 |
| Limpeh in Singapore in August 2013 |
1. Singaporeans work on Sundays.
Ouch. And I am not just talking about people who are working in shops or restaurants that open on Sundays, I am talking about people in office jobs who use Sundays to unofficially work from home to catch up with work. I am quite used to Singaporeans working on Saturdays that way, but Sundays? I remember one Sunday when I met up with four old friends and all four were working that day and had to take time out of their work schedule to spend an hour or two with me. You guys work so hard! When I asked why, I was told, "if everyone else is working that hard, I have no choice otherwise I would come across as very lazy."
2. Singaporeans work when they are sick.
I don't think people used to do that in the 1980s and 1990s - or at least less of that was going on. People would simply 'take MC' (MC = medical certificate, ie. take the day off work with a doctor's note if they were unwell). The number of Singaporeans I had observed slogging on despite being down with the flu was unreal - after all, if I was unwell, even my boss would tell me to stay in bed and get better. But then again, hey, I am a very lazy foreigner compared to these Singaporeans. And yes, I observed sick Singaporeans working on Sundays - now that's harsh. Call me lazy or selfish or whatever, but when I am sick, I want to rest.
 |
| It is shocking how hard Singaporeans work. |
3. Singaporeans kids are very badly behaved.
Oh for crying out aloud, it is unreal just how badly this generation of parents have screwed up. I am talking about parents in their 30s and 40s with children under the age of 18. We are talking about spoilt brats who have no manners whatsoever and are a result of hardworking parents who have spent more time working long hours (see points 1 and 2 above) than disciplining their children - hence allowing them to develop into little monsters who are rude and downright obnoxious. So, with that in mind, I am actually glad there is national service, so some of these little monsters will be bullied and abused for 2 years if they tried to act like that in the army. Singaporean parenting has gone badly wrong.
Let me give you an example. I went to visit an elderly relative who has terminal cancer - she has been undergoing chemotherapy and is a shadow of her former self. She is a thin as a rake, her hair has fallen out and she cannot walk unaided. Perhaps it was because I had not seen her in this state before, so I was shocked by what I saw and gave her my undivided attention when I visited her. Her grandson (ie. my cousin's son) happened to be there as well, but he totally ignored his sick grandmother - being totally focused on his iPad games. He made no attempt to speak to his grandmother despite her attempts to communicate with him, it was almost as if he didn't want to see her and made it clear to her that he was not interested in talking to her. Furthermore, he also totally ignored me - now call me old fashioned, but I am his 37 year old uncle and he should have at least made an effort to greet me. There was none of that and when I told my parents that I thought he was rude, my dad gave me countless examples of how this boy had been extremely rude to both my dad and my mum over the years.
4. The Singaporean accent hasn't really changed
Now this actually surprised me. The way locals speak hasn't changed at all - and this is based on me observing the way children speak in Singapore. I had a hypothesis years ago - my parents spoke with a strong accent as they spoke English as a second or third language. I grew up with less of a Singaporean accent as I spoke English as a first language and I had assumed that the next generation (ie. kids under the age of 12 today) would be so influenced by TV that they would have a far more watered down Singaporean accent - wrong. The fact is these younger children turned out of be far more influenced by their parents and peers than TV, so the accent is actually here to stay (for better or for worse). The same can be said about Singlish - don't get me started on that. I had assumed that the standard of English would have risen over the last 20 years or so - it hasn't, it has stayed exactly where it was.
Yes, there are plenty more Ang Mohs in Ang Mo Kio today compared to when I was a child - but should this surprise you? Go to any major city in the world: New York, London, Hong Kong, Sydney and you will find an expatriate community - I invite you to come to London today and see the variety of people working here who are not just from all corners of the European Union but from all over the world. Only small villages in the middle of nowhere fail to attract such economic migrants - I actually did see such tiny kampongs in Indonesia which are so dire and awful that no outsiders want to move there, the flow is the other way in fact: the villagers are deserting their kampongs for the bright lights of exciting cities, such as Singapore.
The fact that Singapore has developed into one such city with bright lights is a good thing - you can't expect the city to develop into a major international metropolis and without attracting any foreigners. You know I don't agree with the PAP's stance on immigration, but then again, it is something that can be a lot better managed so that Singaporeans can actually see the benefits of migration.
 |
| Limpeh outside Zouk at 3:45 am |
6. Singaporean men still dress very badly
I guess you could blame the weather, but Singaporean men are extremely badly dressed and do not take any pride in their appearances. Ah well. At least Singaporean women are not like that - they have found a good balance between dressing sensibly for the hot weather and still looking good.
7. There are plenty more SPGs.
Is it just me, or did I observe many more SPGs (ie. a white guy dating a local) whilst I was in town? I suppose this was bound to happen given the last two points, ie. the influx of better dressed white guys who take pride in their appearances outshining badly dressed local guys who are probably spoilt rotten by their parents (see point 3). Given the choice under such circumstances, I guess it is a no-brainer.
 |
| What are the choices for Singaporean women looking for love in 2013? |
8. Singaporeans are more open minded about working abroad and immigration
When I was a child in the 1980s and 1990s, any talk about working or moving abroad was treated almost like a form of treason against the motherland, but on this trip, I found that Singaporeans today are very open minded about the prospect of living abroad and moving away from Singapore altogether. This is probably down to the fact that Singaporeans today are a lot better informed and better traveled, so they know a lot more about the world outside Singapore. They are making far more better informed decisions on these matters compared to 20, 30 years ago.
9. I still adore the public transport system
I know many of my readers have complained a lot about the public transport system in Singapore, but I'm sorry, I still totally adore the system. It has worked very well for me whilst I was there and it is very reasonably priced. I guess my experience was different as someone who had the luxury of waking up slowly and having breakfast leisurely with my retired parents rather than someone trying to rush to the office for a 9 o'clock meeting.
Singaporeans seem to be glued to their smart phones - if you're on the MRT or on a bus then fair enough, but I have observed diners in restaurants using their smart phones mid-meal. If it was to deal with an urgent matter at work, then I can understand but most of these people were on Facebook or playing games instead of interacting with the real human beings seated across the table from them. Good grief. Alamak. That's just wrong man, being able to speak to and relate to your fellow human beings is such a vital part of what holds us together as a society (see point 3) and you seem to have forgotten that. Singaporean parents, you need to limit the amount of time your kids spend on those devices and make them talk to real people instead.
Hi limpeh,
ReplyDeleteInteresting observations as always, to the point and pretty true (perhaps I am guilty of point 4 and 6 too). Though I will like to query you on the last point. In other countries do you see people as attracted to their smartphones as Singapore?
Hi there. I think there are just as many smart phones elsewhere in the developed world, but there is more of a social taboo when it comes to the way people use their phones when meeting others. For example, the way children are allowed to use such devices during meal times is different as Singaporeans don't seem to mind if someone is using the phone during a meal whilst in the UK, we would say, "excuse me, I am sorry I simply have to do this and it would only take a minute".
DeleteThere is also this ... addiction to games, IMHO. So many Singaporeans are playing mindless, vapid games on their smart phones/iPad/other related devices it is unreal. I don't get it. Maybe it is because I am not often in Singapore and I do want to see people, talk to people, chat with people, listen to what they have to say etc - but it seems that Singaporeans who live in Singapore are far less interested in those around them than I am. Is this a fair evaluation?
Wah lao eh LIFT! You don't so liddat leh, your post pictures of yourself in tshirt and maybe berms or jeans and then say that SG guys are badly dressed.
ReplyDeleteWell I will have you know that the t-shirt I was wearing is a very fashionable Ministry of sound T-shirt I got in Ibiza and you can be casual & still have a sense of style. You don't need to be formal to be well dressed - it is about having taste and style and Singaporean men, sadly, have neither, whether they are formal or casual. Just go on an MRT train and try to identify Singaporean men who are actually well dressed.
DeleteIf it makes you feel any better, the only Asians who dress well tend to be the south Koreans - even the Japanese men don't dress that well.
So LIFT, what is your definition of well dressed? Wearing some rare or high fashion brand?
DeleteSeems like since you mentioned in your blog post that SG women are well dressed but i beg to defer. Yes, the local women wear lots of branded fashion items but is that considered well dressed? If would seem so according to your definition. But i disagree, I lost count of the number of time I came across local women carrying their branded LV bags wearing clashing colors or flip-flops. That is NOT well dressed. And I think a straw poll of the males readers here would probably agree with my assessment that local females are not well dressed.
Women in countries like Japan and China don't obsess on brand alone and take time and effort to color co-ordinate or at least come up with a summer or winter theme for their dressing. That is what I would consider well dressed.
Hi there, thanks for your comment. My definition of well-dressed means taking pride in one's appearances and making an effort to have a sense of style. It doesn't mean having to spend a lot of money to buy expensive branded clothing, it means being able to look unique, stand out from the crowd and making people take a note of you and say, "hey that guy's made an effort today, maybe he's going on a date with someone special..." I usually manage to achieve that with the finer touches like accessories and admittedly, in the UK, where it is cooler (19 degrees here at the moment at 10:30 in the morning and that's summer for you) one is able to experiment more with fashion without worrying about sweating a lot (as one does in Singapore the moment one steps out of an air-con environment).
DeleteAdmittedly, it is easier for women to look sexy and attractive whilst being appropriately dressed for the tropical weather in Singapore - but take that photo for example that you focused on. I was wearing a T-shirt that was fitting and flattered my figure, I had worn contact lenses instead of my geeky glasses and had made an effort with my hair to make the best of my botak situation - I was making an effort to look good despite being very casual.
Singaporean men also have a very dressed down culture for the office - just look at the average male office worker in Singapore and there is just absolutely no sense of style and most of all, no attempt to look different from one's colleagues. There seems to be a desire to 'fit in' with everyone else by being as bland and ordinary rather than 'stand out' from the crowd, unlike say, in the UK or S Korea where one does make a greater effort with office wear.
As for a Japan vs South Korea fashion discussion, I shall hand you over to EYK, here's this brilliant piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fL5YznJX4M and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24dvz0aN4xU&list=TLwDPUbnnC0hA and most importantly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVSQ0LUe55A&list=ELk7pwzbRxRvY&index=57
Ok, I will agree that putting effort and looking unique makes someone well dressed. But in SG society where everyone doesn't want to stand out be they male or female how can you just say that only the guys are poorly dressed? Almost everyone I talk to especially females subscribe to the "don't stand out mentality" like don't vote for the opposition otherwise you stand out. Or, I keep long hair so that I don't look like a lesbian, etc.
DeleteBased on observation of the female students in SG, who wear basically a combination of tshirt/blouse and jeans/denim shorts, and my colleagues who basically wear the same type of blouse/tshirt and pants/jeans everyday for several years, females are equally poorly dressed. No sign of any accessories on their neck or hands. Even Di Talasi below agrees with my observation.
So I think you're being unfair to the local males. Singaporeans are poorly dressed, period. That's why it is so easy to spot foreign females, Japanese and PRCs too. Their dressing are more unique and don't tend to fit a specific mold.
Well, let's just settle on the fact that we both agree that there is a culture of conformity, where people are afraid to stand out from the crowd in Singapore, particularly in a work environment.
DeleteAbout points 4,6, and 7, they are so true LOL. That is why I left :p (ok, just kidding...but well, actually, they are among the numerous reasons to make me decide to further cement my decision to stay abroad...). I guess that we are among the lot who are blessed though to have lived overseas and preferred it to being in Singapore, and hence, chose to remain overseas and possibly even immigrate to get residency elsewhere. When I do travel back to Singapore to visit my family for a week or so(which is rare by now), most people do not really recognize me as a Singaporean partially because of my (Canadianized/North American) accent and dress sense which is more 'Korean'.
DeleteYour point about Singapore being more international now might be right too, but sometimes, I do wonder if it is a good or bad thing, in the light of what has been going on. Then again, I have been away for a while, and do not know what Singaporeans do not look for in their lives. I know that some Singaporeans will probably take this personally when I say it, but perhaps, the city-state seems to be losing a lot of its 'soul'. Then again, was there any intention whatsoever for 'soul' in it to begin with with the culture of conformity and the political environment? I have lived in Canada for so long, and have the benefit of comparing Singapore with South Korea, Japan, the USA, and Canada (even Australia), and many of the towns and cities still seem to have a character of its own which holds even in the midst of globalization. Singapore seems to be losing some part of its edge or character by comparison.
About the case of Japanese fashion versus South Korean fashion, actually maybe it has to do with my personal preference of South Korean fashion (which is preppy and if not, professional with a more 'American' vibe to it). The Japanese outside of Tokyo actually dress rather drably and I have to say this to be fair, because they do not actually dress that well in most cases except for work purposes. On the weekends, most people actually 'dress down', and the fashion--or lack of it--in central Japan is enough to send fashionistas into convulsions, especially the hideous leggings that Japanese guys wear.
DeleteOn your point that "Singaporeans kids are very badly behaved", I think every country has its fair share of misbehaving children, thus I'm skeptical that Singaporean kids are notorious.
ReplyDeleteGiven your dislike of children, I suspect you might have actively avoided contact with children while living in the UK. Hence, when your young relatives in Singapore annoyed you, you were not mentally prepared for it. This could make you feel that Singaporean kids are badly behaved, even though it is not unusual for kids in other countries to be rowdy, rude or uncooperative.
Furthermore, most of those so-called "little monsters" eventually grow up to be sensible adults. As for those who don't, I don't think bullying / abusing them through National Service will have the desired effect. They won't automatically learn to behave maturely. To quote the analogy you used in your 26 Jun 2013 blog post:
"Take a random group of young Singaporean men at the age of 18 - some of them will be good swimmers and some won't be able to swim at all. If you were to throw them all into the sea... would those who are not able to swim suddenly learn how to swim on the spot, just because the situation required them to urgently acquire those skills? No. They would simply drown."
Hi there, I stand by what I said about Singaporean kids being badly behaved. I do interact with children in the UK and yes you get a range of kids as well in terms of behaviour, but the median tends to be better than the Singaporean standard. These kids includes neighbours, children of friends and those at my gymnastics club and at the pool where I dive. So yes I do come across children more than you think and I have nothing against well behaved children - it's just the spoilt brats I can't stand.
DeleteAs for NS, I don't expect any miracles or cure to happen, but I get a certain schadenfreude (Limpeh is rubbing his hands in glee right now) as i imagine a certain young relative of mine (ie. the one who ignored his dying grandmother) being bullied/punished in NS. Yeah it's just that, good ol' schadenfreude, knowing that these brats will suffer and cry in NS. Will it cure them of their bratish behaviour? No. but i shall derive some pleasure knowing they will indeed suffer.
Hey Limpeh, I noticed that the British children you refer to are strangers or acquaintances, while the Singaporean kid you describe as badly behaved is your cousin's son.
DeleteSo I think you're not making a fair comparison between British and SG children. Here's why. People tend to be more polite when meeting a stranger or acquaintance, and more relax in terms of manners among relatives or friends. You don't get to observe whether British kids are rude to their parents at home. Given the same situation where an elderly relative is dying, a British kid could very well prefer to play, just like your cousin's son.
Furthermore, your Schadenfreude towards bratty children is probably misplaced. To see why, put yourself in the shoes of your cousin's son. Suppose you overheard your uncle / aunt / father / mother saying something to the effect of "This boy (you) is so naughty, unlike his sisters. He is always playing sports, hanging out with friends and doesn't concentrate on studying. I hope the suffering in NS will train him to obey authorities and instill more self-discipline in him."
I hope you can see what's wrong with this hypothetical Schadenfreude. Just because someone curses you to suffer in NS does not mean that it will materialise. The same logic applies to your Schadenfreude towards your cousin's son. In fact, you have written about how silly it is in your 23 Aug 2012 blog post:
"To 咒 someone is the act of telling the other party that you wish great misfortune to befall them. It is meant to be taken as an insult, rather than a serious prediction. None of us have any Harry Potter type super powers to make our curses potent. Oh well, maybe I can interpret Dewdrop's rather outrageous prediction of Xiaxue's future in that cultural context, otherwise it would make Dewdrop seem really quite silly indeed."
Hi thanks for your comment but I don't agree with what you have said about being relaxed with one's relatives = after all, being relaxed does not allow you to be rude. Let me give you an example. When I told my parents and sister that my young relative (ie. my cousin's son) was rude, my sister told me that once he demanded that he gets to use her iPad when he was visiting. My sister said, "please give me a few minutes, I just want to finish what I am doing". He then shouted at my sister, "but I want it NOW!" and proceeded to try to snatch it out of her hands. When she refused to let go, he hit her - as in, he physically slapped her arm. Taken aback by what this outrageous display of behaviour, my sister refused to let him have her iPad, at which point, he called her a "fucking cheebye."
DeleteSo - is physically attacking your relatives and calling them "fucking cheebye" the same as being relaxed? I don't think so - I could go into so much more details of just how badly behaved this young boy is, but at that age, I don't even think it is entirely his fault because I blame the parents, not the child - for it is the parents' responsibility to raise the child properly. And I know that my cousin and her husband work very long hours - hence they have really no time to discipline their child, they have money but no time for the child = a super spoilt brat.
Again, let me stress - I don't insist on formality, but I do have certain standards of decorum and if he had tried to physically attack me, I could bend him over and spank him till he cried. That's just me - but there you go. So him ignoring a dying grandmother's desire to speak to him... that's just touching the tip of the iceberg. I swear that kid is going to end up in jail one day, but then again, he's not the first person in my family to end up in jail. I swear we have a terrible record when it comes to bringing up children on my mother's side of the family - they are either too strict (as in my case) or too lenient (most other cases).
Of course, one cannot realistically expect 2 years of NS to sort out this child - his parents have neglected their parenting duties for the last decade or so and so the onus is on them to sort out this child before he ends up in jail. As for how he will suffer in NS, that's between him and the SAF and que sera, sera. I just hope you realize what a total little piece of shit this child is, he's not some misunderstood child who lacks attention from his parents - they have realize raised a child who is going to be a criminal in the future, that's how bad he is. Thank goodness he is only the child of a cousin, so I can effectively ignore him if I so please.
Ah, so when you wrote that "Singaporeans kids are very badly behaved", what you really meant was that you met a Singaporean kid who was badly behaved, not a general observation of Singaporeans kids.
DeleteNo, you're jumping to the wrong conclusions. You inquired about this specific child I referred to and I followed up by giving you examples of his poor behaviour which you had very wrongly attributed to being 'relaxed' or informal around family members.
DeleteI have observed other children in public (malls, MRT, parks etc) and also spoken to a large number of other Singaporean friends on the issue of children's behaviour today and they all agreed with me that Singaporean kids are very badly behaved these days and there is a correlation between that and the long hours parents work (hence not spending enough time parenting their children). If you wish to disagree with me, you're entitled to your opinion but please do not keep jumping to the wrong conclusions and trying to put words in my mouth. Thank you.
No, I'm not trying to put words into your mouth. I can only draw conclusions based on what you write.
DeleteIn your blog post, you didn't mention anything specific about your observations of Singaporean children in public; you only related to your cousin's son's bad behaviour.
That's why it comes across like you're making a hasty generalisation about SG kids. Therefore, I was trying to argue that (1) SG kids are generally not any more notorious than kids in other countries, and that (2) your Schadenfreude towards bratty children is misguided.
Puppet, spend the next few days and observe the kids. You'd have to be blind to not see that they are obnoxious brats. I would be ashamed if I were their parent.
DeleteHi Puppet, all I can say is that this blog post was a quick fire 10 bullet points which are not really related and fairly random, with nothing more to link them but the fact that these were things that I did observe on my last visit to S'pore. This observation about children's behaviour is but one out of these ten points and I didn't do it justice in terms of substantiating my observation. Sure, if you wish to draw me into a deeper discussion on the issue or if you wish to disagree with me, you're more than welcome to do so. But all I am saying is that I probably need to do a full blog/vlog post on the issue to do it justice, to cover all grounds. As for my Schadenfreude, again, that's another long discussion to be had in a full blog/vlog post.
DeleteAt least Di Talasi sees my point - but to be fair, I don't think that Puppet was arguing that kids in Singapore were well behaved angels. I think his/her point is that they are not any worse than those in other countries (such as the UK) - which I beg to differ. My point is that in the UK or Australia for example, parents don't work ridiculous hours the way they do in Singapore (and South Korea, Japan, HK, etc) - so that means that they leave the office at a decent time, come home and see their kids - there is an opportunity at least for them to be better parents if they are spending more time with their kids, compared to Singaporean parents who are in the office till like 9 pm and by the time they get home, the kids have had dinner and are ready for bed.
Oh there is so much more I can say, akan datang - a full blog post on the issue.
I agree that the men do not have style. Choaniki obviously does not understand style. You can have style in a t-shirt and jeans. You can look like an Ah Beng carrying a Louis Vuitton man purse. You wonder why the SPGs are dating white men? Also agree about the annoying kids. I get schadenfreude just think about all the brats getting slapped around in the army. I think the girls are no better. Maybe ship them off to an island to fend for themselves? HAH!
ReplyDelete