'Ang Moh' explains why people hate Singapore

[Guest Guest]

 

'Ang Moh' explains why people hate Singapore

 An 'Ang Moh' who has been staying in Singapore for 10 years gave his take on 'Why do people hate Singapore?' on Saturday (June 18), attracting nearly 100,000 views on question-and-answer website Quora within 24 hours. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

As a 'foreign talent', Theodore Shawcross described Singapore as 'the closest you can get to a near perfectly run country'."I'm saying this objectively, because amid all the freedom, the welfare, the 'quality of life' that Singaporeans seem to admire about Scandinavian countries, or for some odd reason, the US and the UK, I sincerely doubt that any person with the desire to be in a competitive, fast-paced, ultra modern, yet clean, safe and economically solvent country would have any other options other than Singapore," Mr Shawcross wrote.In his 2,064 -word answer, Mr Shawcross touched on the common sore points by detractors of Singapore, such as freedom of speech, cost of living and the cost of cars.While largely praising Singapore for its efforts to address these issues, Mr Shawcross noted that there are still areas for improvement, such as laws against homosexuality.

 

Mr Shawcross, who is an economist, noted that many of the angst against Singapore are typical in many modern metropolitan cities."People need to understand one thing, if you want to demand the government to do something about your problems, please make sure you've done enough academic research about whether or not your problems are essential problems, or are they problems that are just characteristic of a modern metropolitan city, for if they are, there's really no solution to many of those problems," he wrote.Here is his speech in full:I've read all the answers here and I'd just like to give my opinion on this, as a "foreign talent" as an "angmoh" and as someone who grew up in England, eventually moved to the US for my PhD, and then chose to raise my family in Singapore.

 

As a person who grew up in the west, there's nothing that gives more credence to the phrase "the grass is greener on the other side" than when a caucasian chooses to move to a predominantly asian country. -

 

See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

It gives me great pride to say that I could somehow travel 10 years back in time to that moment I made this decision to move to Singapore with my wife and 5 month old boy, I will choose Singapore again in a heartbeat - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

Singapore is an amazing country. That sentence is perhaps more of an understatement than any of the understatements in history, because although many Singaporeans like to rant about its imperfections, Singapore is the closest you can get to a near perfectly run country. I'm saying this objectively, because amid all the freedom, the welfare, the "quality of life" that Singaporeans seem to admire about Scandinavian countries, or for some odd reason, the US and the UK, I sincerely doubt that any person with the desire to be in a competitive, fast-paced, ultra modern, yet clean, safe and economically solvent country would have any other options other than Singapore.

 

Singapore has lived up to all my expectations of enabling my children to receive a world leading education, to grow up in a country bereft of violence, misconduct and disorder, and enabling me to work alongside one of the most highly educated and skilled pool of talent that happens to speak in my native tongue, to enable my wife and I to mingle with people from all around the world in a tight knit environment, to live in an essentially equal country without overt racism because to be Singaporean is to accept that anyone can be Singaporean, regardless or race and religion, now that's priceless.

 

The US has always claimed to be an inclusive country where people of different walks of life can live freely and ironically "safely", it might be a surprise to some folks because they never really found out how to get that done.Racial EqualityThis country has its flaws, but I'm an economist, therefore I know firsthand that whatever you choose, there is always going to be something you give up. Freedom of speech is something that has become very controversial in recent Singaporean history given the persecution that Amos Yee had to face by posting a seemingly "harmless" video.

 

It has become a theme now that young Singaporeans are becoming increasingly enchanted with Western ideas of freedom and yet they've not actually lived in those countries long enough to get an idea of what that sort of freedom is about. Singapore is undoubtedly multiracial, and to maintain this heterogeneity comes at a huge price, it's a price that the founders of this country felt it was worth paying, and it did pay off. I come from a country riddled with hate crime.

 

Although I've never really experienced it firsthand on the tube or on buses, but everyone in England will always have that friend with a story to tell about racial conflict in public places. I've also lived for more than half a decade in the US, essentially a country still deeply ensconced in racial tensions, especially in southern states. Singapore is a country that has essentially solved that problem. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

Cost of LivingI understand through volunteer work and community service in Singapore that there are people choking under the increased stress that Singapore is becoming too expensive for the poor. I don't like to diss this as a problem we cannot solve, but I would say that it is a very difficult problem to solve. Singapore is an entrepôt nation, add that to the fact that it is one of the most densely populated modern metropolises in the world.

 

Being born in this country has its disadvantages if you weren't born into a well-to-do family, I get that.

 

To keep any economy stable, solvent, and growing, there will be positive selection from other countries, it's inevitable. The rich, the highly qualified, the highly skilled will always find a reason to get their asses to this island. I'm a living breathing example of that.

 

People will always move to the place, the job, the field or the country they feel they can be most productive in, it's just economics. Now the only way the government can solve this problem, is to increase spending in welfare, how? Well the only way is to increase taxes isn't it? But wait, isn't the only thing keeping Singapore such an attractive location for startup businesses and highly skilled professionals is the relatively low taxes? Singapore is too small a country to be dilly-dallying, that I can assure you. It needs to stay competitive, it needs to keep growing, otherwise it wouldn't last long, and I do mean, the country will crumble if its economy falters.There are many things keeping this country economically strong, many components, many attributes, I believe the current government understands that and it's difficult to compromise those components to improve the cost of living.

 

The cost of living of any metropolitan city is bound to be high, Google the rent on flats in New York, or London, or Tokyo, or Sydney, and I'll find something to keep your jaws from dropping. With the exception of Tokyo and maybe Sydney, most of the capital cities in the world are filthy, dangerous, crime-infested and their public transport systems are failing ALL THE TIME.

 

And I do mean "all the time", not the once a month kind of deal that we have to deal with SMRT.

 

I will not in a million years expect Singapore to be any less expensive to live in than any of these cities, and yet it holds up pretty well. Singapore can be affordable, which is one of the great triumphs of the Singaporean government, which is to make relatively high quality public housing available and provide financial aids to afford them. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

It's impossible to go out for a proper meal in London without having to spend more than 50 SGD on your meal, whereas I can take a train to any shopping mall with a food court and spend less than 10 SGD on a full meal, sitting in clean seats and an air-conditioned environment. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

Singapore has a lot to give, and I can imagine being in the shoes of the government, because the people never seem to be satisfied with what they have.

 

It's a really tough job - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

 

Cost of Cars Something that's linked quite closely to the Singaporean notion of "quality of life" is car ownership. Yes cars are bloody expensive in Singapore, more expensive than any other country perhaps.

 

The government seeks to solve this problem through making public transport a viable option, by constant expanding their coverage and making it very affordable. Barring the relatively infrequent breakdowns. In America car ownership would be something of a necessity, because apart from it being virtually impossible to travel without having a car. I drove an hour from where I lived to the Stanford campus every day for 5 years. However, you can only imagine the traffic congestion I have to deal with on the I-80 every day.

 

Making cars affordable in Singapore is just going to make the roads more congested, at which point it's not make sense to own a car anymore.Freedom of Expression I believe I touched a little on this topic, so now I'm going to clarify that freedom of expression has never meant freedom to say anything you want without consequences.

 

You may think there is freedom in just about any modern developed country so why can't Singapore have it, but you have to also take in account the laws that these countries have against racism such as the Crime and Disorder Act in Britain. There is absolutely no country in which you can just say anything to incite violence, disorder, or possibly terrorism without being persecuted.

 

The US is a very unique situation wherein everyone can practically say anything they want without being held for trial, but that doesn't mean you can defame anyone you like without being sued.

 

Yes, the US probably has the freedom of expression that most young, naive Singaporeans are asking for, but look at the state of the country, and look how they were able to regulate racism. I really wonder if that is what Singaporeans want, the freedom to go on any MRT train and call an Indian or a Malay person out based on the colour of their skin. This toxic right belittles the very equality that the founding fathers of this country fought for.

 

I thought Singapore left Malaysia because they weren't able to promise the sort of racial equality that Lee Kuan Yew had asked for. People may argue that this wouldn't happen, and that education is the only solution to racial tolerance, but how many people in Singapore are actually educated to the level that would make them impervious to racial hate?

 

The last I checked, the leader of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke is a university graduate. Humans cannot be realistically be given the ability to run their mouths in hopes that education can be an effective restrictor, because it is obviously not.

 

Only the law can protect the rights of the people from being offended, racially or religiously. The question on whether the right of being protected from emotional harm or the right to be able to express our ideas freely has an obvious answer. People want to be able to say what they want, but they aren't willing to bear the consequences that being emotionally fragile human beings, violence is just one step away from offensive remarks with racial or religious undertones.

 

This brings us to the question of "is prevention better than cure". Do we want to let loose the darkest sides of our psyches in hopes that Singapore will continue to be an inclusive society? I'm not going to sugarcoat the bad things about Singapore, because there are some pretty strict laws that must be changed, like laws against homosexuality, which I think will, in time, be abolished. But people need to understand one thing, if you want to demand the government to do something about your problems, please make sure you've done enough academic research about whether or not your problems are essential problems, or are they problems that are just characteristic of a modern metropolitan city, for if they are, there's really no solution to many of those problems.

 

No country has been able to keep housing affordable in their capital city relatively to their suburban or rural areas. Singapore has no suburban areas, the closest thing we have to a countryside is Malaysia, where houses are by the Singaporean definition, affordable and cheap. As I have said about freedom of expression, there's a huge price we have to pay for it.

 

Not everyone is educated, not everyone is inherently tolerant. If we allow that to happen, may I refer you to the countless of videos on UK, US and Aussie racism that happened regardless of the laws imposed against racial remarks in the UK and Australia. If Singapore starts to lax its laws against freedom of expression then the fundamentals of what made this country great will crumble.So why do people hate Singapore you ask? Well my only answer is blame Hollywood, and blame ignorance. Young people are a pain in the a**, we've all been through that phase.

 

They just need to grow up and realise that you cannot always get what you want, you should not always get what you want.Singapore is in good hands, and I'm proud to stay on, contribute to the economy, create jobs for Singaporeans, do community and volunteer work, all in the name of preserving my choice to come live here.Majulah Singapura. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ang-moh-explains-why-people-hate-singapore#sthash.SxK9NK1w.dpuf

 

[Guest Guest]

Talk cock sing song chao ang mo!!! Fuck off back to your village!!!

[Guest love not hate]

"People" as in the whole world or just the angmos or just him alone?

[lovehandle]

He is trying to say sg is gd!

[Vometra]

Foreigner interfering in our domestic affairs!

[Guest apathetic]

Errm this is his freedom of expression, and he has chosen to take roots here.

 

There is truth to some of the things he mentioned but there is still cause for grievances for the locals.  It is indeed true that there are many good things we have that some times locals take for granted.  Can we then say that our expectations are too high?  I will say not.  Expecting a better transport system, better education, healthcare, social support are things which a citizen expects of their government.  Would it be acceptable to settle for less or should we always be looking for improvement?  We should not be resting on our laurels.  While it is demanding, we certainly hope that our political leaders have impeccable foresight and vision to steer this ship to many more years of prosperity and high standards of living.  We are paying our political leaders good money and as such we are expecting delivery of results.

[KENZ]

i blur for a moment, i thought this ang mo was complaining about Singapore. ( for that moment my blood boiled and i realized that i still do have a little sense of pride deep in me for my tiny red dot nation. LOL)

 

This Love Hate Relationship for my country is fast making me into an Oxymoronic Singaporean. 

[Guest Ang Gry More]

Pls lah, just another white opportunistic trash enjoying the fruits of the local's labour, if something untoward happen here he'll be scuttling off to greener pastures elsewhere and trashing this place.

[Guest Guest]

Why is he speaking for locals' opinion ?

[Guest Extra.]

Bottomline of the story is still very simple to understand but bitter to accept. 

 

No matter how many years pass this country will still be nothing more than a city without any natural resources to fall back on and the rich will do anything in their power to stay in power here and sell the land to foreign job seekers and the locals will forever suffer here or choose to fawn on the rich to get benefits and the fts will forever see themselves as unique and special and have something to contribute to this place in exchange for the welfare and pampers here. 

 

Such articles are nothing new in fact it is a typical classic tale told over and over again by desperate people who are living in denial and apathy for others in life. 

 

Leave this place if you can or learn to accept it. 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Old]

34 minutes ago, Guest Extra. said:

Bottomline of the story is still very simple to understand but bitter to accept. 

 

No matter how many years pass this country will still be nothing more than a city without any natural resources to fall back on and the rich will do anything in their power to stay in power here and sell the land to foreign job seekers and the locals will forever suffer here or choose to fawn on the rich to get benefits and the fts will forever see themselves as unique and special and have something to contribute to this place in exchange for the welfare and pampers here. 

 

Such articles are nothing new in fact it is a typical classic tale told over and over again by desperate people who are living in denial and apathy for others in life. 

 

Leave this place if you can or learn to accept it. 

 

 

 

 

   Well said....but too old to leave. All my nephews have all migrated overseas with their families.

What is left over is to wait for death or do exercise on the streets

[Guest 2nd class sinky]

When a person salary is high and able to afford good living here and being treated as first class citizen, despite holding on to his own native citizenship, you often see this type of ariticle praising the govt.  Let's turn around and say if he is retrenched, or get a lesser paid job, will he still linger around in our country and get spend by our cost of living?  It is a situational thing.  Good mood write good, bad mood write bad,  Only the native singaporeans knows better.

[Guest Guest]

6 minutes ago, Guest 2nd class sinky said:

When a person salary is high and able to afford good living here and being treated as first class citizen, despite holding on to his own native citizenship, you often see this type of ariticle praising the govt.  Let's turn around and say if he is retrenched, or get a lesser paid job, will he still linger around in our country and get spend by our cost of living?  It is a situational thing.  Good mood write good, bad mood write bad,  Only the native singaporeans knows better.

 

 

absolutely correct

[7heaven]

The writer belongs to the upper echolens of the social class in Sg. He is writing from that vantage point. Granted that he does volunteering and community service, he would have some insight into the conditions of the poor in sg but that is different from being poor or even middle income in sg. 

 

He talked about increasing welfare to alleviate the high cost of living but stop short of accepting increasing taxes. This would affect him directly. He cited the fact that a major contributing factor to sg's ability to attract biz is the low tax regime. Surely, increasing the tax by 1% to 5% will not suddenly result in mass exodus of investments. Biz will consider non-tax factors like consistency of our laws n policies. 

 

For the young sporeans, they do not have it good compared to the youngs 20,30 or 40years ago. The planning parameters r v risky; for a straight couple, hdb loans r assumed to be paid over 30 years by 2 working adults. There is little room for error. If 1 loses his/her job or falls sick, the financial burden would be immense. 

 

Indeed Sg has done relatively well in many aspects like healthcare n transport but we should continously be bench-marking ourselves to other systems which r better. No point comforting ourselves that what we have is good enough. That is self-deluding. 

 

Lastly, the writer did not serve NS in his prime. His kids may serve NS but so too would the kids of straight guys. Would he dare to take 2 years no-pay leave to serve NS now?

 

But he is entitled to his opinion just like all of us. 

[lonelyglobe]

foreigner say something bad, we angry....when they try to say something nice, we also not happy, so what do you guys want them to comment on???

 

can't agree more on this statement: "I've also lived for more than half a decade in the US, essentially a country still deeply ensconced in racial tensions" and the recent orlando killing may suggest tensions is more than racial perhaps.....

[Guest Well.]

3 hours ago, 7heaven said:

His kids may serve NS but so too would the kids of straight guys.

 

 

Probably not over his dead boy.  FT has the habit of being calculative and run away before their kids are due for NS.  It happens all the time in Singapore.  Statistics of such defaulters remain a secret for political reason.

[Guest Well.]

10 minutes ago, lonelyglobe said:

foreigner say something bad, we angry....when they try to say something nice, we also not happy, so what do you guys want them to comment on???

 

I would prefer them to just shut up and continue their way of life as it is.

[7heaven]

3 hours ago, lonelyglobe said:

foreigner say something bad, we angry....when they try to say something nice, we also not happy, so what do you guys want them to comment on???

 

can't agree more on this statement: "I've also lived for more than half a decade in the US, essentially a country still deeply ensconced in racial tensions" and the recent orlando killing may suggest tensions is more than racial perhaps.....

 

I shudder to think what might happen if we allowed guns and assault rifles in Sg. Maybe nothing would happen or maybe? The recent intense debacle on pink dot, bryan lim n lawrence khong is a case in point. 

 

Fortunately for us, Sg is steadfast in banning the possession of guns, which i m very grateful. 

Edited June 20, 2016 by 7heaven

[Guest MONEY]

When you have money, no matter what country, life is good

[Guest Visitor]

Singaporeans should be proud of themselves in what they have achieved starting from the late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who had transformed a swamp into a jewel in Asia if not the world.  Sure, there are much to do to make Singapore a better country just like every nation is on the road for improvement.  Take heart all Singaporeans, just look around all your near and distant neighbours who are still living in strives, chaos or poverty and start counting your blessings.   Regardless of what other people say, just take on valid criticisms to improve and move on for better future.  Maju lah Singapura!

[Guest Guest]

He is being addressed as sir or Mr here while the rest are being addressed as uncles ....stupids are never really being observant enough ! 

[Guest FxxK]

Why our lives must be from opinions of ANG MO ?

[Guest Guest]

While there is   a large element of truth he has stated in his article, it's interesting how he obfuscated the key topic of the foreign trash problems.

[Guest Jack]

It's sad indeed when a country resorts to foreigners to convince its own citizens to appreciate the country more! 

[Guest Guest]

1 hour ago, Guest Jack said:

It's sad indeed when a country resorts to foreigners to convince its own citizens to appreciate the country more! 

 

Well, it's not that surprising when the only people who likes it here are the foreigners and the rich.

[Guest Colonised mentality]

Let us bask in self-mastabutory praise of our country. Of course, if a white man says it, it has to be the truth. 

[Guest WhitesAboveAll]

Not just colonized countries by the whites, even those countries that never been colonized also kowtow to whatever AMDK says. Born a white man definitely one level above other races, generally they will get a polite (better) service, and even get treated as a GOD.

[Guest Guest]

11 hours ago, Guest WhitesAboveAll said:

Not just colonized countries by the whites, even those countries that never been colonized also kowtow to whatever AMDK says. Born a white man definitely one level above other races, generally they will get a polite (better) service, and even get treated as a GOD.

I loath white trash scum if you ask me.  Gone are the days of the White disaster.

[Guest Guest]

You don't even speak local dialects, malay, indian etc.....what makes you ANG MO speaking and giving advise or opinions about locals ? Get out

[Guest AlwaysRight]

3 hours ago, Guest Guest said:

You don't even speak local dialects, malay, indian etc.....what makes you ANG MO speaking and giving advise or opinions about locals ? Get out

 

In Singkapoh no need to speak dialects lah, everyone must conform to speak the master language and anything master says can't be wrong. In Australia, you will get racial abuse for speaking your own language or dialects in public transport, just search google.

[Guest AMTKL]

AMTKL -  L= lan

 

Just see Channelnewsasia, how many are locals ? even some are fakes whites with English names but Chinese surnames, but are whites in disguises

[Guest Singlish]

18 minutes ago, Guest AMTKL said:

AMTKL -  L= lan

 

Just see Channelnewsasia, how many are locals ? even some are fakes whites with English names but Chinese surnames, but are whites in disguises

 

Because locals can't speak proper English. There is a difference between English and Singlish hor.

 

[Guest AMDK fetish]

11 minutes ago, Guest Singlish said:

 

Because locals can't speak proper English. There is a difference between English and Singlish hor.

 

Rubbish. Speak for yourself. CNA honchos have pinkerton syndrome and fetish for AMDK. To them even peenoys are superior. Why? Because they enunciate their "r"s.

[Guest AMDK]

Steve Lai  the name is Chinese, but hes not

Timothy Go - sound Chinese but hes not

[Guest WhosThatGuys]

1 hour ago, Guest AMDK said:

Steve Lai  the name is Chinese, but hes not

Timothy Go - sound Chinese but hes not

 

Their appearance are certainly Chinese, if not who are they?

You'd say John Leong is not Chinese too.

 

[Guest ChannelNewsAsian]

Steven Chia?

[Guest Guest]

37 minutes ago, starlioned said:

 

Pls la. Steven Chia is a local chinese. My neighbour and classmate last time.

Still in contact? Is he homophobic?

[Guest PTM]

Nah! Mind your own countries