Majulah Singapura

June 30th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized

I have not been to Singapore for quite sometime, my last trip there taught me never to assume anything . Like they say anything is possible in life.

Singapore has done well, it’s a first world metropolis, clean, green and well organised. Even the arts are flourishing there, once you have money, you want to buy culture, right?

Malaysians will always tell you that Singapore is so small, it is easy to manage and furthermore it’s not multi-racial enough because you have one dominant culture . Say what you want, Singapore has evolved into an efficient and dynamic city state.That’s the reality.

Had they stayed in the third world mode, they would have sunk and disappeared in the Straits of Malacca a long time ago.Their achievement is something we can proud of too, after all, we were once in the same family.Their people are our people.

Our rivalry is actually healthy as long as we don’t go overboard, throw in some humour , you can’t go wrong. We Asians tend to take ourselves too seriously, we must laugh at ourselves more. Life is not a zero sum game, you win some and you lose some.

The clearance at Changi was a breeze, on the way to the hotel, the 50 something Chinese taxi driver asked where I came from.

Sabah.

I thought you came from Malaysia.

Sabah is part of Malaysia.And, you happy with young Lee ?

Ok,we are developing casinos and other tourist attractions,many tourists will come and more money for us. Our government is smart what!

Ya lah, instead of one casino, now, you are going to have two, isn’t that kiasu ?And, Chinese people like to gamble, no social problems later?

Never mind, good as long as money comes and government knows how to control things one.

There was silence, then out of the blue he said,actually Singapore is very expensive,we have to work hard to make ends meet. Everything is Pay And Pay (PAP)here.Water bills are expensive, if you have no money, you cannot survive here.

Can you survive anywhere without money?

He continued, actually my wife is from Penang, last time she wanted to become a citizen, then she changed her mind. Good decision, in a few years time, I will be moving back there with her.As I get older, Singapore is too hectic and expensive for me.

What are you going to do in Penang?

My wife has a piece of land, we are already building a house there. We will run a small shop to keep ourselves occupied. Malaysia is more affordable, you need millions to buy a small piece of land in Singapore.

Children?

All grown up already, they do what they want.

Would you still move to Malaysia if your wife had come from somewhere else?

Yes, I think I would, more opportunities there. Can always come back here mah.

Later in the evening I was introduced to a Malay businessman in his early 40s, let’s call him Jeffrey. Singaporean Malays are a different breed, fluent in English and being urbanised, they have different perspectives of the world.

I like the fact that Jeffrey said that nobody owed him a living. It’s up to you to work towards your goals, he said.

I asked him whether with a little help from the government the local Malays would have done much better?

Maybe, he agreed, however, you must learn how to survive on your own, it will develop some kind of resilience in you. You must have the hunger lah.The satisfaction is greater if you make it on your own, he said.

Jeffrey like many other Singaporean Malays I met think that the government preference policy for Malaysian Bumiputras will only stunt their growth.

Drugs and dysfunctional families are some of the social problems faced by the Malays in Singapore amidst rapid development, Jeffrey admitted, and also the lack of confidence, he added.

Jeffrey continued , it is your life , do what you want, at the end of the day if you don’t help yourself,nobody else will, the choice is yours.

Would you move to Malaysia?

No way, this is home. And, there is too much religion over there he said without elaborating.

Walking along Orchard Road the next day, a young lady tried to hassle me into buying some products. From her accent, I knew she was not a local.

I am from China, my husband is Singaporean.

You like Singapore?

I prefer Malaysia.

Huh?

Singaporeans are kiasu people and they look down on China people because our English is not so good, and we also work harder than them.

Why Malaysia?

More opportunities and more people . My husband is starting something and I look forward to moving up there soon.

Hi hi,bye bye Singapura.