|
Having created itself from scratch in a single generation, Singapore is part theme park and part grand social experiment. The idea of Singapore as a separate political entity is quite recent: The city was part of the Malayan Federation |
|||||||
|
|
which gained independence from Britain in 1963, But the heavily Chinese principality was clearly an odd-man-out in the Malay-dominated nation. A not-so-amicable divorce two years later created a nation from a single island, essentially a single city, where every domestic call is also a local call.
Singapore's leaders reacted in a manner completely unlike the corrupt venality or short-sighted demagoguery we so often associate with politicians; they were more like university professors working on a case study. They simply planned out their long term vision for the new nation and set it on course. While societal planning has a dismal track record worldwide, this one has been a success. 1963: a tiny, resource-poor, racially divided country dependent on less-than-friendly neighbors for food and even drinking water. 2001:A country that has become the richest state between Australia and Japan (oil-rich Brunei excepted), boasts a superb quality of life, and has rigorously avoided the ethnic strife which plagues almost every other multi-ethnic nation.
|
|
All of this did not simply happen, it was consciously constructed. This constant tinkering in the quest of a tropical utopia leads to some peculiar situations: Government propaganda posters encourage people to smile next to signs announcing fines for spitting. Go to the police to register a lost passport and you'll be given wonderful service and a customer feedback form to help them improve. Go to the police because you got caught vandalizing and you'll be given several strokes of the cane. A kissing scene from a movie may be edited out to protect public decency, but (recognizing that it exists anyway) prostitution is legalized and regulated. The country's strict enforcement of racial tolerance means the every community is encouraged to keep their own traditions, but anything smacking of ethnic chauvinism is ruthlessly put down. To keep traffic flowing, car prices are kept artificially and astoundingly high, while the government subsidizes public housing and food to keep these within reach of every Singaporean. Having steered the fledgling economy through trading, then manufacturing, then finance, the leadership is attempting impose an independent entrepreneurial culture to move the economy into the internet age.
|
 |
Singaporeans are also very conscious of the criticism that, despite the overwhelming material success, the place lacks a certain flair, a certain element of fun, The leadership is taking this issue of fun very seriously (no, they don't seem to see the contradiction) and the government is actively supporting the arts - as long as the artists don't offend anyone's sexual, |
|
religious, ethnic or political sensibilities. And while law and order remain the law of the land - canings are meted out like it was a British boarding school - Singapore is also trying to loosen up a bit. At the new Speaker's Corner, people are encouraged to say whatever is on their mind, as long as they register with the police first and completely refrain from slandering any public figures or saying anything which could incite racial or religious animosity.
The relative brevity of Singapore's history and this conscious commitment to creating a nation are evident even to a casual visitor. Most countries' tourist sites are either cultural/historical relics such as Bangkok's Grand Palace or natural wonders such as Viet Nam's Ha Long Bay. Singapore has neither, and so has borrowed the culture and created the wonders. Singapore's short existence, strict multi-racialism and headlong rush to modernity have worked against the creation of any truly indigenous Singaporean cultural relics. Instead, visitors enjoy the feng-shui architecture in Chinatown, the aromatic spices of Little India or the crafts of the Malay Village. Lacking natural wonders, Singapore simply created them: For example, the world's first Night Safari showcases rarely seen nocturnal animals and the Jurong Bird Park includes a full-fledged penguin habitat located just a thousand kilometers from the equator. Other countries might have their palaces and temples, but only Singapore has Orchard Road. Calling Orchard a "shopping district" is like calling the Grand Canyon a big ditch. Cynics might argue that Orchard Road is the indigenous Singaporean culture. Whether you see it as a shoppers paradise or monument to wanton consumption, the excitement is there. On weekends, it seems that half of Singapore comes to enjoy the stores, cafes, movie theatres and sheer atmosphere of "town" as they call their center city. But leaving aside the frenzied commerce of Orchard or the quaint ethnic districts, one can find a definite Singapore style. Part of it is simply the greenery. For such a developed city, the place is intensely gardened: Trees lining major thoroughfares obscure ugly gas stations, copious flowering shrubs beautify concrete overpasses and parks, large and small, are distributed generously throughout. There are also the HDB estates - vast well-maintained, well-serviced public housing complexes which provide homes for 3/4 of all Singaporeans. For many Singaporeans, the defining factor of their country and the thing they like best about are the ubiquitous hawker centers; collections of food stalls selling delicious, fresh food for incredibly low prices. Three of the most popular dishes are well worth a try: Chicken rice is simple and satisfying: strips of chicken over rice cooked in chicken juices; Carrot cake bears no resemblance to the western dish of the same name; it is basically turnip flour fried into cakes; Laksa is a hearty soup dish - rice noodles in a spicy prawn-and-coconut-milk broth topped with sliced eggs, bean sprouts, fried tofu and sliced fish cake. Try any of these dishes at one of the literally hundreds of hawker centers around the island, and you'll quickly see why Singaporeans wax patriotic when discussing their hawker centers. Rising from rags to riches in three short decades, Singapore managed to create for itself an enviable combination of towering financial centers, lush green spaces, high class shopping malls and down home hawker centers. And if Singapore's current leaders lay their plans as successfully as the previous ones, the city will also gain as much a reputation for fun as it has for its financial prowess.
|
