Singapore 4/1/26
Singapore’s history in dealing with crime is the stuff of legends. Our driver from the airport Ben, mentioned that a caning is usually six of the best given to the buttocks. The strikes are so firm that there is permanent scarring.
Ben, who has worked as a diplomat in a few other countries including Australia, is a proud Singaporean but thinks his island republic is a bit boring because of its gentle culture and government’s rigidity.
Well Ben, I’m here to tell you that coming from our island in the south, a little bit of ‘boring’ wouldn’t go astray.
You see, our lucky country currently ranks in the highest usage of class A drugs per capita in the world and people seem to think the sides of roads are free to dump hard rubbish.
In three days here we have seen an old water bottle and four cigarette butts on the sidewalk.
According to www.developmentaid.org, we have 122,000 homeless. In three days wandering your city we haven’t seen one and according to a comparison on www.nationmaster.com, violent crime and murder in Australia is fourteen times more than Singapore per million of population as well as rapes being fifty four times more per million of population.
I’m not a fan of a sterile existence plus the fact I’m a deeply flawed individual, but wouldn’t it be nice to have just a little bit of Singapore’s boringness?
Maybe it’s the state of so called political leadership globally or the widening gap between rich and poor or perhaps it’s just the effect social media has on our society, but it feels like we are becoming more self-obsessed and entitled within every day of our privileged existence.
There’s little consequence for crimes at home but the real heart of what’s happening is ignored by both sides of politics, that being family and education. These are vital in providing values and respect in children, something that is so evident in places such as Singapore and Japan.
Given crime was a big topic before arriving here, we were expecting a flotilla of cops but there is hardly any. The only security is saved for the mega expensive retail shops.
Yesterday we left about 9am and headed to the subway inside one of the many giant retail structures. We saw three cops together walking towards us.
Bizarrely, five hours later we returned, same spot, same cops walking towards us. It’s like a continual matrix of perfect societal behaviour that is self-managed. Quite remarkable.
My resident teacher Lynda has been taking photos of some of the public signs relating to restrictions. Also if you smoke there are designated marked off areas which the smokers obediently adhere to.
Here in Singapore you don’t see anyone reading a book. Phones, phones, phones. High tech. Kids making Tik-Tok videos etc It seems no one can commit anything to memory anymore.
“Are you really going to watch that video you just painstakingly filmed whilst rudely getting in the way of others, or could you just watch the show and enjoy the spontaneity?”
One day someone will invent a global ‘put down your phones day’. A bit like Movember, to participate, you need to donate a dollar to the website with a nominated charity and leave your phone alone for a day.
I envisage millions of people wandering around aimlessly like a zombie apocalypse for twenty four hours. Anyway it’s a nice thought and would raise an insane amount of money if it was feasible.
Everything is so clean in Singapore. It’s as though there has been 24/7 attention placed on it. If that’s the case the cleaners are incredibly unobtrusive.
Speaking of unobtrusive, whoever the government officials are that fine you for littering, spitting or jay walking, they are invisible. I think they’re in plain clothes and manoeuvre around like former East German Stasi operatives. They do exist because a friend of mine told me he got done jay walking last year and was fined eighty dollars on the spot.
The subway is brilliant and again, spotless. The trains are fast and efficient. Also you don’t need a transit card. Just tap your debit or credit card. What is unique about the stations is the space. They look like major airport terminals.
Oh and there’s no profanity or nudity allowed on TV. Goodfellas lasted twelve minutes the other night.
Quiet day today heading to the National Gallery for an exhibition of Impressionists from Boston Fine Art Museum and some Singaporean history.
Great insight, and surely, we must be able to take some learnings from this. Some parts of our cities are just plain embarrassing. Rubbish, filth, graffiti, homelessness and an at times uncomfortableness walking around because of the groups loitering in places. It would take a huge upheaval, and it needs to start with parenting. People taking responsibility in their kid’s actions and behaviors. And the minimal consequence to crime is a joke. There are so many things to love about our country, but too many negatives are starting to build up, and nothing appears to happen to rectify it in this decade!
spot on