I watched with interest the trailer of Singapore Dreaming, the upcoming movie by husband and wife pair of Colin Goh and Dr Woo. In one scene, one of the cast (Richard Li) speaks offscreen of Singapore’s progress over the years, that along the way, Singapore and Singaporeans seem to have lost something along the way.
I also listened with interest (wasn’t watching) Dick Lee’s comment of one singer that week after week had gotten better, but lost something along the way (think it was diction, but nevermind).
I found it poignant that two separate events reminded me of Singapore’s place in the world today, juxtaposed against the upcoming IMF/World Bank meetings. Having been posted indefinitely to overseas for work, I am in a privileged position to observe how we Singaporeans compare and behave around the world and how the world perceives us.
Having returned here for awhile, I was struck by the government’s drive to put up a show for the world to see. Suntec is being spruced up double-time, a 4 Million Smiles campaign is ongoing, variety shows replete with courtesy sting operations, with one organisation getting into the act, sending out “mystery shoppers” into the wild, eventually finding only a dismal 20% of customer service passes muster.
Fann Wong’s interview with BBC drew some flak but I was personally struck by the interviewer’s question of Singapore being artificial. Hmmm it seems that the impression of Singapore being the “fine” country, all straight-laced and law-abiding, continues to perpetuate the “plastic society” that people around the world are thinking about Singapore, and that’s not talking about credit cards (tho I hear alot of us suffer from CC debt).
Singaporeans know each other best, and we know and can see for ourselves, how our daily lives are devoid of common courtesy. From clearing trays to giving way to saying thanks. In our dogged determination to be a First World Country, we have indeed lost something along the way. Perhaps the worst thing is, the world knows it.
Anyway I congratulate Colin and Yen Yen on their successful endeavour and hope the film opens some eyes. I believe they have tread a path that I am treading and I now see what they’ve seen. I believe their journey is part reason why they embarked on this film and frankly, with all the Jack Neo films, this film is about time.
Parties interested in the film can visit www.singaporedreaming.com.
