A gay fellow who was very open about his sexual orientation once asked a friend of mine to come out of the closet. That friend, who isn’t gay, got so angry that he said he would whack up that outspoken fellow. Or did he say that he would “hammer” him? I certainly hope he didn’t.
THE call came in a day after Yio Chu Kang Member of Parliament (MP) Seng Han Thong was set on fire by a resident.
Ms Jessminder Kaur — the customer service officer who was manning the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports’ (MCYS) Reach hotline on Jan 12 — thus became “panicky” when Ng Kim Ngweng allegedly told her that he wanted to “hammer” his MP.
For that, Mr Ng was charged in court for criminal intimidation and threatening to cause hurt to his MP, Ms Denise Phua. We learn something new from the courts every day. These are trying times. We had an MP set on fire. We had our Merlion struck by lightning. The last thing people working for the ministries and grassroot organisations want, is to be hammered. We thus need to be very careful when we say we want to “hammer” people just to let off steam. People who are not in enviable positions can be very sensitive to “threats”. They certainly don’t like any mention of hammering.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Singapore, 502 people were picked up and asked if they find Singaporeans ungracious.
“Ungracious? No lah. I put my tissue paper there, nobody dare to touch. Where got ungracious. If any %#&! dare to touch my tissue paper, I hammer him eh!”
“Where got ungracious? I see them dance so graceful … gracious not the same as graceful ah? Aiya, write already never mind lah.”
If any of these typical alamak people were picked to participate in the survey, I’m not surprised that 90% of 502 Singaporeans don’t find Singaporeans ungracious. You’ll probably get the same results if you ask Indonesians if belachan is smelly, Thais if they find tom yam spicy, nudists if they feel naked without their clothes on …
Like beauty, graciousness is something identified by beholders/onlookers and not the person in the mirror. When 17 out of 20 foreigners find Singaporeans ungracious, then that’s the figure we should take seriously. Not the opinion of 502 belachan lovers who don’t find belachan smelly.
A couple of days ago, news was out that Singapore is now the 10th most expensive city to live in. Very quickly, the media tried to “balance” the view by announcing that Singapore is actually the most attractive country to Asian expatriates. So what? I’m not an expatriate. I live here. I service mortgages, pay rentals. The expatriate gets a housing allowance. He may even get transport allowance in the form of a car. I would need to bid for a COE. With all these perks, who would be too bother if we’re the 10th or even the most expensive country in the world to live?
Mongolia can be a favourite posting – for claustrophobic expats who love to ride horses on vast plains. That does not mean that life is good in Mongolia. Nepal can be a favourite posting for expats who love to climb mountains. That does not mean that the Nepalese don’t need to haul heavy loads up the mountains.
Being a favourite to Asian expat means that companies overseas have no problems getting people from China, India and the region to come work here for a while. On top of their salaries, they get housing allowance, transport alowance. Like my friends sent to work in China by their companies, the bulk of their expenditures are paid for by the company. Many of them are not very sure how much the apartment they are staying in costs. Without feeling the strain of pricey housing, high shop rentals and a long list of licences and permits that need to be paid for before one can operate any business, how do these Asian expats understand or alleviate our problems associated with being the 10th most expensive city in the world? We may not be happy just because they are happy.
If expats who used to be eager to come here discover that Singapore isn’t what they expect, they just need to live out their posting and move on to the next country. We on the other hand, are still stuck in the 10th most expensive city in the world.
Dewdrop Notes
Dr Chan's Kitchen