spoilt singaporeans

an online friend had the opportunity to visit singapore over the last couple of days and blogged about his experiences. he was going "awesomeness" "omg" etc over many many things he experienced here. the things he wrote about that awed him so much included things such as bus stops that stop right in front of our doorsteps, mrt stations that are next to housing estates, the high connectivity of the island via mrt, the travellators, the scene, the sights, the leg space at the cinema, etc etc etc. and his curiosity and the questions he asked and pondered aloud were things that i am sure many singaporeans won't even be bothered to ask. things like - why bras basah? why espan-ade and not espla-nut. and promen-nut vs promen-ade. it was really refreshing to read his writings as it reflects the views of someone who just had his first visit to singapore. i smiled when i read his blog. and it was not so because i thought the things he wrote were nonsensical, but rather, i smiled becos simple things like these impressed him. and i thought hmmm, kl is also as developed and happening right? ok, may be not the mrt bit, but malaysia is also a modern city and it has many attractions too right?

but as i reflected, one thing struck me real hard - that singaporeans have all taken for granted our heritage and the convenience that we have been provided with. and that singaporeans have become too self-indulgent that we have also stopped being curious about ourselves. instead, all singaporeans could do now is to complain complain and complain. singaporeans complain about having not enough mrt stations, mrt stations that stop too far away from their house, that mrt are being built too slow, crowded places, la la la...

also, i bet you not many singaporeans do not know the history and the meanings of some of our beautifully named areas/ road. (eg what is tanjong rhu and why is it called tanjong rhu? what is telok kurau and why is it called telok kurau...) perhaps the stopping of teaching malay as our bahasa kebangsaan or our national language since the early '80s have resulted in subsequent generations that are not sensitised to malay words. whatever it is, singaporeans have accepted things as they are. they no longer are curious. and becos of this, they have missed out the many little treasures of the singapore experience.

isn't it regretful? living in heaven but not knowing how to appreciate heaven. seeing things half empty rather than half filled...

ps: for those who still have some sense of curiosity about things around you, i encourage you to learn a bit of malay and you will know many more things about singapore's pass that you never know existed before. and of cos, you will be able to appreciate the romantic nature of the malay words and the charm it gives to the places... jalan senyum (the lane of smiles), jalan sayang (the lane of love), tanjong rhu (the bay of casuarinas - imagine a bay where the waves softly laps and where rows and rows of casuarina trees lining the beach front sway and dance to the gently nudges of the breeze), etc...