I visited SG for the first time and I am absolutely amazed. Why don’t some Singaporean like their country?
I am an Asian American and live extensively in Asia. I been to China, Taiwan , Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia.. currently living in Malaysia.
When I visited SG, everything is fantastic. Not just by Malaysia standard (very low bar to compare to) but even generation ahead of old decaying cities in the US and more robust and free than modern cities in China or Japan.
I have nothing but respect for LKY and his team. the modernization, people, nature, museum, healthcare etc are top-tier in the world. It’s literally a utopia city for me.
In reality, I hear Singaporean complain alot, choose to immigrate to western countries and saw quite a few negative comments on LKY and his party’s policy. Why is that? from an outsider, I am jealous of Singaporean.
Please give me some examples of issue that are not “first world problem” or “spoiled kid’s complain”
Add: THANK YOU ALL! I enjoy readying the comments and now understand the issues better.
S’poreans respond
- As far as I can tell most of the complaints are not due to how we are doing badly relative to the rest of the world. But on how some parts of the population are treated better or seem to be treated better than others.
It’s human nature, people will complain when they feel they are treated unjustly.
A lot of of the complaints aren’t even unique to Singapore. Such as on a housing policy that seemingly prioritizes homeowners over renters and buyers. - Honestly, Singapore is a decent place to live, great even. However, life is a lot easier if you fit certain profiles such as being straight and married and being academically inclined.
- To quote LKY
“You know the Singaporean. He is a hard-working, industrious, rugged individual. Or we would not have made the grade. But let us also recognise that he is a champion grumbler.” - It’s a great country if you’re able to meet certain conditions, like
-Getting good grades from a very young age (a big part of a child’s future is already decided by the age of 12)
-Working in a decent MNC with good pay and work-life balance (local SME’s often don’t have this)
-Getting married in your 20’s to another citizen or PR so you’ve early access to heavily subsidised housing (which is still a lottery, but it got slightly better recently).
Otherwise life here can be pretty stressful.
*The path to meeting these conditions can also be stressful for some, then it becomes kind of a catch-22 - I don’t disagree that Singapore can be a great place to live or visit, but this is subjective.
If one earns a good income and is from the majority race, one is likely to have a good life – I am one of them.
As we are a global financial centre and we attract FDI, businesses and expats, this is both a boon and a bane. For some Singaporeans, this means that foreigners compete for their jobs. It is also competitive and fast-paced in Singapore – it’s difficult to contest with this point. Look at the people on the roads and public transport – do you see many laid back people? The environment can get stifling for some. If you like cities, Singapore is great. For one, I’d argue that it’s “better” than HK.
There are other societal issues, e.g.: how the minority are treated – the LGBTQ, different races, even though we espouse racial harmony. I won’t delve into that but other people may share a good response.
With the above mentioned, I recognise and appreciate that I’m privileged, I enjoy Singapore, but not everyone in Singapore can say so.