Avik says that I have stayed disproportionately longer time in Taipei than in Singapore and is so critical of the latter. I have waited for sometime since this opinion of mine formed to temper down any influence that Avik claims I have on my opinions.
Notwithstanding the clean roads, better law and order in Singapore, I have my reservations of how things are done in Singapore. Unlike Taipei, Singapore’s discipline doesnt emerge out of the civic sense but because of the tighter laws. You may get your lost bags both in Taipei and Singapore but in the former case more because the person has been civic and in the latter case because one of the 24,000 cameras has caught him picking up the bag and may be penalised.
As you walk through the Singapore you get this eerie feeling of being watched. one would get concious of even scratching his crotch lest it would be caught atleast by a couple of cameras. With 24,000 cameras constantly switched on, the concern is real.
In Singapore everything is in black and white! Things are explicitly specified. As I pushed the button for the 4th floor in the elevator, my eyes wandered onto the sticker which said ‘Urinating in the elevator is illegal’! I wonder what about shitting….
The authorities play on fear pychosis not just be making things legal / illegal but also by playing on the fears. I was waiting for the Harbour line MRT and was watching a video on the TV screen in the station. The created a typical scenario of a person planting a bomb and created the graphic video complete with a scary explosion followed by the scenes from Madrid, London and Mumbai. While it is effective, I think things can be conveyed more subtly. To substantiate my point further, the cigarette packs have on them horrendous photos of diseased parts of patients suffering from tobacco related problems. It is really sick especially for non-smokers like me because those pictures stare at you while you stand at the counter to pay the money. These days I instinctively look down.
I know we were planning to make ‘Bangalore like Singapore’. I wish Bangalore improves from where it is today but never reach where Singapore is – its (latter) is too perfect to be real.
