The following is my answer to a Quora
question: “Why
do foreign journalists often paint an overly rosy picture of Singapore - when
in reality many places in Singapore have less than ideal conditions as well?”
Cited article; Singapore
Trades Freedoms for a Liveable City; Hong Kong is Trading Its Freedoms for Nothing.
Based on the report, and the slant of your
question, it appears you came to a conclusion based on your limited experience
and expect others to believe the same. Firstly,
what is this ideal you are talking about? An “ideal”, by its very definition, is
essentially a vision or projection of perfection we can never arrive at. It is something we aim for. There is no such thing as perfection. As such, the premise of the question is
illogical.
Secondly, the journalist is comparing our
public housing with Hong Kong’s. I have
been to Hong Kong many times, and what he says is true and apparent to anybody
who has visited both places. I have seen
public housing all over the world, from the US to the UK to even apartments in
Japan. What we have is among the best in
the world, and rightly so. It took a
generation of sacrifice and investment to get there.
The problem we have with Singaporeans,
especially the younger generation, is that they are whiny, entitled and
unrealistic. Most of them have not seen
enough the world beyond their tour in the tourist spots. They have not taken a look at the consequences
of public policy elsewhere. They have
not considered the specific realities of the various countries. But they complain, and complain, like spoilt
children about everything.
It is true that there are areas of
improvement. It is true that some of our
people in government are morons in their ivory towers. It is true that there are challenges for the
future. These can all be overcome. We are still way ahead of almost every country
in the world in the areas that matter: housing, healthcare and education.
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