Should Singlish be discouraged in Singapore?

I believe that Singlish should not be discouraged in Singapore. Unfortunately, the Singapore Government seems to be against having Singlish in Singapore and have set off to conquer it through introducing campaigns like the "Speak Good English" campaign.

Firstly, we have to ask ourselves, what is the definition of language? The Singapore Government claims that Singlish is not a language, thus it should be eradicated to make way for the 'proper' original English to blossom in Singapore. However, who is to say that Singlish cannot be considered as a proper language?

If we use the 4 main features of language: Phonology, Semantics, Grammar and Pragmatics, Singlish can indeed function as a variant of English thus being an official language. In fact, there is even a wikipedia page on English, thus proving that the language can actually be documented, unlike the babbling of babies.

The average Singaporean would definitely understand the basic Singlish used in our everyday context. As such, we should use Singlish while talking to one another but switch to proper English when communicating with foreigners. This reflects on Singapore as we are a melting pot of different cultures, thus it is no surprise that our language is varied as well! It also helps to build a sense of belonging by having a language unique to Singapore.