My pet subject

Life in Singapore – my pet subject. I have now been living in Singapore on and off for nearly 7 years. When I came here for the first time in 2000 I was fascinated by the progress made by this tiny little island state. Without any resources to speak of, the country has advanced by leaps and bounds over the other Southeast Asian countries. In the past 7 years there have been many improvements in infrastructure such as roads, MRT, public services and many other projects to improve the standard of living for the Singaporeans. Public Housing in Singapore is second to none and the majority of Singaporeans are owners of their homes. The speed of transformation from a squalid little third world country to almost a first world city is astounding. Within 40 years Singapore, an island without any resources, transformed itself from a backward state to what it is today. How did this come about? I think it is through sheer hard work, good and strict governance and maybe little not so pleasant political maneuvers. Less said about that the better.

Becoming a modern and dynamic city has brought with it some very serious problems. One of the most urgent problems for this fast growing city is the aging population. The nation builders of 40 years ago are in their 60s and 70s today. Time for these people to retire from the workforce. The city state is finding it very difficult to support this ageing and non-productive portion of the population. To compound to this problem of the ageing population was a law passed some 40 years ago by the Singapore Government regarding the optimum number of children a couple should have. Any family with more than 2 children were penalized by having to pay higher school fees, medical bills, birth certificates and low priority in the choice for schools. All these discouraged the Singaporeans of 40 years ago from having more than 2 children. Many stopped at one or even had none at all. Owing to this law, Singapore is now suffering from a shortage of manpower.

Clamoring to become the financial hub of Southeast Asia, Singapore has to import workforce from other countries. Foreign talents have been encouraged to come to this little island to work and become citizens. These imported citizens come mainly from India, China and other countries in Asia and even from European nations. The Singaporean government is choosey in who they allow into the country. Only talented and skilled applicants are welcomed. Skilled and talented people are also encouraged to bring in families to increase the future workforce of the country. Good schools and medical facilities are added attractions to lure these foreign talents into the country. The Singaporean government has a target of 6.5 to 7 million populations for 2015. To cater for this fast population growth the government has put in place a programme to upgrade the infrastructure and housing. This involves a large importation of manual labour from nearby countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and some also from Malaysia.

The fast and sudden influx of foreigners into Singapore has to some extent taken the true blue Singaporeans by surprise. The majority of Singaporeans are middle class and probably are not fully aware the reason for this encroachment into their island. Whether this is good or bad for the country is not evident to them. What is glaringly obvious to them is the fact that their jobs, their space, their children’s welfare are being threatened by these newcomers. They probably do not fully understand that Singapore needs these foreigners to ensure survival in decades to come. They are more interested in the here and now and the daily survival for their families. Fast growth and a buoyant economy have brought with it some nasty side effect – inflation. Singapore has become one of the most expensive cities in Southeast Asia, not too far below Tokyo and Hong Kong. The middle and low income Singaporeans are now feeling the pinch of inflation and rising prices of daily essentials. I am sure the Singapore government, being as efficient as they are, is aware of this and is taking steps to combat this difficulty.

Importing citizen into ones country, which is what Singapore is doing, comes with it some very unpleasant side effects. This is very evident in the Singapore case. Lately from the MSM and the bogs about Singapore I have come across complaints, grievances, criticisms, objections, protests and grumbles from all various parties concerned. Although mostly from Asia, these parties are all from different countries with different customs and cultures. Clashes of cultures and customs manifest themselves through lack of understanding and intolerance. Bitterness arises when ones livelihood is threatened or when one’s feels there has been an encroachment on his space. The fight for jobs or a seat on the bus or the MRT is potential sources for such bitterness. Distrust between different factions also enhances suspicion and animosity. The cliquing of the various factions of the imported citizens tends to be looked upon as snobbery and aloofness. Cliquing for safety and comfort in a foreign land is quite normal but this could be misinterpreted as unwilling to mix attitude. Furthermore there is also snobbery within each faction of these new citizens. White collar citizens would not mix with the manual workers from the same country. All these silent “rivalry” go on under a surface of calm civility. What will happen in days to come no one can predict. I am certain the Singaporean government is trying their hardest to encourage integration. To achieve this there has to be more compassion, tolerance, humility and understanding. In my opinion, unfortunately these qualities hardly exist in Singapore.

On a good day I love being in Singapore. Everything works and things are so well managed. Buses are on time and MRT are clean and cool. There is hardly any litter on the ground and there is zero graffiti. Shops are full of goods and groceries are plentiful. In Singapore you can get anything money can buy. Everything here comes with a price tag and this price tag is usually high. As I have already mentioned, Singapore is an expensive city to live in.

I do have bad days in Singapore too. Drivers in Singapore are the rudest I have ever encountered. They care little for other divers and even less for pedestrians. No Singapore driver would wave a pedestrian to cross the road even when he cannot proceed himself. He would willingly drive to block you from crossing even when his road is not clear. Jumping queue is another horrible Singapore habit. The “always must win or must be first in line” in a Singaporean’s second nature. On a crowded bus or MRT, very few would offer their seats to needy passengers. Having been here for so long I have sort of got accustomed to these bad habits, so now my bad days are relatively few. Just have to accept that is the way of life here.

These comments I make about Singapore and the Singaporeans are just my personal views. I am non-political and am not affiliated to any political party. I am in no way criticizing the government or the people of this island. I do not intent to offend anyone. If I have inadvertently done so, please accept my apologies.