Revealed:
An unacceptable trait
China’s quake throws up an ugly side of Singaporeans that
frequently makes them disliked abroad. By Seah Chiang Nee.
May 17, 2008
JUSTIFIABLY
or not, the disastrous Sichuan earthquake has sparked off a re-look
here at a Singaporean characteristic that overshadows his economic
achievement.
In a
TV interview, a tourist who just returned unhurt complained angrily
about his encounter with airport delay and telephone breakdown at a
time when the Chinese were frantically rescuing people.
One
viewer commented: “He kept complaining bitterly as if the whole
world owed him an explanation about the airport delay.”
Another
added: “the man was practically shouting at the camera. His
behaviour was really shocking.”
In
the face of the terrible suffering, the middle-aged Singaporean’s
insensitive complaint about his personal inconvenience spread
consternation and a sense of shame among viewers.
It
highlighted a trait often attributed to affluent, educated
Singaporeans that they have become too self-centred and insensitive
to other people’s plights.
After
years of social campaigns, tales still abound of people rushing for
train seats or refusing to give one up to the elderly, ill
treatment of maids, littering or inconsiderate driving.
Many
of the offenders are middle-class, young and educated who seem to
have little interest in other people’s feelings.
The
Singaporean tourist, instead of lending a helping hand, was fuming
about his own safety – even after he was safely back
home.
“Typical
ugly Singaporean the sort that makes other people dislike us –
totally self-centred,” said a blogger.
Others
disagree, with one defending it as a normal reaction for a
foreigner desperate to escape quickly. “He may have put it badly,
but he was scared and obviously wanted to return to his family,” he
said.
“Realistically
speaking, not every one can be highly principled about helping in a
disaster in a foreign country,” he added.
Most,
however, condemned his insensitivity. “It reflects the overall
selfishness and self-centredness of middle-class Singaporeans,”
said ‘investor’.
“My
general impression is that they are the second most selfish and
self-centred people in Asia, next only to Hong Kongers.”
The
debate raised the question whether Singapore could be considered a
First World city with such boorishness.
A
mature, developed country isn’t defined only by wealth and
education; it is also about humanity and concern for
others.
Several
days earlier, a girl who refused to give up a seat (meant for the
elderly and the handicapped) to a pregnant woman, called her a
“bitch” because she had stared at her and shook her
head.
Some
blame it on the environment, especially an elitist,
each-man-for-himself mentality.
“There’s
no such thing as a free lunch” is a theme that has been drilled
into every child and adult. A whole generation has grown up
believing that if Singaporeans get into trouble, they can expect no
help from anyone.
It
may be a good teaching for a small city without resources, but it
has also spawned an antithesis: If you can expect no help from
others, you also do not need to care for others.
“Living
in a society where only money talks makes all of us less human and
less caring,” says ‘Anonymous’.
Another
writer said he was a typically an apathetic, uncaring Singaporean
until he went to live in the United States.
“Two
years into my stay there and having been offered help by plenty of
strangers on the street, I found myself doing the same,” he
said.
“The
typical Singaporean reaction when they are offered unsolicited help
is a suspicious glare. Certainly not encouraging to would-be
helpers,” he added.
The
person who has the single biggest influence on how Singaporeans
think and behave is Lee Kuan Yew. Many of the current leaders and
civil servants as well as older Singaporeans, emulate
him.
The
Minister Mentor has never been too concerned about his own – or
Singapore’s – popularity as much as its interests. Giving charity
to countries in need, for example, has rarely been its
forte.
The
political elite, followed by and large by the citizenry, takes
after Lee’s generally no-welfare, harshly competitive and
unsentimental leadership.
Last
year, the “survival of the fittest” type view, believed to prevail
among the top elites, burst into a public furore following remarks
made by the scholar-daughter of a government MP.
Condemning
a young professional, Derek Wee, who wrote about the pressures
faced by the common people, the student, Wee Shu Min lambasted the
critic as wretched, an idiot and “leech”.
She
appeared to be defending the class divide in Singapore or “a
tyranny of the capable and the clever” saying that “the only other
class is the complement.”
She
ended by telling Derek: “Please, get out of my elite uncaring
face.”
Her
MP father criticised her intemperate language, but supported some
of her sentiments expressed.
A
nationwide condemnation ensued.
The
issue would have ended there if it were just regarded as a
teenager’s rants. It was more than that.
Because
Shu Min was a scholar designed for a possible leadership role and
daughter of a People’s Action Party MP (from Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong’s constituency), it instantly became a political hot
potato.
The
critics said it reflected a government perception that a class
divide was inevitable and may even be necessary to encourage people
to strive harder in life.
The
target of her invective, Derek Wee, was actually echoing a popular
public sentiment when he said Singaporeans were suffering partly
because the government failed to understand their
plight.
Shu
Min’s message was that failures were caused by laziness or lack of
capabilities, which the persons themselves were responsible – with
no words of support or care for those in need.
yes, singaporeans need to see beyond their little
world.
I completely agree.