Future shiok or shock?
First-class First-World splendour but question remains over behaviour
By Low Ching Ling
February 25, 2007
WORLD-CLASS Singapore is not far away.
The next five years 'will be good for growth', said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
And in the next 10 to 20 years, we will become a top-flight First World city.
A vibrant, iconic, tropical city.
With pristine, flowing water and gardens everywhere.
The tropical equal of Paris, London and New York.
'This will be done in your lifetime,' promised MM Lee.
WORLD-CLASS CITIZENS?
Now, do we dare make a promise to modern Singapore's founding father?
That we will become world-class citizens, with all the grace and culture to match our First World, stylo-mylo home?
Imagine, we'll no longer be a Fine City. We'll be the finest tropical city where all the anti-litter and anti-spitting signs can be taken down.
That's because Singaporeans will no longer need in-your-face warning signs and threats of big fines to clear our own trash, or even the litter of others (like the little old ladies in Japan do, out of a sense of pride).
We can repeal the laws which have long made us the laughing stock of the world - like fines for not flushing toilets and a ban on chewing gum.
That's because we know the right thing to do, and would never dream of leaving a load of pee and pie to greet the next user of a public toilet.
No squabbling at property queues, no frenzied rush for Hello Kitty souvenirs, and no nasty table manners at food courts.
No looking down on others because they are less well-dressed.
No slapping of bus seats. No killer litter.
No junk along common corridors.
No large pets in small homes.
No dripping-wet laundry on high-rise poles.
No ugly road manners and horrible counter service.
And no phone manners worthy of a loud-mouthed Third World peasant.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
Now, hand on heart, can you make this promise, Singapore?
Because with economic growth, our environment can be reshaped, as MM Lee promised.
Sand or no sand, the fine structures will come up within 10 to 20 years.
But can our manners and social instincts be upgraded within our lifetime?
Former Nominated MP and architect Goh Chong Chia noted that the hardware is the 'easier part' to build and 'can be bought easily'.
But to move into the 'upper half of the First World', we will need good software too.
And that has to come from you and me.
Good social graces, care and concern for others. That's the hard part.
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Zainudin Nordin told The New Paper: 'We already have the hardware in terms of infrastructure, capabilities, administration and management. But there's still work to do in the software area. We need to refocus to get more balance in software.'
A political commentator who declined to be named (and this is hardly a First World trait) said: 'Our social graces leave much to be desired.'
Why is it we still need so many rules to remind us how to behave properly?
Mr Zainudin said: 'It should be something that is second nature to us rather than be told what to do. It all boils down to education and upbringing.'
MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC Inderjit Singh agreed: 'The first half of the First World will be where the quality of life improves with more balance for work, life and play.
'Rather than just a good standard of living, it's a good standard of life. We need to learn to respect everyone, treat everyone better, whether it's your family member, colleague or just someone you meet outside in everything we do, whether it's driving a vehicle or serving a customer.'
Associate Professor Ngiam Tee Liang, head of the Social Work Department at the National University of Singapore, said: 'It should be a country where people from all over the world come and say we're fantastic...
'When we talk to foreign friends, they can see something about Singapore which may not be obvious to us, and not just economic symbols like Singapore Airlines. We have to evolve other sets of icons which are not physical or tangible.'
Ironically, the same efficiency of the Government that will take us towards our upper-half First World dream might have also contributed to our Third World mentality.
Physical Development Feedback Unit co-chairman Goh Chong Chia said: 'In the early years, the Government developed (the concept of) HDB living wholeheartedly. It got people out of the slums to live in flats with clean water successfully. But in the process, the Asian family structure was somewhat broken up.
'Now we have the problem of what to do with the old people. So we adopt the Western solution of putting them in old folks' homes. Perhaps if we'd (slowed down), we'd have spotted the (social problems) earlier.'
Beyond social manners, a world-class city must have First World administrators too, said Mr Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation.
'The bureaucrats have to open up more and be more innovative. Now, they're efficient as long as the rules are fixed.
'I have great success liaising with other governments in my work, but I face the greatest difficulty in my own country.
'If you want to be like New York, Paris or London, people have to be allowed to be creative and the Government should not be afraid to go beyond the tried and tested.'
REALITY CHECK
But perhaps this utopian vision of a First World Singapore needs a reality check.
Instead of striving for perfection, maybe all we need is just the capacity to be more tolerant.
As an observer said: 'With the buzz (of Paris, London and New York) comes the attendant untidiness, noise and dissent. We can't have all this in a sanitised society.'
Does that mean we should not model ourselves after other countries?
Not at all, if you look at the manners and discipline of the Japanese, or the high service standards and good quality of life of the Swiss.
Mr Goh said: '(Paris, London and New York) have a history of hundreds of years, while Singapore is still very young. Unlike those cities, we have not (had much chance) to evolve socially and culturally.'
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'Breathtaking change in next 20 years'
MINISTER MENTOR Lee Kuan Yew sees Singapore changing in a breathtaking way in the next 10 to 20 years. And the wheels have already been set in motion.
He wants us to have the elegance of Paris, the international bustle of London and the cultural vibrancy of New York.
Our urban planners are building a clean and green 'iconic' city with a vibrant entertainment, sports and tourist hub.
MM Lee said in his speech at a Chinese New Year dinner in his Tanjong Pagar constituency: 'We have been making Singapore into a place where people lead better lives with the prospect of an even brighter future for their children.
'In the first phase, we moved from Third World to the lower half of the First World. Now we can move into the upper half of the First World. We can do this in the next 10-20 years.' MM Lee also mapped out the changes in Singapore's urban landscape.
ICONIC
'We will have an iconic city centre, a Marina with a promenade that will allow pedestrians and electric golf buggies unimpeded access round the whole Marina, with al fresco dining, restaurants, shops and electrically-driven pleasure boats for tourists to cruise along the Singapore and Kallang Rivers.
'New elegant buildings being built around the Marina will make Singapore an iconic city. The Marina will be like the St Mark's Piazza in Venice...
'Our drains and canals will be turned into ponds and streams.
'There will be clean running water, greenery and boardwalks for people and children to enjoy these streams and ponds - fishing, boating or dining al fresco.
'Hotels, condos and HDB homes that front these canals or drains will look out on greenery and water.'
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Future shiok or shock? 
