The story
kiasi + -ness, from Hokkien 驚死／惊死 (kiaⁿ-sí, “afraid to die”)
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
kiasiness
Today it means: The quality of being kiasi, a stereotypically Singaporean attitude associated with being overly wary and willing to take excessive measures to avoid risk. Full definition →