Also worth reading is "Don't come home to soulless Singapore" [1] that too went viral.
[1]: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/your-view--don-t-come-home-to-soull...
Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
21–30 of 132 posts
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#22On the flip side, I'd much rather the public schools in the US place the same amount of emphasis on math and science as the schools in Singapore.
I've spent 10 years in the education system in Singapore, and when I came to the US to continue high school, I was surprised at how dumbed down things are here. For example, topics typically covered in AP Chemistry would be part of the normal chemistry curriculum over in Singapore, and taught at the 9th grade level. High school lab sessions here were nothing more than simple experiments and anything more advanced were replaced with demos by teachers in the interest of liability and what not.
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#23So he doesn't want to return to Singapore because everything went right in that country? People are never satisfied! He doesn't list a single problem except for suicide rates going up - which on a per capita basis is average when compared to the other countries.
No, this is the real reason from the article:
"I describe my time living in Singapore as sterile. Nothing particularly bad happened but it wasn’t particularly good either. Daily life was convenient but it was only the bare minimum of living. I had everything I needed to be comfortable but I didn’t have anything that inspired me. Even though there wasn’t a language barrier, I encountered a hefty communication barrier. In my experience, people were polite but conversations rarely moved past surface-level niceties. Of the conversations that I took part in and overheard, the vast majority of them were about work. I routinely watched people work 15 hours days and stress over strict deadlines. Yes it was living and they were making progress but it wasn’t holistic and people openly admitted to me that it wasn’t fulfilling."
And it's true. It's a country of 716.1 km2 (276 sq mi). For locals, life there is mind-numbingly boring and stressful. I too left and would never return.
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#24> After graduating, every citizen is required to do active service in the military.
Nitpick: Men only. It's a common lament here that the men start higher education/work a couple of years later than their women counterparts, hence "losing out".
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#25This is basically a shorter, more weakly-argued version of William Gibson's first piece of non-fiction writing, Disneyland with the Death Penalty: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/gibson_pr.html EDIT: not that it isn't a good blog. But if you like it, you should really read the gibson article too.
Gibson's article is a brilliant piece of writing, but it was written in 1993. Singapore has changed quite a bit in the two decades since, although many of his observations do remain painfully accurate.
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#26The quick search I just made for suicide rate per capita shows the rate in Singapore is kinda average.
"The suicide rate in Singapore is rising at an unprecedented rate of 29% a year. With people between the age of 20-29, the increase is a horrifying 80%." The author said that it is rising rapidly, not that it is currently high.
{{citation needed}} for both those figures. Sure, Singapore's education system is pretty brutal, but it's nowhere near as hardcore as (say) South Korea or China.
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#27I feel dumber for having read that.
Seriously? I agree with the OP. And I've spent quite a bit of time in Singapore when I was younger.
I found it incredibly stupid.
Never return to Singapore because every day students declare pride in their country ? Great. Better not spend any time in the US, UK, Australia or countless other countries. Or do people think kids are just born with an understanding of the flag, anthem etc.
And citizens are forced to spend time in the military. Okay that is a bit much but hardly unprecedented. And personally I find the military propaganda in the US far more insidious.
As for average quality of life. Well that is obviously debatable:
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#28how about 'because it is an authoritarian single party state'?
Nowhere in the article does the author blame this for the perceived issues he mentions. In fact from his tone, this seems to be a positive in the way Singapore has improved in modern terms.
that's my point. he doesn't acknowledge the most important factor, although it actually underlies many of his issues.
"improved in modern terms" is very twisted language - perhaps you'd care to explain what you mean by this specifically
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#29> After graduating, every citizen is required to do active service in the military. Nitpick: Men only. It's a common lament here that the men start higher education/work a couple of years later than their women counterparts, hence "losing out".
I wish the Israelis or Swiss could come in to fix the Singaporean national service system. It is ineffective and inefficient -- the NS system produces a subpar military (the full timers are quite good though), and it provides very limited benefits to the individual.
A shorter period of training, a competitive bidding process to get into elite units like Israel's 8200, and a longer term commitment with the same people for the rest of your life, would be vastly better (and probably something the US should consider).
As it is, NS is basically wasted time for most people . Ambulance and SOF seem like the only decent options. The discrimination against the Malay origin singaporeans also seems wrong.
Re: Why I’ll Never Return to Singapore
#30Please tell me where in the world you shall live if you will not return to one of the best countries (as per most statistics) in the world?
And this guy is American. A country which invades other countries, kills civilians and holds people locked up in Guantanamo Bay. Yes, surely that is much better.
I haven't lived in Singapore but spent a bit of time there when I lived in Malaysia.