Saturday, April 7, 2007

6 Things I Hate About Singapore

The blog has been waxing poetic of late. On the flip side, here are some things that periodically make me want to pack my bags and grab my passport:

1. Milk. When we visited Singapore, people asked me, “Is there anything you’re worried about not being able to find?” And everything I thought of, I’ve found here - or can have someone send me. Except for milk that tastes like...well, American milk. I drink milk the way Southerners drink sweet tea, so this is a considerable problem. I don’t know what they feed the cows in Indonesia and Australia; it must be some strange stuff. And even when I find a brand that tastes okay, I have to drink whole milk. “Lowfat” milk doesn’t exist here; in its place is an appalling gooey substance called “Hi-Lo” milk, which is essentially skim milk with various “milk solids” added to bulk up the texture and add calcium. They don’t even try to call it milk - it’s a “milk drink.”

2. Dodgy home air-conditioning. Singapore’s public buildings are thoroughly, reliably, even arctically air-conditioned. But rather than pay for aircon at home, people tend to suffer through the heat, so home air-conditioning systems are far behind the technology used in malls and offices. Ours is comparatively state-of-the-art, but it’s still a temperamental system of eight interconnected units, any of which can (and frequently do) start flashing and kill the whole system at any moment.

3. Rude people. People who leave their extra sacks of garbage in my yard by my garbage can. People who back out of a driveway across the street and smash into my garbage can so hard it’s hurled across the lawn and then roar off, leaving it lying there. People who park right in front of our gate so we can’t get into or out of our home. People who “chope” (save) food-center tables for family members who won’t be showing up for an hour - and who refuse to allow us to sit, even when we promise to eat and leave within 15 minutes. People who leave the entire family’s freshly washed tennis shoes out to dry on our garden wall.

4. Loud motorcycles. Singapore has noise laws that prevent anyone from selling motorcycles fitted with engines big enough that they sound like jet planes. But that doesn’t stop motorcycle repair shops from refitting the bikes with bigger engines.

5. The 10-minute radius. Many “city” people, though not at all rude (see point 3), are politely aghast at where we live. We live less than 30 minutes’ drive away from even the far side of the city, but I’ve seen at least one person’s jaw literally drop when we told them how far east we live. It’s true that you can get everywhere in the city in less than 10 minutes, but 25 is still worth a visit!...Right?

6. Workmen who don’t speak English. I’d sympathize if we had moved to China or Malaysia or Indonesia or something. But we’re in Singapore, where - as we’re constantly being told - “Everyone speaks English. It’s so easy to communicate!” We’ve mostly adjusted to the Singlish; at least it’s decipherable, even if you have to listen a little harder. But unfortunately the people I really need to speak any kind of English - repairmen, landscapers, the guy connecting the phone - do not. “Do you speak Chinese?” asked the head lawn guy, as I tried to explain a problem. And I do, a little bit: I can say hello, offer you something to drink, tell you I’m hungry. But I just don’t have the vocabulary to say, “How can I stop the caterpillars from eating my mango tree without killing them, thus cutting off my future supply of lovely butterflies?” Mang guo (the word for “mango,” go figure) is about as far as I can get.

...

Edit: See this more recent post for some thoughts on the comments below.

101 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you're in need of some rest and relaxation away from paradise. ; ) Enjoy the vacation!

Anonymous said...

Time to learn Mandarin! : )

venitha said...

It was the butter that killed me - I swear I never had any in Singapore that wasn't rancid. And thanks for the reminder to appreciate being able to understand people!

Cheryl said...

Hi Jenn, I liked this list. I didn't realize you'd have these problems out in suburbia, where I expected more "civilized" behavior. What kills me is the people who won't move aside on the sidewalk when you're trying to pass, even when you get over as far as you can! The biggest offenders are the little old ladies. Hang in there, see you soon. - Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Yea, wow. It's sooooo tough here in Singapore. The other day my mango was over ripe, and that cup of coffee- it cost me $.60 (oh, that's Sing dollars). Don't get me started on the public safety, rapid transit, and low income taxes. Also, my snow shovel is rusting. Just awful!

Anonymous said...

I see the the previous anonymous had been pretty badly burnt by this honest blog post. Well, what can I say, truth hurts and I think Jenn was very polite here...

I totally agree with Jenn here. I am from a country which might be lagging behind in every aspect compared to singapore - but I guess Jenn will still like it there.

1. We got REAL milk - singapore doesn't.
2. We don't have air-conditioning but got enough ceiling fans to keep the room pleasantly cool. If you had noticed, for some weird reason there's no ceiling fan in most of the houses. "Stand fans are enough what!" - said a singaporean... wish I could say in his face, "Yeah, for selfish people who wants the wind all by himself" - but I'm much polite... which brings me to the next point...
3. People ARE very rude here. Singaporeans got the worst walking manners. in mall, despite having loads of space, if someone is on a face to face collision course with you, s/he rather bump/push rather than taking a courtesy step. We got one of the worst human traffic back home yet I never knew there could be something as walking manner.

4. these motorcycles come out mostly in the middle of the night.. the police should make our tax money worthy by running around a bit around 1am and catch'em.

5. People don't even want to keep your invitation if you live any further than 15 min taxi ride. Out of so many colleagues only 1 Singaporean came in a party that I threw once cuz most of them lives at the west end and I live at the eastern side. So, I had only 1 local and rest were an international crowd.

6. I don't mind if ppl can't speak english, just don't advertise that everyone can speak english. I'm here for more than a year and yet I have difficulties with Singlish. On top of that - you'll see that people try to take advantage of you or be rude to you if you don't use singlish.

I don't see any reason for singaporeans to be proud of the public safety or cleanliness - that's the least the govt should be able to do when they got such a tiny country. Hell, I've been to citis which are larger than this 'country'! I guess the locals got a heart as small as the coutnry itself.

Anonymous said...

Learn Mandarin? you must be joking. Singaporeans' Mandarin is nearly as bad as their English.

Anonymous said...

Rapid transit? A subway system that gets you no where. A bus system where you wait 30 minutes for a bus on peak, up to 60 minutes off peak. In a city-state smaller than Hong Kong!

Anonymous said...

Well, try being a Singaporean for once. Yes, its really that hard. I agreed with the RUDE Singaporeans, the inconsiderate hawker consumers, and the fact that our English is just as bad as our Mandarin. That's what you get when you've been ditched by Malaysia, like 45 yrs ago.

We, the microscopic island so-called city, have to adapt to our new independence and think of the many ways to cope w/o natural resources. Everything we got here are not nearly as good as some of our 1st World country counterparts. Yes, we have our inadequacies, which country doesnt?

So what, if we dun have real milk? Is that big of a deal??? And the cleanliness, yeah, such one tiny country, and of course keeping it clean wouldnt be as hard, would it?
I agreed we couldnt be too proud with the "cleanliness" of this city. Matter of fact, Singaporeans themselves are the culprits behind the messiness anyway. THAT, we should be ashamed of. We relied too much on the cleaners and maids to clean after us... And THAT too, is too much.

Im sorry that some of u "hate singapore". It is what it is. You know how hard it is for this country to be what it is today. The hardships after the seaparation from Malaysia, to built a country from a scratch, to grow a nation?? I know there are many things Singapore need to change to be much better than what it has been today. Yes, as a tourist spot, it lacks in many ways. So instead of criticising us for the absence of quality entertainments, the right thing to do is to experience Singapore the way us locals do. We've been living here all our lives and think the only complaint we all have is the skyrocket cost of living. We ALL feel the burn.

So forgive me if my English is not up to your level of understanding. Yeah, as a Malay, the fact that everyone forces me to converse in Mandarin sounds pathetic..at least, on my part.. But it cant be help that this country is made of many cultural backgrounds, so i accept this country for what it is. Its goods, its bads, and everything else in between. I just felt i need to defend my home because this country has given me so much; education, better life, good food and etc...

Anonymous said...

For a second I thought you were talking about California. With exception to the milk (get over it), we have the same issues as Singapore, plus many many more.

You must have been brought up in some small town in Kansas.

P.S. As I type this from Los Angeles which might as well be the capitol of homelessness, gun crime, and non-english speaking citizens.

Anonymous said...

As a Singaporean, my 70 years old mother has similar complaints during her 6 months stay in California. It was impossible to get the right pineapples for her popular tarts. The ones you have are five times as expensive not to mention when made into jam, except for the colors, it tastes like straw. The poor family has to go 6 months without her famous pineapple tarts. It was truly a torture to hear her go on and on. I must be some strange stuff that you place in the soil... LOL.

Every man has his own quirks...


I still hope you enjoy your stay here in Singapore though ;)

A Singaporean Friend

Anonymous said...

The rudeness is 100% correct, and you can add to that the rascism, is always getting on my nerves as well.

Comments as you see here about the mainland Chinese and not the Singaporeans that cause the issues, but there is no difference in the attitudes between the two. The Singaporeans are loud and inconsiderate of the people around them, they will speak on phones at the most inoportune times, or put on itunes and play as loud as they can at bars and resteraunts with no respect towards the people sitting around them. But that is also how the treat each other, so can you expect anything any different. Being rude may be the wrong term, as they all beliee in Kiasu, let remember what the actual translation of the chinese character mean: I, Myself. In other words the proper English translation is selfishness.

The rascism is worse though, although not directly visible on the surface, it exist worse in Singaporean, than any other Asian nation I haved lived in. Their belief that all other countries are beneath them, and that they are somehow the kings of the world.

This rascism is most evident when you see the Singaporeans in other countries belittling the residents of those countries, and treating them as inferior to the Singaporeans (I haved actual heard some Singaporeans call these other people inferior).

If these two items were corrected by the Singaporeans, then maybe it would be a pleasant place to live.

Anonymous said...

u know why some workers in spore cant speak english? well tats bcos they are NOT singaporeans. true what.. try to ask around. sometimes even those ppl with higher posts are foreigners. this country trusts & takes in foreigners too much.

singapore education emphasizes on english as the first language. even some old aunties & uncles speak english, albeit not very well, just enough to make ppl understand. soooo.. :)

Anonymous said...

Learn Mandarin? Like that would help with my Chinese plumber. Tried speaking to him in Mandarin and all I got from him are rude stares. It irked me so much that I end up giving him a lecture in Cantonese when I heard him speaking in the language over the phone. Luck has it that both my parents are Cantonese. He is just one of those snob from KL who think Cantonese and not Mandarin is the official language of the Chinese. The truth is that we are so diverse in cultures that it is difficult to pigeon-hole our people. Every country has its share of closet racism. I think it is worse in the west. BTW, don't expect everyone in S'pore to speak English. At least a large number of the 1.2 mil foreigners in S'pore don't.

Anonymous said...

Just look at all the comments made by foreigners in Singapore in this article. Who are the racists here? Why should we welcome them when they're rude and hostile. There is always a good reason behind why some locals resent the presence of these foreigners, many of whom are rude, loud and disrespectful of our culture and practices. There're four national languages in Singpore, English is just an administrative language. Big deal if we don't speak it. We're not here to make your lives better. If you can't adapt then pack up your bags and leave.

Anonymous said...

to the comments...you are making fools of yourselves. i can guess you've never even been to singapore.

racism? can you find a country where everybody isn't racist? there are definately local singaporeans who are racist. then of course there are people who aren't racist! it's the same everywhere.

rude singaporeans? i have to agree, some singaporeans that are very rude. but on buses i often see people give seats up for children and elderly folk. at least this happens. there are rude people around, there are also people who try to be nice.

it's true that singaporeans don't speak good english. most people i know, including me, know our english sucks and our chinese sucks. my malay and indian classmates seem to ace in their exams though ^^; anyway, we have no intention of lying that our english is good. we don't wish to lie but...there is...a group of more *powerful* singaporeans, tasked with attracting visitors, that go around saying singaporeans speak very good english. i cannot say who or i risk imprisonment *coughauthoritariancough* but there are singaporeans who speak good english. there are singaporeans who don't. deal with it.

i am crude, but if you type "hate singapore" in google this blog is one of the top results. please don't stereotype singaporeans - like any other part of the world, singapore is not perfect, but singapore is not completely flawed. i'm not going to let these people ruin singapore's reputation on the internet like this!! >=(

at least i'd dare to walk on the streets at midnight because i know the police will arrive in minutes right after they receive a call. crime rate is so low here most of us were stupidified/humoured/stunned when the papers reported that some guy tried to job a bank. and our streets are all very brightly lit. i went to new york once and i was suprised at how dark the expressway there was x_x...at least we haven't seen crazy mobs of protestors and rioters since more than a decade or two ago. i don't completely love living in singapore, but i see no reason to hate living here to the core.

TLDR - since you say our english sucks i sum it up like this:
you don't know crap then don't come and act smart and talk cock. you think you can ruin our name on the internet, i don't let you=.=

from a singaporean

(to the original blogger - im sorry that you had a poor experience here...n im very thankful that you talked about your experiences in a respectful way. i was just very displeased with some of the comments i saw here ^^;)

Anonymous said...

uhm, to clear up misunderstandings.

i happen to be singaporean. funny huh? we use ceiling fans. i've got like seven ceiling fans at home.

kiasu doesn't literally mean selfish but is dialect of the mandarin term "怕输" literally translated "afraid to lose out". example - some auntie "chop" a seat at hawker center with an umbrella. she's just being kiasu, cos she's afraid she'll lose a seat.

i live in the east, it'll take me 30minutes to reach town...funny how i still go to town often. it exceeds 15minutes of travelling...oh dear.

i have never waited more than 30minutes for a bus to arrive at my bus stop. peak or off-peak. the transport system is flawed but it's not impossible to get around.

honks are installed on cars that aren't in singapore too. surely somewhere out there, somebody is honking...and he is not singaporean. shocker!

(same person from above~)

Anonymous said...

Yea...I do agre with e rudeness part bt i do hav sm v gd sgrean friends...
Since Singapore is so bad then you should try to leave the country. Use it as a platform to bring you to somewhere else, with better job and opportunity.dats everyone is doing and dats what I'm doing..haha

Anonymous said...

Singaporeans loves to look down on Malaysians and they feel so surprise to see Malaysians are very rich. They always wonder how come malaysians need to go to singapore for holiday? All also double mah. They think Malaysians are so poor and can't afford to go for any holidays. Personally i hate the way how Singaporeans perecptions on Malaysians.

Anonymous said...

I am a Singapore- Unproud. In fact, I am planning for immigration soon. Why :
1. Rigid politics
2. Rigid education system
3. Ugly Singaporeans (educated or not)- I felt disgraced when i saw fellow singaporeans behaviour when I am overseas.
4. (Not all) Rude, look down on people, even on their own countrymen
5. Uncivilized passengers on bus and mrt and other gross behaviours
6. (Not all) Lewd men everywhere, like they are not borne by women

Overall, I will only miss Singapore's :
1. Security and peace
2. Subsidiary system on healthcare for those who can't afford treatment for terminal illnesses like cancers

No flaming pls. Just 2 cents

Anonymous said...

IT is TRUE and FALSE for most cases - people here are rude for a lot of reason. and YES, we are not here to give foreigners the pamper and welcome them so lovingly and make them so relaxed and that they stretch out their feet for us to kiss it.-try going to mainland China and see much more rudeness -but come to Hong Kong and you'll be surprised to see more westerners than here in Singapore. It's true that crime rate here is the best in any Asia. -one thing to be proud of. But then, I am ashamed that we try so hard to copy other country's system and lifestyle then we claim it as our own. They say singlish is a culture here, unique and original. a mix of malay, cantonese, mandarin, english, hokkien, and whatever is in there... then it is a point there that all these language we owe from other country and we should give credit to.

Cassy ;3 said...

Singapore is trying their best to make this country possible for everyone to live in harmony. Yes sadly some Singaporean are rude. But that doesn't means everyone in Singapore is rude. Singapore is just a little dot. We are trying our best to strive. I too, live in the East of Singapore.

Why do Singaporeans use stand fans? Because it more cheaper than installing a celing fan. Everyone actually would like to install a ceiling fan but not everyone have the previlege to install one. Some people just don't have enough money to install one.

As for our english, so what if some of us don't speak english? For example, the older generation might have come from all different areas of the world like China, India...Etc. Not all of them speak English. Those elders didn't have the previlege to learn it.

So what if we don't have real milk? It's no big deal. Remember that Singapore is just a small dot. Do you think there's enough space for farms to produce real milk for the whole country? There's about 4-6 Million people living is this little island.

Yes, our rudeness is one of things we need to change but that's how our country. But little by little we are trying to change. Not everyone is willing to change but get over it. We are trying our best. Remember that not everyone is rude.

Yeah some people won't move and yep that's very irritating of them. Get used to it. Not everyone just pushes their way through. It just happens that you met the rude kind of person. Every country have their Bad points and Good points.

We are not PROUD with our public safety or cleanliness. Don't judge us when you barely know
us Singaporeans.

We all feel the same about the buses. Singapore is trying to get more buses to get round the bus stops. As you can see most of the buses go round from an area to another area which is quite far off. Um like example, Tampines to Queenstown. They quite far apart from each other. The buses have to go from Tampines to Queenstown and take quite a long while to just finish one round around Tampines and Queenstown. Since the buses take so long to finish a round, it will take a long time to get to each stop. (Maybe some of you don't get it. O_O;)

Not every Taxi cheats you off your money but that's sure something you need to take action on. Even other ccountries, some Taxis does the same. All you just gotta do is just make sure you get the right change.

I know Singaporeans always wants free stuff espcially old aunties.
Well that's what some of us do. Doesn't every each of us get used in our own country? You get used with your own country so you will find it different with another country as you have not get used to it.

Some workers just don't speak english and it's not our fault. They don't come from Singapore. They are foreign workers. In Singapore there's lots of foreign workers. Like Taxis, maids, Salesgirl/man, construction workers, cleaners, plumbers...etc. Most of those common jobs are usually held by the foreigners. Some of them just don't speak english and some might know a little of english but they speak it real bad. Its not us Singaporeans who speak bad english. It's the foreginers and the older generation who does.

We are not here to pamper you foreginers when you are in our country. We are not your maids or your tour guides. We are like any normal country. Reflect by yourself- Do you guys pamper us when we are in your own country? You guys don't right? Yep, we treat you the same. We'll try to welcome you but we can't always do that.

I won't let you guys ruin Singapore's reputation. It's not nice at all. D;< Please don't be racist. I'm replying to all these comments. Yeah my comment is pretty long lol...I'm not here to be rude but please be considerate!

*Hugs* for everyone who reads this
Cassy ;3 (Yep I'm Singaporean.. ._.)

Anonymous said...

about the above mentioned comment, i think the safety here in our country you and all of us should be proud of.

and next is even local Singaporeans like us speak bad English OR "Singlish". I should know coz i am one of those. I'm tryin to take out the native slang and things liddat coz sumtime a american ask me direction and she cannot understand wat i say lah. btw,I'm still studying so it's kinda embarrassing to even post here.

Tom said...

it's refreshing to learn that other expats are experiencing similar frustrations. i've been here in singapore for several months now and am still trying to get used to the lack of singaporeans' sensitivity to others around them (although i have to say that it is a lot worse in hong kong and china where it really is survival of the fittest!). but i don't think singaporeans are intentionally mean. rather, it seems that they are only thinking of themselves most of the time. prime example is when you are trying to get out of the MRT train and a wall of people are standing blocking your exit as they get ready to race for an empty seat. when this happens i just stand there at the entrance of the door so that nobody can get on. either that or i take my large-framed body and smash my way through the blockade pissing off everyone in my wake.

Elmateo said...

I really enjoyed this post and all the comments associated with it. I'm an American living in San Francisco and have lived in Saigon, Tokyo, as well as various cities in Spain and France. I am currently considering moving to Singapore and trying to get all the information I can good and bad.
Your post didn't strike me at all as rude, instead just a release from normal frustrations all expatriates anywhere will feel. Apparently, some have taken your comments the wrong way and as offensive (which they were not) but it's also easy to understand their feelings through their point of view and their experiences with the world (some may only be used to foreigners complaining all the time hence their frustration.) Your post has made me realize I really do want to live in Singapore and I'm excited about the diversity. The complaints don't seem to serious and for fun let me offer some comparisons
1. Milk - I could do without it even though I love milk
2. Air-Con - Same in Saigon, but fans make me comfortable and I like to sweat (think it's good for the health and complexion) Not in a business suit though
3. Rude People - Can't be worse than California drivers
4. Loud Motorcycles - We've got them in San Francisco too. Not as annoying as crazy people yelling though.
5. 30 Mins drive - Try 2 hour commute in Tokyo. :)
6. No English? - Great! More motivation to learn Mandarin. I speak Japanese, Spanish and French. Wanting to learn Chinese

- If you have a moment could you let me know which professions are most applicable for expatriates in Singapore?
- Keep having fun there, ignore the negatives and enjoy that beautiful country/culture.

Anonymous said...

I have lived in Singapore for almost 4 years after coming here from Japan. I too am one of the EXPATS as many locals call us. But in my eyes I am not an EXPAT, but someone that is entrusted to run part of their country for them because lets face it, almost all Singapore business have a White Man or CEO running the company. I can write my own website about how rude, selfish, and brash most Singaporians are, and it is true. There is a Superior outlook by most of the population here. If you are in Doubt of this take a drive down the CTE or PIE and watch how differant the BMW, and Merc's drive as compared to the Toyota's and Honda's and you will know what I am speaking of.

And don't even get me started about the Taxi drivers here! Old and can barley see past the end of the cab! I've always heard of how many laws they have here in Singapore, but how many of those laws are actually enforced! I see none of them enforced unless it is an electronic system that doesn't constitue law enforcement to do their jobs. The streets are just as dirty as any other country on the planet.
Rudeness, is just a state of mind here. If you are white or from another country you don't deserve to have someone take care of you or not be rude to you here. That is the mentality of the people here. You are a pest on their door stoop that should never have come here anyway, Right? The non existance of customer service here never seems to amaze me either, not one day goes by that I acatually find good customer service. The unwillingness of the people to change is the problem. People here will never changne because in there mind there is nothing wrong. Well I am here to tell you that there is. Your country will eventually feel the effects from rudeness and lack of customer service, your tourism is already suffering and more with each passing day. I of course am White and by nature am very much larger than your average Asian, and still get body checked at the mall by the little old lady because it is me that is taking up 90% of the sidewalk or walkway.

Wake up Singaporians, there is a reason why you have to work until you are 100 years old and never achieve nothing more than a vacation to KL or Genting and still live in a 500,000 dollar HDB. Speak up or get out. Which of the latter I am choosing to do. This is one of the rudest countries I have ever had the pleasure of living in. Although most Singaporians will never admit it, I would rather live in Poverished Malaysia and be surrounded by loving and caring people, than being a CEO of a major corporation in Singapore that Singaporians can't do in the first place. Get a clue, be polite and give way sometimes and quite being Karasu and blaming it on everone else when it is your fault!

Anonymous said...

It occurs to me that Singaporian's are so racial towards Malaysian's. Didn't 90% of the population here come from Malaysia just a few decades ago? I know during Chinese New Year that Nearly half of the Resident population of Singapore goes to malaysia, or some other country to visit relatives. So why all the Racism? I do find that Singaporians are rude in general, and could use a stoute dose of their own medicine. I see the blogs of Singaporians on this website and wanted to say to them, yes some people do "Hate" your country! The next time you run someone off the road, or cross 4 lanes of traffic to exit because you couldn't think ahead, or body check someone, or start into the elevator before people exit, think about why people "Hate" Singapore? I do agree that there are many good thing's about Singapore, but have yet to find them. I am counting the day before i leave this place and never look back. Good luck working and paying for your 100,000 dollar hondas and your 3 hundred thousand dollar HDB's living with all your blood relatives. If you spent that kind of money in another country you could buy your whole family houses and car's. Your politics are mostly to blame, and if you think your crime rate is low, that is what your Gov't tells you the crime rate is. It is so funny that Drugs are outlawed here and punishable by death, but you have 3 drug prisons in Sembawang, right along their Half Way houses! Don't kid yourselves, the grass isn't always greener on the otherside either, and not trying to say it is. Most all other countries have problems too, but in my opinion most of the things here could be fixed if people were just more open minded, but that is the problem. Most people here are very reluctant to change and would rather just keep their blinders on and ignore the reality that is life in Singapore. You can have it because I am fed up with it. The next time you get your Paycheck think about the fact that your PM makes 15 Million a year and doesn't pay rent at all, lives in a mansion to tell you what to do and still takes 25% of your pay for your CPF account. That is not called a democracy where I come from!

Anonymous said...

Sometime we just need a break from the break!!

Anonymous said...

I have a comment for the person that says their English Sucks, but they Ace their Exam. Isn't that the problem? La is not a word by the way!!

Anonymous said...

I definitely agree with you. I'm from a South-Asian country and am living in Singapore, which I actually believed to be a more "sophisticated" place than my home country. Before coming here, I was constantly lured by ads claiming that the place was a "westernized" and "global" city (and some of these ads were by Singapore government establishments (go figure). Well, I should say that it couldn't be much different. Some of the people are so rude that they will pretend they didn't even see you and pass by without a word if you're lost and asking for directions. And their "English" is downright horrifying! It took me over a year to gain the ability to decipher about half of an average Singaporean's speech. And what's worse, the bus drivers can never communicate properly so if you're new and you're asking the driver for help, then you're in for a tough time. Some of them don't even know the names of the bus stops and will most likely drop you off at the wrong place if you put yourself at their mercy.
I know about the history of this country and how they "grew" into what they are today from nothingness or whatever, but that does not excuse their rude and weird antics and their substandard products and services. When you're mediocre, you should say that you're mediocre instead of over-advertising yourself as extraordinary.

Anonymous said...

Let's play a game. It's call "Singapore Bashing!". No prize though for spotting the "Malaysians".

What is stopping you? You should earn more, have better manners, speak better English, pay less for your car and home, have better food and acquire better sense of humour than us Singaporeans. And don't forget to do all these back in your home country. Pack, leave, get a job back home and stay out of this congested lttle red dot.

Anonymous said...

With pleasure Mr Singapore, but you are wrong about the Malaysia part. Your country is the armpit of Asia, or the buttcrack you choose. You stay here and be a slave to your country until you are 100 working in a hawker center, to earn enough to support your outragious prices all the time telling yourself it's ok! Stop kidding yourself, you a slave to the system that is Singapore,or to what your gov't tells you is Singapore. That you are free, tell me what rights you have here?? No freedom of speech, no freedom to protect yourself, no freedom of the press, so please keep living your dream. He he he...

Anonymous said...

Singapore is a country that is unwilling to change. On one hand they want to be productive and be a hub of commerce. But what prevents that is old ways, and the populations pompous attitude that nothing is wrong and no change is needed. In my opinion the country is going backwards not forwards. And that is evident in the fact that 85% of all companies here are ran by that other than a Singaporian. Don't even get me started about the Gov't here, the people believe that they live in a democracy, but have no rights at all, no freedoms to speak of other than religion. But that is the personia that the Gov't doesn't want the citizens here to know about. The PM here might as well be A ruler not a PM, and this country should be called Germany II not Singapore! You can do the math and read between the lines, because we all know that no one can speak out about the GOVT here!

Anonymous said...

“outragious prices”, “evident in the fact”, “no freedoms to speak of other than religion”, “armpit of Asia”, “85% of all companies here are ran by that other than a Singaporian”….blah.

Enroll yourself in a GOOD English class, brush up your essay writing skill then come and tell us how bad we’re. You’re supposed to speak better English, remember?

Anonymous said...

I see you have replaced your remark about the ceiling fans with the one on air-conditioning. I believe you have to do some research when installing them. Check the power requirements. I have ceiling fans and airconditioning in all the rooms of my HDB flats for more than 10 years and never have problems. Sometimes having both sets switched on at the same time, esp. during these past few weeks given that kind of weather we're having. Old colonial bungalows often do not have very advanced wiring systems unless the landlords have done something about it.

blah said...

Look at those smug singaporeans telling us to leave. Sure, we'll leave and return to our good life back where we came from but have you thought about what your beloved country would do without us? Would it even be what it is now if it hadn't been for the hundreds of foreign investors, service-providers, and workers? We can still see how your government is continuously "importing" all sorts of people in an effort to keep the piece of land on the map; a "country" that has to import every single consumer good, even wild berries. And I'll tell you something- not even 5% of us are here to stay.

Anonymous said...

My company, in trying to save some money, has put me up in a serviced apartment here in Little India because the rents are cheaper. Boy oh boy! What a place! I've been here for 6 months, and I have yet to get a good night's sleep. For some reason, the Indians think it is completely acceptable to make as much noise as possible at all hours of the night. There is one newly opened restaurant downstairs who begin their day at 3:30am. I've put up with their noise for a month but finally reached my breaking point this morning when they began blasting their music. I went down there and asked them to be quieter, and they looked at me like i was crazy. God, I wish my company would move me to live somewhere else that is clean and quiet.
On another topic, I am thinking of trying to relocate to Hong Kong soon. Does anyone have a "6 Things I Hate About Hong Kong" list that they would like to share so I know what to expect? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thank heavens I was given decent options in life. There is no way I will live here with such pretentious people who think they deserve a Nobel Prize for running water.

The real test of material success is when everyone in the room is smarter, more famous, more creative, prettier and richer than you. Then you know that you are at the top of your game with the world's elite not in some backyard somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Thank heavens I was given decent options in life. There is no way I will live here with such pretentious people who think they deserve a Nobel Prize for running water.

The real test of material success is when everyone in the room is smarter, more famous, more creative, prettier and richer than you. Then you know that you are at the top of your game with the world's elite not in some backyard somewhere.

Anonymous said...

I hate singapore because its a tiny little communist nation run by folks who thinks they are God's greatest gift to mankind. If he could clone him self, he most definitely would.

Anonymous said...

singaporeans are damn proud of themselves and they look down on foreigners. i'm a foreigner in singapore and i seriously hate singapore. some of my classmates somehow told me that it is special to speak singlish and stuff. in my country if one speaks singlish it definitely becomes a joke. teenage girls here cry so damn easily. i dont understand them at all.

jezebel said...

Wow! I am an expat american living here for several months having just moved from India. Moving here from India makes me love Singapore, not because India is so bad but because life is easier here.

Getting run off the road with my two year old is a little freaky but the same thing happened in India.

And while some say Singaporeans are racist I actually believe most people are racist everywhere (I live in a tri-national family and make inappropriate comments often). Singaporeans just say it out loud.

Lets remember this is a wonderful blog.

Singapore may be small but I find it a fascinating place full of lessons and surprises.

Anonymous said...

Life is so short, if you do not like that Country, go the country that you like.
I had been moving from one country to another due to my job. Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Vietname, USA (California, New York, Florida and Texas), Turkey, Mexico, England, Austrialia etc. Every country has her pros and cons. Face it!

Lukas Prakoso said...

I agree one thing about what you said that some of the people are rude. Maybe they don't mean to, but they hardly smile.

I also criticize their taxi drivers. Their driving style is very uncomfortable. Not quick, but hasty. Sometimes they gave me headaches. And what I hate most from them are their inconsistency on fares. Sometimes "rude" drivers "cheated" on the fares by charging an extra S$ 1/2, while the "kind" ones don't.

But hey, I still think Singapore is the best country to go abroad. Even though their English is a bit Chinese, at least I won't be a total stranger right there.

Conscientia said...

Hi Jenn,

Totally agree with u..
Don't like Singapore either ^^

Hayden said...

Not every country is perfect.
face the fact and live in it.I'm from Malaysia and my english is not that good, but im trying my best to make it perfect.

*We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly

Anonymous said...

I’d sympathize if we had moved to China or Malaysia or Indonesia or something

__________________

Just for your information, in Malaysia, English is spoken widely. So if you don't know anything about Malaysia don't just assume that we Malaysians don't know English.

Anonymous said...

wow, didn't expect a lot of ppl wud hate this country. so much hatred and anger. Why not say something good here? Like... Singapore girls are cute. I prefer Hong Kong girls more, they are much cuter. I luv the food here, I like the wide variety and array of choices, but most of which are origins of neighboring countries. And yes of course, singlish kills the english language. I saw that on youtube, I had tears rolling down my eyes while laughing so hard, i like the part of "fly lice" (fried rice) and softdrink like "cock" (coke). even though it's annoying, somehow I find it really funny. I agree with one of the posters here, bragging about how well people here speak English really messes everything up. I still use hand signals when I buy food, groceries, etc. Learning to adapt, somehow i felt degraded but it's what you live with. by the way, malaysia is a nice country, I do feel that most Singaporeans treat them less than fairly of the respect that they deserve. Btw, Most of the products(if not all) come from malaysia. Singapore will starve if not for Malaysia.

Anonymous said...

Singapore's Great.
Good than Malaysia very very Much.
I ENJOY in Singapore instead.
Who calls me is a Chinese.
Malaysia didnt offer many opportunities and chances for Chinese but Singapore is the opposite.

Singapore Rocks....

Anonymous said...

Actually.........

Malaysia's Malay People is very rude than Singaporeans instead.

The percentage of RUDEness in Malaysia:
Chinese: 19%
Indian: 35%
Malay: 45.01%
Others: 0.99%

So, why does Malaysia companies CO-operate with Singapores Companies?

B'Cuz Malay want to catch a very big fish instead.

Anonymous said...

This is typical Singporean thinking.

"Singapore may be small but I find it a fascinating place full of lessons and surprises."

Kindly go out of the house once in a while. Get some air or something.

jellyfarm said...

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, if not - easy decision - MOVE OUT!

Anonymous said...

The Singaporeans, what's with them? They are just so rude and up themself, and I hate the fact that they always critcise people that can't speak English but it is them who actually can't speak English properly?

Anonymous said...

The government has done very well in keeping minds shut, un-questioning, and content. Majority of people here don't like to read. They see online gaming, karaoke, movie-going, shopping and eating, THE way to spend their free time. Not may grow up on a diet of books and good films. For most people here, their idea of a great film to catch is Transformers, or a silly romantic comedy. If you turn on the TV, and see channel 5, you'll see all the crappy little slapstick dramas. Singaporeans aren't trained to think outside their media influences, and this has affected how most have grown up. Look at all the melodramatic people I know here. Fame-hungry, arrogant, DELUSIONAL, etc. Why? Because of what they see on tv. For the more english-educated youth, that would be your gossip-girl and OC. And for the chinese-ed people, their korean and taiwanese dramas. These have taught people how to live. Many locals have become caricatures.

There are many singaporeans who speak very good english, and those are usually from the GOOD schools. Unfortunately, most are from the local co-ed schools, and they tend to speak a horrible fusion of dialect and english. I'm singaporean, and I cringe when I hear this being spoken, but at the same time I'm tolerant. Not all singaporeans are like this. The average singaporean grows up in a poky little flat, with controlling parents who don't like their children moving out until they're married (so what about those that don't get married?). There is a huge lack of personal freedom. Also, there's a constant pressure to do well, succeed, etc. This has been successfuly installed into the brains of locals via their school curriculums, which ultimately get orders from BIG BROTHER. The more aware the singaporean is, the higher the chance of them leaving the country to seek for greener pastures. Many I know have left for Canada and Australia, for example.

Regarding taxi drivers. Yes, most are really horrible, in they way they love ripping white tourists off, and they way they drive hazardously etc. But I've encountered much worse touting and driving in thailand, india, Kuala Lumpur, that singapore's taxi drivers are nothing in comparison. If you choose to listen to their complaints, and observe for yourselves, you'd see how hard life is here for a taxi driver. Those that do the night shift don't get many passengers, as the number of cabs nowadays far exceeds the number of willing pasengers. If you look at the extra charges that have been added to a normal cab ride, you'll see why so many people choose to take buses and trains instead. The snaking queues of taxis at night show you how long drivers have to wait just to pick up a passenger. So think about it, can you blame them for trying to rip off naive tourists? They think "hey, tourists are rich, so why not?", and this is the mentality of tax drivers EVERYWHERE. Also, since it's so hard to make a living, they have to take full advantage of it, and those daring enough will try to cheat you. The only thing to do, is ask around when you reach singapore, and not fall into the trap. Same goes for when you go to thailand. Cabs that run by meter are cheap, but those with touts will charge you a crazy amount. Just be smart.

Anonymous said...

contd:

I worked in a budget hotel for awhile, and to tell you the truth, I've met some truely awful foreign tourists. Most of them are the mainland indians, who love shouting and pushing their weight about. They are incredibly demanding and hostile. Not only do they hope to get something for nothing, very often they BEG just for tiny discounts. When they check into their rooms, they ask for bell-hops, or "extra this and extra that", not having the sense to realize that they've paid only $65 for a room here, and therefore privileges like that aren't applicable. Seriously, why don't they pay more and check into the holiday inn? Ahh yes, because they're cheap tourists. Tell me, which country likes cheap tourists?

But wait, there have been some horrible caucasian tourists too. I've met some rude Londoners, French, Russian, etc etc, who take their rage out on the receptionists. Not to mention, penny-pinching and such cheapskates. Without stopping to think about how imbecilic and infantile their behaviour is. Yes there are tonnes of rude people in singapore, and i myself have been at their mercy countless of times, but many foreigners who come here, are rude as hell too. And so many of them are indians, mainland chinese blue-collar workers, mainland chinese hookers etc. Many singaporeans are angry at these immigrants, as they only add on to the ugliness and filth. I've seen so much ugly behaviour coming from these PEASANTS that I don't care about it anymore. I just laugh. At the end of the day, there's no use getting worked up. Life here can be funny if you know how to look at it humourously. It's all a matter of perception.

hello (: said...

Hi, im a singaporean.
And i agree to most of the comments.
Like singapore being rude, kiasu, and that we use singlish (chinese+english).
But it's not the whole of singaporeans.
But i don't really agree with the racism as we are a multi-racial country and we get along quite well with each other.
At most only stares ?

& i also agree with the car signals thing. And inconsiderate people that didnt want to give space when boarding and alighting the public transport causing me to make the effort to squeeze and push my way out.

But, overall i think Singapore's ok..
It's clean and green ?

I don't really being a singaporean.
BUT, im glad to be in singapore (:

hello (: said...

i dont really like *
oops sorry.

Joji said...

Well, I am a foreigner here in Singapore and despite the fact that I have had my fare share of 'not so nice' experiences, I must say I love Singapore.

It might not a perfect place, but its hell lot of a close to it.

I am a post grad here and now working in a pretty good position .i.e. financially, because I am dark colored I face a lot of stereotype experiences from people when I shop or travel.

But still, I feel I owe Singapore, for the opportunity it provided me, (as well as the scholarship).

Right now I feel torn between 'liking' Singapore, and 'not so much respect' for Singaporeans. Yeah I know its ironic....

Anonymous said...

I think at the end of the day, it's more about what one can accept especially if you are from another country. Yes I am a Singaporean. I don't mean this in any negative way.

I have been living in Australia for 8 months. And there are things that I loved about this place - great beaches, fanastic art scene, etc and things I wished it had - singapore food, more late night shops. But these are things that I can do without. I don't regret coming to Australia. Even though I am a Singaporean, I do have to admit after coming to Australia. There are things that I do miss about Singapore and things that I never liked.

Everyone I know in Singapore agree to the rudeness of tge locals. Whether they are immigrants or not, somehow it has become part of the culture which is sad and equally frustrating. Let's face it. Singapore is never a very clean country. Maybe in Orchard Road but not in the suburban areas. Freedom in Singapore is completely dependent on the Governement which is not really freedom is it ? I personally do have some opinions on people from other countries after quite a few bad encounters. However I do think that it is not right to look down on other people from different countries with the exception of them being dickheads. In that case, it's more about the individual than about which country they are from. And about the arrogance of Singaporeans, honestly they are just as bad as any dickheads I have met. As for the advertised standard of English, it's just a marketing scam. As diverse as Singapore is, so is the standard of English. Please believe that I am still Singaporean. This is my take on this.

On a positive note, not everyone is that way. I am sorry for the bad experience you have. But trust me, so many of us Singaporeans feel the same way too.

The things that I miss most about Singapore, yes I still do love my country ! Hecklers get lost, is the safety and really the racial harmony despite the presence of racism ( it ain't that bad. I have seen worse). I generally don't think there is loud racism here and when I say that, I mean people who tell you straight in your face in broad daylight to fuck off and go back to your country.

That's all folks.

As

Anonymous said...

If you hate singapore so much why don't you just leave? our country is not here to cater to your stupid whims and fancies. So what if we dont have proper milk? it is such a big deal in your life? you should learn that milk is not such a big deal over here. we don't drink milk like drinking water. and not ALL of us are rude. as you already mentioned, your workmen do not speak english and is definitely NOT a singaporean because english is the medium of our schools. So what if we speak singlish?!! We do write proper english when we have to. As n arts student i have to write essays in proper english on an almost daily basis. Singlish is the way we comminicate. imagine going down to the hawker centre and speaking to the hawker in perfect english. you'll probably be asked to fuck off. Singlish is our CULTURE. Bear with it or leave. We are not going to change it because of you guys. Try living in a country with so many different races and see if you can communicate using proper english. Singlish was a product of our ancestors! how did you asses think the brits communicated with the chinese, indians and malays??!!

as for rudeness, i do agree with you on that, but you can't make such a generalised statement. coming from your so called 1st world country i would expect your brain to be better than this. i have seen many young people give up their seats to the elderly, and i have witnessed so much kindness in school. to say that all singaporeans are rude is an unfair statement.

as for the air cons, pardon us if you can't take the freaking heat. our body is much more adapted to the heat so we just don't find the need to have such "GOOD" air conditioning systems.

and the loud motorcycles are irritating but at least they are better than your stupid gun shots you might hear at your homeland.

if you can't stand us and our loud culture then we really welcome you to leave. BYE.

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone,

1st of all. I would like to say that I'm Singaporean (no point beating around the bush) and I found your blog and the comments extremely fascinating and insightful.

Although not all the comments are 100% objective nor always pleasant to read, I feel that as Singaporeans, the internet is a blessing in this case.

How many people would tell you straight in your face in real life that they hate your country and its people? *cough political correctness cough*

I think its pointless to say things like "if you don't like Singapore then go home!". Neither is it worthwhile to go into debates like whether we have real milk, good housing and stuff like that. Everyone has their opinion and I respect them for sounding them out.

So, dear Singaporeans, read all the criticisms and let's think about it. Not all are true, but maybe some are?

Let's not end up like those countries who insist nothing is wrong and spend half their time defending foreigner's criticisms of their country and trying to kick out all these people who are brave enough to say what's wrong with a country.(lol)

I guess it's more interesting to see what they have to say about us and think and discuss about it with frens over a cup of teh tarik?

We're still really young as a country so we cannot afford to have a mentality like that of some "developed" countries--> "you don't like our country? What you say ISN'T true! If you hate it here then go back home!"

A mentality like that is not going to help SG. I love my home immensely, that's why I hope you fellow Singaporeans share my point of view. (Lots of my classmates and friends do fortunately :p)

We got to be open and LISTEN to what pple have to say EVEN IF we don't agree 100% with them.

All in all, a big THANK YOU to all users who have posted these negative comments on sg. Whether they are true or not, its still an eye opener and I'm gonna post some of them on my Facebook account. hehe

If people are disrespectful towards you, let's not reply them rudely and angrily? We won't be any different from them don't u think? =p

Just my 2 cents worth.. sorry for the long post guys..

Unknown said...

Some Singaporeans are trying to change.. I saw some Singaporeans helping foreigners.. We are all trying to improve our english too..... For the overcharging of taxis, please turn to your left! There's a notice pasted there telling you how much the taxi fare should cost, the peak hour surcharge and much more. Be more aware of your surroundings people. You guys talk about Singaporeans being rude. You guys emphasized on that like.. I don't know what the hell is happening to you guys. Are you guys blind?
The price of a taxi's metered fare are all written there, so, seriously, please turn your head to the left and read. You guys know english right since you guys are boasting that your english is very very good. You guys think that you all are not rude. I love foreigners from all over the world especially Americans but when I was walking in a mall, a lady tried to bang me away even though I moved away to let her walk. What the hell? I'm Singaporean too and we won't hesitate to help people. True, you guys are CEOs in Singapore and without you guys, we will be nothing. That may be true but seriously who cares if you're a CEO? Don't act like your big or something. Who the heck do you think you are? If I shoot you now, you will still die. CEO doesn't mean that you are a superhuman so stop getting cocky and expect ppl to polish your shoes, feed you etc. Hate us, leave, if not we'll welcome you as long as you don't give us some cocked up bloody attitude. About the hand sanitizers, I do know what hand sanitizers are. 80% of the people? Please, i think onli 20% of the people in Singapore doesn't know what a hand sanitizers are. You guys talk like you guys are perfect. Seriously, you guys think you're god? Nothing is perfect. Learn to appreciate things just the way they are. Not all of us look down on other people.. only the minority of the whole population in Singapore too. Get your facts right! There are many nice people out there in Singapore too! Open your eyes please. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

I don't really like it here in Singapore.

It's just people here lack warmth or vibrancy. Almost 80% of the people I meet every day have this morose, expressionless look on them. Like they always mean serious business or something. I mean, normally, strangers won't smile at you all the time but still, you can see some sort of warmth in their eyes or body language. People here just lack that sort of stuff. I don't know why?

All I ever want since I got here is to get out. It feels suffocating to live here.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand all these talk about Singaporeans having "horrifying" English, or having "terrible" mandarin or anything else to do with language. Please take a moment to realise you are in SINGAPORE, where people speak DIFFERENTLY. We have every right to speak in any kind of language or deviation we want to (a la singlish), because this IS Singapore, and this IS the way we speak. What's wrong with that? Why should having citizens who speak bad english even be a valid point of discussion?

And honestly, all these foreigners bashing Singapore, you don't like it? Just pack up and leave. Face it, the money's good here. Stop giving us Singaporeans that bullshit about you guys helping our development as well, you sure as hell ain't doing it for free. So since you're taking in the dosh, just shut up and suck it up.

This is OUR country, not yours. And we have every right to live the way we want to. Save your self-righteous comments for your own country, because it does seem to me that you guys come from Antartica, where there is almost no civilization, thus the expectation of wonderful Singaporean behaviour. Every country has it's bad points, so do we. Perhaps you foreigners should take some time to understand how frustrated we Singaporeans are by you guys invading in droves to our tiny little island. It is not our choice, but the government's, and not all of us are loving the idea. So yes, if you're wondering, we don't really want you here.

That being said, we are certainly welcoming of foreigners who are genuinely concerned of Singapore's well being.

(PS. It does seem that many of the people rubbishing Singaporean's command of English, have an extremely poor command of it themselves, judging from comments I've read previously.)

Feel free to flame, especially the many jealous Malaysians I spot here.

Anonymous said...

The problem with Singaporeans is that they are "Kiasu", i.e., afraid to lose.

Another problem with Singaporeans is that they are overly practical.

These two problems combine to be the root of all that you people complain about above.

Almost every issue you find in Singapore can be traced one way or the other to these two problems.

For example, Singapore is autocratic and without much freedom, because Singaporeans are kiasu about their property prices dropping if they vote in an opposition party member into office, and are overly practicable. They are willing to sacrifice freedom and ideals for the sake of feeling "secure" in the material and monetary sense.

Another example. Singaporeans will be extremely rude to you if they have no use of you, meaning, if they know they cannot profit economically from you. This again is traceable to being overly practical. But if you can act in a way that signals to Singaporeans that they can benefit from you, the Singaporeans will be exceedingly compliant and nice to you.

The two problem traits of Singaporeans have actually worked out to harm Singaporeans themselves.

The island is now essentially a dictatorship without any real freedom; there is no freedom of the press, or individual liberty at all. And Singaporeans are bullied and oppressed by the government that they voted in.

Anyway, they deserve it. It is all their own doing.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Right on - I absolutely have to agree with you there dude.

Who cares what language they speak, if they want to steal people's liquor, people who are only passing through Singapore, they will only hurt themselves and give themselves a bad name throughout the world.

They absolutely deserve a bad reputation - it serves them right.

Anonymous said...

Have to agree with the comments about Singaporeans being 'kiasu'.
They are all out to get what they can out of foreigners, be it money, duty free alcohol confiscation or whatever.

If you want to have a dreadful time or be ripped off, then you wont't be disappointed if you go to Singapore.

Anonymous said...

It is definitely not the foreigners who stereotype Singaporeans.I think that Singaporeans are rude. Well I do know some that are nice but nice & polite people are like the minority in Singapore. As there are many Indonesian domestic helpers in Singapore, they would always stereotype other Indonesians who are working or studying. As I'm an Indonesian, I often get awful remarks from Singaporeans calling me Indonesian maid. Singaporeans like to make fun of other foreigners' accent like the Chinese people and Filipino people's accent.
Plus, they're always complaining about foreigners coming in to Singapore. Their perspective of foreigners are always from the negative side. They don't appreciate foreigners cleaning their toilets, taking care of their house, building their houses and facilities, etc. Singaporeans, they're lucky, but according to my own experience, even my Singaporean friends hate their own country. I was not surprised at all at the recent Australian journalist who wrote about Singaporeans' manners because its all true.

Anonymous said...

Singapore people dosent know how to smile... they tech their children the same. they dont know how to greet each other. we dont understand wat they speak if we ask pardon they ask.. "oh so u no english?" "can ah... cannot aah???" funny it would be funny to reply "we know but we dont know what you speak" singapore teachers teach racialism. No good education. feel pity to be here. hope to move out from this stupid country as soon as possible.

Anonymous said...

I hate everything in singapore.

Anonymous said...

I'm a locally-raised Singaporean, and even I, get embarrassed by other Singaporeans. It's the truth, when others bumps into without apologizing but instead giving you a glare or walks away nonchalantly. Its as though they are proud of making a fool of themselves. I'm sorry for what you had to go through, things will get better... Or not.

By the way, those hi-lo milk is gross. It tastes like roux sauce with a gazillion cups of sugar. Try 'Meiji milk' instead, it's pretty good. Or an alternative is to get your necessities from an American market which is available at certain places.

Never again said...

Day 2 in Singapore signing up for cable, my wife and I go to Singtel, to sign up for a phone, internet and cable, we are seated, for close to 30minutes waiting for assistance from the girl behind the counter (as we arrived before opening, there were no customers yet except us, also introducing me to the 2 years of the absolute worst customer service I have ever seen in any country in my life), a annoying Singapore woman, and her two unruly vile non-disciplined children come be loud, disrespectful, and just plain, annoying, obnoxious, unpalatable bastards, and begin screaming at the counter girl, who still has not served my wife and I, let alone done anything I can see for that matter. Soon after an older British couple come in, the man on a walker and the woman with a cane, my wife and I stood up and offered our chairs to them, they are handicapped after all, and the 2 UPVFM children ran up, pushed the old man to the ground and took the chair, that UPVFM mother looked at them and in her vile Singlish accent said “good, leh” I told the kids to get up as the mother would not, and then the mother yelled at me “you don’t understand our culture, Children can do no wrong,” this retarded bitc$ goes, so replied, “your right its not the children’s fault, it the parents fault for not teaching these animals right from wrong.” I then looked at the kids and said “GET YOUR ASSES OUT OF THAT CHAIR RIGHT NOW< GO STAND NEXT TO YOUR MOTHER< AND SHUT YOUR MOUTHS FOR THE REST OF THE TIME YOU ARE IN HERE!” ironically, by that time many more people had walked into the store, foreign and local, and all of the foreigners had started applauding, funny isn’t it. Then I turned the girl who was suppose to be working and said “HEY<BITCH WHY DON’T YOU DO YOUR GOD DAMN JOB AND SERVE THE CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE BEEN PATIENTLY WAITING FOR 45 MINUTES,” finally I got service, an Australian guy also began to talk to me and said, I will fit in well in Singapore with my attitude, and asked where I came from, I told him NY, he warned me there, that the UPVFM’s would not like that for the entire time I live there, I said not like NY, everybody likes NY, everybody in the world wants to go to NY, I have never met anybody who doesn’t like NY, except me, he told the UPVFM’s hate anybody better them, and a NY’er obviously is.
The next day I told my Singaporean Colleague about the event, he goes, It must have been a mainland Chinese, I said they had a Singaporean accent, spoke Singlish, and carried a Singaporean IC card which was in the woman’s hand, he still insisted it was a foreigner that must have PR because Singaporeans don’t act that way.

Never Never Again said...

After 2 years of living in that atrocious crap hole of a country, I was excited to get out. It’s a cesspool full of horrible low class people who have absolutely no culture at all. They are, without a doubt the filthiest, most disgusting people on the planet, TAKE A DAMN SHOWER you animals, sorry that is unfair to animals, and they have better hygiene and social skills, including cockroaches, than Singaporeans do.
The worst part is its not even their government it those filthy disgusting pigs that are the problem, if they killed all the Singaporeans, it would actually be a decent place.
It’s a known fact that cities attract the low class people, so what to do if your country is just one city? Well guess what, your whole country is low class. Walk down any street and you see these things, which have know Idea how to behave wandering around like they rule the world, YOU ARE INSIGNIFICANT, you useless pile of vile fecal matter. Yes, I think that will be my new term for Singaporeans: useless pile of vile fecal matter or UPVFM, they can call their completely inappropriate behavior kiasu if they want, I call it being a scum bag ASIAN BORN CHINESE, because it is the same exact inappropriate behavior that the mainland Chinese use.
Listen you retarded UPVFM, at least the mainland Chinese have an excuse, they have been locked up and sheltered for 50 f@#$ing years, and you lie to the world and say you are the best of east vs west, you are not. You are a pathetic excuse for Homo sapiens; maybe LKY was right you all obviously did come from China’s worst stock、WOW! Think about it you are the undesirables, of a nation of undesirables. You should be so proud of yourselves……..
I not just going to bad mouth you UPVFM’s, let me give you some personal experiences, these are just some of the couple of thousands I can give from just 2 years of living there, it essentially happened anytime I went into public with these UPVFM’s, just to prove my point, which will not matter because the UPVFM’s will come on here and act like the retarded (I don’t care if you don’t like racist and prefer Xenophobe, they are the same thing, all Xenophobes are racist) racist they are, and blame the mainland Chinese, or the Malaysians, because these UPVFM’s cannot admit anything about themselves, and that is half the F@#$in problem and a big part of why they are UPVFM’s.
Flying into Singapore: My wife and coming from a wonderful vacation in Okinawa, flew Okinawa to Shanghai, then Shanghai to Singapore, we flew business class, big seats, lots of room, Singapore airlines, should have been a pleasant 5 hour flight with plenty of sleep seeing it departed at midnight, and arrived at 5:30 am. We get on the plane, sit comfortably in our seats, and wait for the meal, eat the meal, and then I want to get some sleep, I lay my chair back, and the filthy Singapore bitch behind me takes her filthy stank feet and kicks me in the head as she tries to put he feet on the back of my chair, I am like what the F@#$. She tries to tell me “I paid for this space lah, its my space too”, I call over the flight attendant, she and the woman have words, I try to lay down and sleep again, and this filthy UPVFM’s pig does it again, after an hour of back and forth I finally open my mouth with out calling the flight attendant, and threaten to rip this UPVFM’s head of her neck, and disembowel her with my fork, I could not believe this was allowed in Business class, how low class are these things.

Anonymous said...

Hi I am Singaporean and I'm truly sorry for the bad experience you've had. Honestly, not very proud of my country either. Everything you've experienced, i've experienced. I'm mixed blood and english is my only good subject. Even so, really hard to communicate. I'm gonna get out of here once i've finished my education.

Anonymous said...

To Never Never Again:
Your post sure makes you sound "classy" boastful and arrogant. Did you upgrade your sits to business class after 20 years of saving up your frequent flyer point?

At least have the decency to provide some example rather then just ranting on and on about nothing. If you don't like singapore, leave. I am sure the singaporeans do not welcome people like you as well. Just because milk taste different from where you come from (india?) doesn't mean its not milk. it just means you are not used to the milk in singapore.

How does all these ranting makes any of you poster civilised? you simply feel like a upper class because you are a expat? pretty pathetic in my opinion.

I can't understand why singaporeans are so proud of their singlish but hey, average singaporeans can speak 3 languages. How many can you speak? 1? 1 language and you probably can't even perfect it so why be so harsh on them?

Westerners are not the "superior" species as you think you are now. Perhaps in the old days people will worship the ground you walk but now, alot of the other educated ethnic group will just treat you like a equal.

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm Singaporean. I feel that although Singapore might not be the best place in the world, it definitely is a nice place to live in. Yes, there are rude people, but not all Singaporeans are rude. I've seen really polite and nice places, like Turkey for example, and I hope more Singaporeans will be as polite as the Turks, but still you can't really generalize that all Singaporeans are rude. So many of us are polite too, and I just wish that instead of meeting those rude ones, you could have met those that actually want all of you foreigners to feel welcome in our home.

It's quite sad to see that so many of you hate Singapore so much, and I hope that one day, you'll find something that will change this perception.

Next time you meet a rude Singaporean, please remember that some people in our country actually really welcome you guys!

im-sick-of-singapore said...

Hi I'm just a passerby. I do kind of dislike Singapore. I want to migrate, oh well. And it's so expensive in Singapore. I don't like Singapore at all. I WANT TO MIGRATE!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

All I see is borderline racism, hate and stereotyping. Its quite disgusting, nit picking, bickering like narrow minded, pompous, pure arrogant foul faces. Your going to a foreign country, do you literally expect everyone to speak English?? What is with the obsession that you anglo saxsons have to make carbon copies of yourselves everywhere else around the world? Some of you with your"civilized" comments are right up there with Hitler and all the white supremacists who massacred and genocide of races in mass scales, e.g Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, and every other nation the "mother country" has stepped foot in.."raped" would be a better word, "hijacked" cultures, take, take, take and strip the natural resources, fuc it up and give birth to demons. All for the reason of "uncivilized" culture that needs rescuing with your false portrayal of Jesus painted as white with blue eyes. Foreign countries you have raped with the excuses of " freedom and democracy" and now "terrorism". YOU DISGUST ME with your small minded perceptions, people like you are the reason why the world is in this ugly state, and I truly feel sorry for you, you can't enjoy life you bunch of control freaks. The reason you go to a foreign country is to experience differences, learn the beauty of all nationalities. If you can't tolerate differences then don't step out of your country and live in your bubble, blind, deaf, and dumb. Thank God not all people from the west are like you, which leaves hope for the next generations who will inherit this beautiful world. On behalf of the western world, I would like to apologies for any comments these fools have made that would have offended any Singaporeans. Don't stereotypes us like these "female dogs" have done with you. Much love and peace.

Anonymous said...

I could never possibly live or even visit Singapore. This place has way too many restrictions going against my personal values.

Anonymous said...

Just one more comment about language "skills" in Singapore. It seems to me that almost everybody agrees that most Singaporeans speak atrocious English. However, I have the feeling that many expats give Singaporeans quite a bit of slack, since they believe that their native language is Mandarin/Malay/Tamil, and that's why it is "okay". I can't speak for Malay/Tamil, however, I do speak Mandarin and "native" couldn't be further from the truth. I am horrified at the level of Mandarin spoken in Singapore - especially amongst the younger generation. Knowing that they will grow up speaking neither acceptable English nor acceptable Mandarin is rather disturbing. And nobody seems to care. On the contrary - people are even proud and arrogant about their "bilingualism". Then you will hear stuff like: Wah laoh eh, my Engrish wery good one ah awready. No need to be better lah, izzit? Sometimes it makes me sad, but more often than not it makes me angry and frustrated. It is for sure the one thing I hate the most about Singapore.

Anonymous said...

you are personally rude when you write

" I’d sympathize if we had moved to China or Malaysia or Indonesia or something."

Yes, you are personally a rude singaporean, dont u realise that?
so, singapore is where u belong..

people there dont even know well about their roots, they're from malaysia!

Te rence Tang De Jie said...

Well I think its fun if you learn to adapt especially if your a kid...

Most of the uncles and aunties there are friendly.(except some)

And talking Singlish or mixing languages... you wont be look down upon!

Plus There's a place named for Americans, Ang Mo Kio.

施洋 said...

@De Jie
Agree.

Dont complain till you understand.
(Locals well you maybe unlucky!)

DANGEROUS:
Loan Sharks and Gangsters look out for 'em
And Loyalty is quite important to chinese so dont complain to them or they'll call their "兄弟" and beat you up....

Anonymous said...

I think it's unfair to compare Singapore to other countries in terms of milk, language, law and stuff but...

Oh my god, yes, Singaporeans are so rude - this is a general, of course I've met loads of super nice people but there's A LOT of rude ones as well.

That really bugs me especially when I've hired them, e.g. taxi drivers, Jesus fucking Christ I'm paying you money so shut up. The service here is absolutely shit 'cause of their manners. Aren't customers priority?
Nope, not here.

Oh yeah, to clarify, it's not that they're racist to only white people, more like, they're equally discriminating and rude to everybody.


Again, I emphasize that this is a generalization, some people are really nice, like really really nice.

Anonymous said...

I'm a sinkie but I hate everything about sg!

Anonymous said...

I lived in the US for 6 years... loved it, milk and all. I lived in Singapore for 20 odd years... loved it too... military service, strange milk and all. Really, the comments by one singapore hater is just a personal comment... we can choose to see it as an imposition or as a silly rand that borders on the amusing. Perhaps the truth hurts... but people often mask rudeness by saying they are just being honest. This "speak your mind" thing is very last season... maturity is very much the in thing. When I visit someone's home or country, I may not agree with decor or that strange milk they serve me... but I learn to be gracious as my host is gracious enough to accept me. So, do try something non-American here... graciousness and maturity. It will make the milk and loud motorcycles go better. I studied communications in the US. You could have graciously and maturely state your case as "6 things I wish I may change in Singapore". The tone and outcome would be infinitely different. I wish you well, and hope that you can see beyond the superficial to note that Americans are not the only people who love their home.

By the way... where did that person find this rancid better in Singapore??? I have to buy some too... as far as I know, never had any, and neither had all my friends. Must be the only poor soul who is unlucky enough to get ranciod butter always. Poor thing.

Rodaba Jackson said...

We just got here and we love it so much! I dont understand how some talk so hateful? When you go to a different country with different culture, you need to be open minded, respectful and understand! The Asian people are not rude, no they are just different and have a different culture! I am Afghan/German and lived with my husband who is american and by the military in the US. I think that the people there are rude and what they eat and what they all do, I do not agree, but I do respect. I like the laws and rules here and I love the people and the food. I had enough seeing over weight people. If you dont like it here then just go home and eat junk and do your thing and live in your box! There was a l lot of things I did not like back in the US, but I would never write such hateful stuff about it even though I have a lot of reasons. Its the first time after years that I eat outside good food without getting a stomach ache. I love the weather! I also want to say something about the milk back in the US, I dont drink it there because of all the hormones, same with all the food. unless you buy all organic. My son is lucky to have this great opportunity going to school here, because it is the best school! I am a photographer and so exited taking picture here and traveling around for cheap!Most of my German friends pay so much money almost every year just to have vacation in Singapore and travel around and they all love it! One thing I learned in the US is that most American are not open minded and clueless about the world and different cultures!I dont want that everyone thinks i dont like the US! I love the US, I did not like Montana, I felt there like in the stone age with a lot of dumb people around me and the cold and wind and zero to do. Only thing people did there was drinking and hunting the poor animals and camping in dirth. Not my life style! Of course there are great places in the US to live, but right now I am happy to live here and will enjoy every minute of my new life! And i thank god that I have a life again with my family in this beautiful paradise!

Tracy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I have lived in Singapore for a grand total of 5 years. I hated it initially, thinking that nothing could replace my home in Melbourne, Australia. And then i was posted to Denmark and I couldn't even think of leaving Singapore! What a change of sentiments! The place does grow on you - it's convenient, lots of energy, abundant job possibilities, close to major Asian hubs, low taxes, etc. It is the capitalist dream. But when I left the materialistic perspective of shiny clean cars and designer bags etc. I humbled significantly in Scandanavia where everything is slapped with a price tag of 25% VAT, and income tax of close to 40-50%. But, I learnt such an important lesson that I had forgotten or didn't fully comprehend while being in Singapore. That life is not about the money or the life 'status' or membership to the most exclusive Country Clubs. It's about relationships, people, family, living and realising a personal ambition. And it struck me when I returned back to SG for a visit, asking a few friends to come out for drinks with me. They all had more important priorities than friendships, instead they rather make sure the boss is pleased and that they are seen as hardworking under sickening office lights. I had a recently-married friend tell me "I am thinking of leaving my job. My boss is great, my job is great, but they can't give me the job promotion I want because of budget cuts. so I think I should apply for this job which offers me $1000 more per month". The old me would say 'go for it, its more money!'. The new me now says 'why would you want to give up your own time to be a slave to another position, in another company just for $1000 more? Isn't your time as a newly wed more important? This is why I don't like Singapore as much (I don't hate it, but I just can't see myself going back). It's a dillusion of sorts. It's a capitalism at its best - but unfortunately, you lose sight of work life balance and valuable relationships. Because at the end of the day, it's the money that talks.

Will N. Otdie Insin Gapore. said...

To the anonymous that commented right above me. THAT is absolutely what I see here so far in Singapore. I've been living here for about a year now and, to be frank, it is not like what I first imagined it to be. From what I heard and saw on advertisements and promotional ads, either it's tourism or education, that Singapore is some sort of state-of-the-art, modern and somewhat futuristic, wonderland compared to any other nations in the S.E.A region. But once I arrived here and stayed for a couple of days I am disappointed.

I realized that what shows on the media worldwide isn't really what's going on. They show luxurious condos, the famous "MRT", Sentosa island, their fine dining, strict law and fines, and the famous shopping districts. But what they don't show is the poor living conditions of people with less financial capability. The high living cost and the price of things that seems totally unbalanced, the loansharks. Truly a capitalism paradise.

Then they hate foreigners who speaks their true opinion of Singapore, cursing them and telling them to leave instead of reflecting on these opinions and making the nation they're proud of a better and much friendlier place to live in.

I don't mind the attitude of the populace where they don't give a crap about you in public places, I see it as a live and let live attitude, but what I do mind is the people that we MUST see and MUST talk to day by day. Hawker clerks, that unfriendly dude from 7/11, most of the people that think you're a snobby SOB just because you don't speak English with their dialect. (I actually once found a blog of a Singaporean telling the foreigners to F*** Off Singapore cause they were "cocky" speaking with American/English accent.) I can't help but to think to myself what this city-state would be WITHOUT foreigners. Most of major business chains are owned and run by these so called foreigners. Corporations that employed the Singaporeans in ties and suits ARE foreigners. From what I see this city-state couldn't be where it is at now, the nation in which the populace think is superior compared to others, without foreigners. For from my point of view this country is nothing more than a port, a gateway, to the rest of most parts of East Asia.

Anonymous said...

Wow, really good arguments you guys have here.

As international student, I really think that the local students DO hate us. They never call me by name, they bluntly call me 'Indon' (yup, I'm from Indonesia), and it's actually quite irritating. One of them once told me to go back and leave their land. I really can't forget how my entire class was making fun of Islam for being lame as we can't eat pork, I was literally burst in tears that day.. To make it worst, the teachers love to compare the inter and local which makes it worse.

The aunties here are damn interesting, they really have agility in terms of taking empty seats in MRT or buses... It's quite hilarious to hear singlish.. I'm still quite not used to it. I love how singaporeans in my class believe in kiasu.. When my Indonesian friend and I talk with Indonesian, they try to piss us off and starts to talk with mandarin quite loudly, trying to speak with language we don't know.

Although most singaporeans I met were rude, I also met the kind ones. It's quite rare though..

What makes me confuse is that they despise foreigners although they can't live without one. Talking about not being grateful...

But overall I don't think Singapore deserve this much hate. Their laws and other shits are their own problem. I just hope that the would fix their attitude..

Lucifer said...

My problem with Singapore is not the ordinary people, they are all lovely bunch.

Aside from the lack of milk, lamb etc etc, I guess the problem I have is the institutional mindset, and false propaganda. Before we came to Singapore from London, we were excited that we are moving to a multi-national cities and that it is a tolerant society. Our first hand experience so far (we have now been here for 6 months) are completely the opposite.

It is mainly chinese dominated and unless you speak Mandarin, people avoid you, especially if you go to hawker centres etc. Yes, people do give up seats to our 2 years old daughter, but only those who are sitting in the priority seats. I am a skilled professional and I cannot get a job, not because of my skills and background, but because they do not want to employ foreigners, especially those who are on dependent pass. This is something a recruitment agency has explicitly told me and confirmed that there is an implicit policy that all jobs should be filled by locals as far as possible.

I am sorry that our experience so far had mainly be negative. It could be a run of bad luck and perhaps Singapore is actually a diverse society, but we are now considering moving back to London. It is not a battle worth fighting for.

Anonymous said...

Before you continue with my comment, let me tell you that there is no country that has all bad people or all good people.

Singaporeans are rude and unkind. As simple as that. Not all people, because I met some really sweet and helpful people, but still in general they are considerably rude. I haven't been abroad much so my knowledge, experience and exposure to other cultures is not much.

This is what happened - I went to a nightclub in Clark Quay. After I was done in the nightclub, I stood in the queue for a taxi. My turn came, I took a blue taxi (Sonata) and told the driver where I wanted to go. The driver then said, "Those taxis are cheaper. Mine is expensive". I later found that the difference wasn't much, but at that time of course I thought that the difference was a lot. I told him that if it's too expensive then I would like to switch to another taxi because I am not high on total budget and have other liabilities as well. Being a newbie traveler I didn't know what was the culture there. I didn't know that if you board a taxi, you HAVE to travel. He said" If you go now, I'll FUCK you". It was shocking as hell. I mean talking to a tourist in this manner is plain abomination. I felt boiling anger inside and really wanted to teach that A-hole a good lesson but I realized suddenly that I was in a foreign country where I barely know more than 3 people and know virtually nothing. Plus I don;t know the places and am surrounded by weird people. So I chose not to bash-talk him. Who knows what fucking thing they'll do to you if they can talk like this. I just said "You should at least talk properly" to which he mumbled a reply, don't remember what. I was literally shocked and didn't enjoy the journey as I could have.

Now before any S'porean reading this thinks "We am not like this" , let me add again that not all are rude. Like I said, I met some sweet enough people. But in general, this country is simply rude, apathetic, and unkind. In terms of people - bad experience.

Anonymous said...

One thing Singaporean is very good at, that is to see good in bad. Their glasses are always half full and they do not make efforts to top up the glasses.

Anonymous said...

No country is perfect. If you want to live overseas, you need to learn to put up with differences, otherwise, stay at home. There are Singaporeans and there are Singaporeans. They are not one person. There are places to get good fresh milk but the milk doesn't get sent daily from Wisconsin. If you want Wisconsin milk, go there. Singapore is an ex British colony. In some ways, that hasn't changed because the white folks still think Singaporeans ought to bow down to them. But Singapore has come a long way. It's strange, when they don't make noise about white foks taking top jobs, they'd be accused of not standing up for themselves, and not having ability. When they restrict the number of white folks taking top jobs, then they are racist. And despite the bad English, they are more cosmopolitan than many would admit. There's a difference between being honest about a country and being fair. And there's that bit about being educated about a country. I have had white friends with bad things to say about Singapore, yet, they returned again and again to work. I have always wondered why. Sigh. I guess most people just want to have the cake and eat it too, but will never say the cake's rather good.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you - you rock! I want to shake your hand. Yes, Get all your venom out!

Singapore is a money minded society - Mercedes, high salary, Filipino Maids, Singapore Island Country Club, Condo and Credit Cards and Shopping centers. There is no soul in Singapore. If I were you, I would never stay in Singapore, Singapore really sucks! Why would you want to live in Singabore? It is such a boring country. The world is so big, you can live anywhere.

You are judged by how much money you give your parents, Mercedes, how much salary you earn, Filipino Maids, Singapore Island Country Club, Condo and Credit Cards. Life is more than just visiting Shopping centers. Going to Singapore for just 2 days is enough for me - Shopping centers and more shopping centers - that's it!

Advice: don't ever move back to Singapore. Singapore sucks, go live in US, UK or elsewhere. Home is where the heart is. Your heart is not in Singapore.

Anonymous said...

I'm with anonymous above me :) In addition, this "Paradise" can just do what its delusions dictate, as long as people love it, to each his/her own, from personal experience, it has never been respectful of those that have cultivated their own ethos apart from the state (so much for Paradise!).

Am a Singaporean who spent a better part of my childhood in Aus, Ger, Swe, Nor and could NEVER get the hang of how things are run here, despite how my mother tried to instill a sense of "National Belongng" ( a stance I believe should be left to the individual, not the state, nor family), people never cease to amaze me with their unspoken "Logic" so much so, I'm deciding to just accept the local moniker of "Quitter" and return to a real home of my choosing.

Anonymous said...

It seems like you don't like to live in here....

Anonymous said...

I think who ever is talking bad about Singapore, is ignorant and should go home please!I live now since February in Singapore and so in love with this place. Never felt so safe and it is so nice not to have any car payment. Transportation is so cheap. The people are wonderful people and they are so natural. It is never boring in Singapore and I wish I could live for ever here. I do not understand people complaining? You don't like it go home! I lived in so many countries and could never walk alone at night. Funny is when people complain about how rude Singaporean are, but I saw today to rude foreigner who did not behave in the MRT. A young strong American guy sits on the reserved seat. A old lady came and this guy did not got up so I got up and gave my seat to the lady. Later another female foreigner comes into the MRT, drinks her coke from the can and walks back and forth staring at everyone to see where she could sit. Some people obviously expect to come here and that Singapore forgets about its own interest and life and just serves the foreigner? I am a foreigner and ashamed for many other dumb and ignorant foreigner!

Anonymous said...

um just saying but if y'all don't like Singapore then just leave and go back to your own countries we have no need for haters. Thank you :)