1.             CCTV Forests

Singapore

I first went to Singapore in 1973. It has changed since then. It is the fastest growing country in the world. Literally! Its land area has grown through reclamation by well over 20% since independence.

While I enjoy the sights and sounds of ‘real’ Asia, it was always nice (and still is) to retire to some normality and efficiency from postings in such ‘more exotic’ places as Kolkata, Karachi, Kupang and Kendari!

Singapore is ‘nice.’ It is ‘orderly.’ It ‘works.’ Its achievements are impressive. If there is a perfect place in the world, I have yet to find it. Does Singapore come close? Its ‘fine and orderly’ qualities are sometimes its drawbacks. Control is great, but it can be invidious. Singapore is man-made.  Whilst the result is comfortable, ordered and impressive, it lacks a certain je ne sais quoi!

In a recent BBC TV series on the world’s green cities, the narrator described Singapore’s green façades as unnatural, soulless attempts to be what it can never be: natural. I understood his point, but it does not ruin the remarkable qualities of this amazing city-state. I love walking through its clean and tree lined streets, delightful botanic gardens, remnant forests which still cover 40% of its land and its wonderful gardens.

In the remnant forests, of which there are an amazing number, Singapore surprises. You see thousands of migratory birds in the Sungei Buloh wetlands, if you can brave the monstrous monitor lizards that look for all the world like crocodiles from a distance.

You see troupes of squirrels and monkeys in the forest reserves. You can wander along the empty roads of Pulau Ubin, the forests alive with the sounds of birds; hornbills flocking overhead. You can walk along many kilometres of shaded walkways through forests or park connectors or ride your bike from one side of the country to the other on dedicated bike paths.

Everything is well planned, policed and pristine. One of the cleanest, greenest cities in the world, Singapore is a success story. At 700 square kilometres, it has an annual GDP that dwarfs some of the leading nations of Europe. It is the world’s fourth most competitive economy, even ahead of the United States. The lion city boasts a high standard of living, low unemployment, and a literacy rate of 98 percent. It has twelve times the population of Vancouver: half the crime rate.

With statistics like these, it is no wonder that Singapore attracts so many visitors. However, it has strict laws and severe penalties. Drugs is the biggest no no. Carry any into the country and you are on death row before you can say ‘wanna fix?’ Amnesty International claims that Singapore has one of the world’s highest rates of execution relative to its population. The government hanged 340 people between 1991 and 2001. 70 percent were for drug offences. That rate has abated of late.

Caning is prescribed for over thirty crimes, including attempted murder, armed robbery, immigration offences, and vandalism. Caning is a barbaric act. The victim’s ankles are strapped onto a heavy metal frame. Their wrists are locked, with only their naked backsides exposed. Trained personnel slash a six-foot-long, one-inch-thick cane across the victim’s buttocks. The caner takes a mighty swipe. Use your imagination.

For the most part, Singaporeans are happy with what outsiders see as draconian laws and the ever present big brother’s CCTV eye. Things work here. When they don’t alarm bells ring. Despite — or maybe because of — living in the lee of massive development and stringent control, Singaporeans develop strange attitudes.

Only a few days before I wrote this, I was in a taxi driving along the East Coast Parkway, the main six lane highway from the airport to the city. A newspaper blew over the road in front of us. The driver turned apoplectic!

‘It must be terrorists!’ he said.

I had visions of Singapore wiped out under a sheet of discarded newspapers. Baghdad or Kabul should be half so lucky!

Singapore’s public transport is exceptional. Buses and trains are fine, but not quite as good as Hong Kong. Or Seoul. Or Tokyo... Acceptable describes it.

Not everything is faultless! Taking the MRT from Bedok to the city one day, as we approached Kembangan station, the PA announced in its Oxford tinged tones that we were approaching Tampines. Passengers stopped playing with their mobiles and looked puzzled.

When we left Kembangan and the PA announced that the next station would be Pasir Ris (instead of Eunos), pandemonium broke out. Some people broke into a cold sweat. A few whimpered. Others looked as if it was the end of the world. What was wrong? The trouble with being ultra-efficient is that once you lose control, you lose!

Trains are so crowded that it is sometimes impossible to get on. PA announcements instruct you NOT TO BOARD the next train as the sardines already packed on to it would suffocate. The solution? Add more trains? They cannot! The system is already over stretched. Taipei and Hong Kong’s systems can handle trains less than 90 seconds apart. Singapore’s cannot. Does that make the Singapore systems less good?

New lines are being built. In 2016 a fourth bus company will start operations: run by the Poms, no less.

Do I enjoy Singapore?

I love it. The arts scene is good without being brilliant. Plays and musicals are strictly controlled and censored. Art exhibitions are vetted. Newspapers might just as well be written by the Government. Where is that not truly the case?

What I miss is the biting press freedom that made Indonesia a remarkable bastion of freedom of speech, even under Soeharto.

Democracy? Freedom of speech? Or control and regimentation? You have a choice. You take what makes you feel safe.