a tale of 2 cities

i'm driving up to kuala lumpur today after having gone down to singapore a few days ago. i don't make it a habit to go to singapore as often as when i was younger mainly because the exchange rate makes buying more expensive in the island republic, but when i do go i always observe what has changed about singapore. and what i saw this time took my breath away. we didn't have to drive around, we took the MRT tubes to where-ever we wanted to go and the MRTs were fast and on time and they had MRT stations conveniently located in almost every conceivable place. The escalators in orchard road were fast. HDB housing areas were clean and well-maintained. In all the public toilets i used the flush was strong and the toilets clean. Road signs were clear and helpful, you could actually trust in their road signs to get you to where you wanted to go. Singaporeans, particularly the younger generation, were polite and civic-minded. i have had doors opened for me, sorrys and excuse mes when i was bumped into, no queue jumpers at eateries, polite drivers on the road. in short, they reminded me of when i am visiting a developed country. Of course, Singaporeans themselves would beg to differ: they are unhappy with the high cost of living, ERP road tolls, foreigners taking away their jobs housing school places etc all the normal grouses that you'd expect locals to bear against their government just as we in Malaysia do. But while Singaporeans grumble about social realities, they grudgingly concur when i pointed out all the good things their government had laid on the table for their convenience. Sadly, we Malaysians do not enjoy such amenities.
It is true that many foreigners make their way to singapore to eke out a living. One of my friends who is a lawyer told me how he interviewed over 300 job applicants for the position of secretary and almost ALL were foreigners, be it malaysians, myanmareans, indonesians, etc. i spoke to my sister's filipino maid and she told me in equally gushing terms of how living in singapore was good compared to the corruption and backwardness back home. "oh we do have the shopping places too but here you get all the latest IT gadgets". Another friend told me of his long walks across parks linked together by park connectors or bridges linking certain big parks in singapore together so that walkers could have uninterrupted nature rambles at their leisure. This isn't possible in kuala lumpur. the more i look at things the more i felt a tinge of sadness and remorse. one feels like a hungry child staring at all the cake goodies through the shop window. Why can't we make the same great strides towards developed nation status as singapore? Back in the 50s, 60s even right up to the mid-70s the Malaysian Ringgit was on parity level with the Singapore dollar. the current exchange rate is about S$1 to RM2.39. In Kuala Lumpur we have ugly massive concrete pillars supporting our monorails which aren't quite as fast and on time as we'd like them to be. There is little greenery in Kuala Lumpur. But i admit that the road system in Kuala Lumpur has improved much over the years. However, the lack of public transport is something which only the government has the resources to develop and this is sorely lacking in Kuala Lumpur. This isn't something new, my story. People say the grass is greener on the other side. Well, i have actually been to the other side and it is a manicured lawn. I just hope that someday we will reach developed nation status and not have to encounter too many hiccups along the way. Our politicians bicker and fight over scraps while others zoom by us. The people who run singapore focus on the job at hand and get it done, no nonsense and no excuses accepted. We have progressed haphazardly while they have made giant leaps over the same time frame. Will our politicians quit fucking around and please wake the fuck up?

Timely Rain

A few days ago the first blessed showers to break the recent dry spell fell, much to everyone's relief. We take a lot of things for granted in our little corner of the globe. Fresh water supply for one. If the El Nino-induced drought dragged on for longer our water dams would very soon run dry and we'd be rationing water. Like during that very severe drought in the early 90s when everyone bought buckets and waited for the water truck or took showers at relatives' houses which had wells.
It rained again today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more rain. And for God's blessings. We have much to be grateful for. Lest we forget how fragile we are.

Sign of the Times

The Lunar New Year has come and gone. Earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, Taiwan, Japan and now Turkey. The hot and dry season beats down with unrelenting dullness - I'm challenged enough to NOT be dulled and so far i'm ok. In Europe, floods and wet weather. The local economy seems to be on an uptrend, the local stock market post-Lunar New Year is rallying once again. Interest rates are "normalising" (a tick up). I'm changing jobs. The governing party is trying to buy over enough MPs to form a two-thirds majority in Parliament so that it can re-draw electoral constituencies in its favour. Some MPs take the money. Some take promotions. Our oil is going to run out in about 20 years.

Ahhh March, life goes on.