Quora Answer: Why Do Foreign Journalists Often Paint an Overly Rosy Picture of Singapore?

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.