A Reply: Why do some people hate Singapore?

As the title suggests, this is a reply to a post by Theodore Shawcross that seems to have created a stir in my hometown. Here's the link for those interested: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-some-people-hate-Singapore/answer/Theodore-Shawcross?ref=fb

In summary, his post covers the following points:

• education
• racial equality
• cost of living
• cost of cars (oh this is a good one!); and
• freedom of expression

Education in Singapore, according to him, is world class. No doubt about that. Except one thing, all it does is force students to memorise facts at face value. Certain subjects are seen as more important than others, this starts as early as primary school (grade school). For example, during my time in secondary school, mathematics and the sciences were seen as prestigious, and those who did well in those were put in the "top" classes. Those who were strong in the humanities were lined up after the math and science classes. I don't believe any system that places biases on any subjects over other subjects produce a well balanced population. Our education system was designed to produce good workers for our colonial rulers in the past. We may have tweaked it here and there, but at its roots, it's pretty much the same. This needs to change, or all we produce will be good workers.

I agree with him about racial equality here in Singapore. I won't fully agree for reasons only locals know and I cannot divulge here, but for the most part, what he said is true. We are multi-racial. Even though the Chinese make up more than 70% of the racial ethnicity here, they are not allowed to turn Singapore into mini-China outside China. For the most part, there is equal opportunity for all races in Singapore. Every time we celebrate National Day, we are reminded by our leaders of the importance of multiculturalism to the fabric that ties Singapore together. Furthermore, we have shown time and again that we stand up for each other, for example during the racial riots in 1964, and when our first prime minister passed away 2 years back. How did we do this? Start them young, schools are to have some racial ratio to adhere to, so if they mix together from young, they're more likely to continue into their adulthood.

Cost of living is high in Singapore. Statistics do not lie. But just as in all countries, there are options for the poorer people in the nation. A meal may cost anywhere between S$2.50 ($1.81) to S$50.00 depending on where you eat. If S$2.50 is still too expensive, the other option is to prepare your own meals and bring them to work. With your meals, you can have 2 of 3 options: fast; nutritious; or cheap. Once can't have all three. Housing is not as affordable as the more rural parts of the states, but it is still relatively affordable with the government's various grants. Public housing starts at S$150,000 for the most basic one-room apartment. We do not have generous state welfare, so one has to fight to put a roof over one's head and food on the table. But it is not impossible if one is willing to sacrifice all luxury.

Yes we do have quite an extreme rich-poor gap. Not as extreme as some of the more well-to-do countries, but we're getting there. How did this happen? One could say we're a victim of our own success. The more stable our country became and the lower the taxes, the more people started seeing our country as a good place to start business. Because of that, the bosses of many conglomerates sent their top executives here to expand their business. Would you expect them to live in poverty? Of course not! They would expect their standard of living to remain at status quo at the minimum. Since there is a market for luxury in this market, there would be businesses started to cater to these people. And guess what? The standard of living in the areas they congregate at would rise considerably. Some of this will inadvertently spill over to the rest of the economy. But don't forget, these are also the people paying the taxes, which in turn go to the government subsidies to help the poorer amongst us. Most locals actually pay negative taxes if you consider the net give and take between the government the person.

The cost of owning a car here is probably one of the most expensive in this world. Theodore is correct on this point. Can't dispute him, though I would like to add a point. But first, what makes up the cost? The bulk of it comes from 2 things: Additional Registration Fee (ARF); and Certificate of Entitlement (COE). ARF is a 100%++ tax on the open market value of the car, and COE is the right to own a car, which is usually around S$47,000. Why the exorbitant amount you ask? First we got to think about the land size of Singapore. We are not big at only 719.1 square kilometres. The government's priority is to ensure that people can reach their destination in the shortest time possible. With a population this huge, having every family own a car is not the most optimal solution. If every family owned a car, our roads would be as congested as in Hong Kong. An efficient public transport is a more probable solution. And after visiting other countries, I will admit that we do have a very reliable public transport system.

Freedom of expression is actually available in Singapore. Don't believe me? Try posting something against the government. When you click "post", it shows up on the internet, no? However, the government can also choose to sue you right? Freedom of expression goes both ways. I have the right not to get punched by a random thug on the street, but if he chooses to punch me, nobody can stop him. However, I also have the right to drag him to the cops to get arrested. Freedom of expression is really not something that the younger generation, or at least within my social sphere, is concerned about. I'm not sure how it even came up as something to hate the country for in his post.

As for whether I hate my home country, no. While Singapore is not perfect, we have come a long way in correcting past mistakes and imperfections. No country is perfect. Pick the flaws that you can live with and suck it up. I may not have seen many countries in my brief time on earth, but of the few that I've seen, Singapore still ranks on top of them. Theodore may have his reasons for coming and it may be reasons that some locals will hate him for. But I have my reasons for wanting to stay here, at least for the time being. Do other Singaporeans hate Singapore? Not many of us do. Or the local population would be very much lower than it is now. There may be some things we complain about regularly, like COE prices, but on the whole, most of us are happy with the overall standard of living Singapore gives us.

Thank you for reading my friends, and have a good day!