~ Article submitted by: Gwee Li Sui ~
I have been called names like “Silly fool” to “Out of your mind” when I told them that I will be back in Singapore for at least the whole of this year. Some may even sacrifice a finger to be in my position.
Many friends have complained to me that during weekend, they do not know what to do or where to go. After a while, many simply stay at home, watch their DVDs or sleep the weekend away. After repeating such monotonous activities for a few years, some will try their luck at a job overseas and if successful, never want to return to their homeland again after spending a few good years abroad.
I must admit that I do miss the beautiful skyline in Sydney that Singapore does not seem to have – I can only see the HDB flats dotting our clouded skyline. I also missed the weather that is not too humid even in summer and the air is always crisp and clean. Here, the humidity can drive you crazy and groggy.
In fact, out of the three years that I spent in Sydney, I only fell sick once last year with a bad bout of cough and cold. However, in Singapore, I caught the flu bug regularly and occasionally took MC just to rest and recuperate.
I also don’t feel as tired in Sydney than in Singapore maybe due mainly to the low humidity level there. I love to jog in the vast empty parks and the greenery can be spellbounding and theraupetic. I have also ran in the Sydney Marathon last year and it wa a memorable expeience.
Singaporeans are increasingly turning into global citizens and they go where the jobs take them.
This is more so when there is the huge influx of foreigners into our country and our wages are severely battered by the huge over supply of professional foreign executives.
Many Singaporeans could get at least double the salaries when they venture into Australia, US or even China. I believe that as many as 100, 000 Singaporeans could be working or stuyding abroad at any one time and the numbers will just keep on increasing.
For example, a friend managed to find a job as a nurse in Melbourne and her starting pay immediately doubled once she signed on the dotted line. There is no reason why she doesn’t want to hop on the kangaroo trail and even stay on for the long term in Melbourne.
The working hours are also shorter and the work life balance is real as compared to Singapore. Many employers pay lip service only when it comes to cultivating a proper work life balance in Singapore.
I have listed five main differences between living in Singapore and Australia:-
Interaction
People in Sydney generally interacted better than in Singapore.
I remembered been greeted regularly by people that I don’t know in the estate that I lived. For those who don’t greet you, a general nod of the head is commonly practiced when people walked towards one another on the streets.
I find that this simple gesture made me felt alive and cheery. Imagine waking up from the wrong side of the bed and been greeted a few times around your estate while buying the papers or groceries!
The same could not be same in Singapore when even service staff don’t greet you before asking: “What do you want?” almost instantly. Probably only 10% of our service staff will greet their customers here and we are talking about both foreign and local service staff.
I have tried to greet our service staff before making the purchases since I arrived here but have given up after a few tries when my greets were not reciprocated. Sometimes, I even have to say thank you to the service staff for making the purchases!
Here, people generally looked away from you when your eyes accidentally met either in the lift or MRT trains. There is a lack of human touch here and perhaps this is why we feel so lonely even when we are surrounded by a sea of people – we just don’t readily acknowledge the presence of our own fellow Singaporeans around us.
Someone commented to me that he felt like a robot in Singapore as everyone does their own thing and nobody acknowledges the presence of another person around them. This is a sad phenomenon in city living and that is probably why many suicides occurred in big life-less cities.
Space
Its also true that space is so important when it comes to finding a suitable place to unwind.
Every time when I returned to Singapore after staying away for a while, the crowd just got larger.
MRTs, malls, bus stops, shops and even public toilets are jam packed with people. I wondered where they came from…
I cherished the large open space that Sydney offers and I usually got a seat in their sub way trains.
I used to jog along parks that hardly have a soul around me. The greenery, solitude and crispy air allowed me to enjoy the jog in peace. It was also a time whereby I can quieten down my soul and hear my own breathe as I pounded the ground.
Though I continued my jogging regime here, the humidity, mass of people and lack of greenery have made me realized how much I have missed those huge Sydney parks around my housing estate.
I also dreaded taking our packed MRT trains and found that nowadays there is no peak hour timing anymore as anytime can be a peak hour!
I took the train to Serangoon MRT from Bishan yesterday during the morning peak hour and were literally pushed along as I walked towards the exit. There were people everywhere and they looked like an army of ants out to devour whatever that was in sight.
Singapore is never so crowded before in history and someone has told me that we are nearing five million in population now – I dread to encounter the day when we hit 6.5 million…
Comparison
I realised that we like to compare ourselves with one another a lot here.
We also talked mostly on money, achievement and possession.
There is a huge difference in conversational topics, between Aussies and Singaporeans, when we sat down together and talked over a meal.
Aussies like to talk about sports, family and their hobbies. Its pretty amazing that they don’t really want to talk about their work after office hour. Maybe they are sick of their work and never want to talk about it when they are off duty.
They hardly mention anything about their academic achievements also as maybe employers don’t really give it much emphasis when they look for potential employees.
Their favourite topic is sports and they can go on talking about their national sports – rugby – for an hour!
However, I find that people here tend to talk about their work, educational achievements and type of housing/car they have.
I always find it difficult to hold down a comfortable conversation with my peers here without feeling inadequate as I am not really very highly qualified or achieved a lot in my career.
That is probably why in Singapore, many people I know seldom want to chill out after work as they may feel that they are being routinely checked out by their friends when they meet out together. Of course, if you are doing well, you will feel great during gatherings but if you are just cruising along in your career or worse not working at all, you may not want to turn up in any of such get-togethers.
Many people I met also took up extra degrees and masters during evening time in order to stay competitive. One even only worked part time in order to finish her bachelor thesis!
When we rate our friends from an achievement perspective, we are actually treating them like a commodity and fail to accord them the proper respect as an individual.
Let us stop talking about work for once when we gather and show care and concern by checking on the other person’s personal/family issue. If he is really our friend, he deserves our utmost attention and respect for who he is and not for what he is.
Foreigners
I can’t help but feel that I am like a foreigner in my own country and I also find it tough to reconcile with the fact that I have to defend this huge foreigner contingent when there is a war-like situation here.
To me, Singapore is no different from Sydney now. Sydney has a population of 8 million people and at least half are emigrants.
Here, one in three people probably is a foreigner migrant or worker. In Chinatown, the proportion may even be 2 foreigners to one local Singaporean! I have also purposely missed out on visiting Chinatown during this year’s Chinese new year as I knew that the place would be infested withf oreigners.
I also remembered while on a train journey to Tampines, I was surrounded by people who spoke strange languages that I could not understand. I thought that I was still in Sydney as the city is also besieged with Asian migrants from Philippines, Vietnam, India, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, China among others.
In the city, Sydney is like another Asian town similar to Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong or Manila. All the whites have actually left for Queensland where the property is cheaper and also there are lesser Asians.
Let me reiterate an incident on the serious foreigner population problem we have here.
I was approached to do a phone interview by Yahoo Singapore on cyber bullying a few days ago and the person who emailed me was a permanent resident (PR) from India.
The one that contacted me on the phone was also a PR from India! I have checked with them both and they have confirmed their residence status with me.
Like many Singaporeans here, I feel like a foreigner in my own land and the loyalty factor is really missing from many of us these days. I do not really miss coming back anymore as it’s like returning to a land that is occupied by swarms of foreigners.
Freedom
Whenever I am in Singapore, I just felt that there is a lack of freedom here as compared to Australia. Maybe the lack of a free press and proper human rights have given me this feeling that I am living in a huge prison! I always want to run away for a year or two to enjoy some freedom elsewhere before returning to Singapore for a visit.
This feeling only manifested itself during the past few years when the foreigner population has really gone out of hand. I used to look forward to returning to my home land after a long trip away but not anymore now…
People here are generally afraid to criticize the government and tend to look around their shoulder when they do so – almost in a frightening whispering tone.
While living in Australia, there is this free spirit that inhibits most of us staying there and I thoroughly enjoy the cosmopolitan culture and care free attitude.
We talk about anything under the sun and seldom need to hold back our expression even if it carries an anti-establishment tone.
It is difficult to feel free when everything is so controlled and stifling here. There is simply too much order in our country and everything has to be efficient and well-run.
Sometimes, a little disorder is good for the creative juices to run wild. Studies have shown that when people are given not too many rules to operate in an environment, they will exercise more of their creative right brain functions. They don’t feel as inhibited when they operate in a flexible work environment and given some room to make mistakes.
I also miss the Newtown art culture in Sydney whereby there is a whole string of art and craft shops and roadside cafes. It is something like our Holland Village but larger in scale and intensity. Its is one of my favourite haunt in Sydney.
Our art culture can only improve if we allow the full flow of freedom of expression and we should also encourage dissent and out-of-the-box ideas.
A yes-sir mentality will only breed group-think and a follower attitude. That is probably why Singaporeans tend to have a herd mentality instinct as they try to find safety in numbers even though the direction many people have taken could be the wrong one.
We saw how Singaporeans go all out to buy properties last year even though housing prices border on the incredulous. People simply do not want to miss out on the property market and plunge right in with both their eyes closed. I wonder how many people will have difficulty paying their mortgages when the economy goes south.
Conclusion
I hope that I can adapt well to my own country after been away for the past few years. I told myself that in spite of all the negativity, Singapore is still my home land of which I must be proud of.
Though I landed at the airport with a heavy heart, I felt livened whenever I saw familiar faces and old landmarks. These are the stuff that made me feel Singaporean and after two weeks, I am still looking up on my old friends and favorite haunts.
If you recognize me on the road, do feel free to have a short chat with me – I promise that I won’t try to chew my gum and talk at the same time!
Thanks & Warmest Regards,
Gilbert Goh
Founder of Transitioning.org & Chief Organizer of the 16 Feb & 1 May protest.
*Article first appeared on http://www.tremeritus.com/2011/02/24/gilbert-goh-my-home-coming/