wife set up a catering business, Pavithra Catering, about four months ago, serving packed meals to foreign workers in the Sungai Kadut area.

"In Singapore, there is a lot of opportunity for me to do business and it was very easy to register the company - it is a straight-forward process as long as you follow the rules," said Mr Vadivel who employs five Singaporeans and will be opening another catering kitchen in Teck Whye.

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