PastorSehmish
2009-01-07, 12:56
Greetings heathens,
Singapore is a testament to what you can do with little if you really put your mind to it and work together. Singapore is a small island state that has few natural resources, even their water is piped in from Malaysia. Singapore has become a hub of international banking and commerce. The government some years ago introduced policies that rewarded people who did things that were beneficial to the state. For example if you bought a apartment close to where your parents lived you received a financial reward from the government to help you buy your condo. The logic being that you would be there to take care of your parents when they were old lessening any burden on the state. Smart thinking I reckon. Singapore has wooed big business from all over the world and as a result you have prosperity and a very orderly state with very good roads and infrastructure. But to me Singapore is boring and lacks cultural energy and appeal. Going to Singapore is like staying home, familiar but lacking any mystery or excitement. If you like watching grass grow you will like Singapore. If you have never been to Asia and are afraid of Asian culture Singapore should be your first visit in Asia. It is clean in a kind of sterile kind of way a bit like a hospital surgery theater. The people are, well, ok. Helpful enough but it seems someone has purged Singapore of any eccentrics or real interesting characters. Interesting people in Singapore go and live somewhere else I am sure. You can learn a lot from Singapore. They model togetherness, cultural harmony and order, and show what can be achieved with nothing if you have a mind to work and to work together. When you encounter people from Singapore overseas you can’t help but to detect a kind of cultural arrogance. It seems some Singapore citizens believe they are the superior Asian peoples. I have seen them be very rude and condescending to other Asian cultures. I have seen this particularly in Thailand where people from Singapore treat Thai people very poorly. It angers and offends me when I see that and I have seen it very often. Thais often grumble quietly about how rude they are but in true Thai style will take their money just like everyone else’s. It would not be hard to say a few things that might help these arrogant people get their life and country into a little context but I will leave that for another to do.
The churches in Singapore are again, ok. They do support missions a lot and in this they are an example to many other places. They have many highly educated people in their churches which again reflects the culture at large. Numbers of Singapore’s Christians are complacent and materialistic but that is a global problem not one unique to Singapore. Do they need missionaries and financial support in Singapore? Not really. Do they need to be a little more understanding of their less prosperous Asian neighbours, I think so. Will they like me for saying all this ? Not likely, they are not known for their ability to receive criticism…but is the pope a catholic, I will let you decide.
God Bless,
Doctor Pastor Emeritus Wayne Sehmish
Singapore is a testament to what you can do with little if you really put your mind to it and work together. Singapore is a small island state that has few natural resources, even their water is piped in from Malaysia. Singapore has become a hub of international banking and commerce. The government some years ago introduced policies that rewarded people who did things that were beneficial to the state. For example if you bought a apartment close to where your parents lived you received a financial reward from the government to help you buy your condo. The logic being that you would be there to take care of your parents when they were old lessening any burden on the state. Smart thinking I reckon. Singapore has wooed big business from all over the world and as a result you have prosperity and a very orderly state with very good roads and infrastructure. But to me Singapore is boring and lacks cultural energy and appeal. Going to Singapore is like staying home, familiar but lacking any mystery or excitement. If you like watching grass grow you will like Singapore. If you have never been to Asia and are afraid of Asian culture Singapore should be your first visit in Asia. It is clean in a kind of sterile kind of way a bit like a hospital surgery theater. The people are, well, ok. Helpful enough but it seems someone has purged Singapore of any eccentrics or real interesting characters. Interesting people in Singapore go and live somewhere else I am sure. You can learn a lot from Singapore. They model togetherness, cultural harmony and order, and show what can be achieved with nothing if you have a mind to work and to work together. When you encounter people from Singapore overseas you can’t help but to detect a kind of cultural arrogance. It seems some Singapore citizens believe they are the superior Asian peoples. I have seen them be very rude and condescending to other Asian cultures. I have seen this particularly in Thailand where people from Singapore treat Thai people very poorly. It angers and offends me when I see that and I have seen it very often. Thais often grumble quietly about how rude they are but in true Thai style will take their money just like everyone else’s. It would not be hard to say a few things that might help these arrogant people get their life and country into a little context but I will leave that for another to do.
The churches in Singapore are again, ok. They do support missions a lot and in this they are an example to many other places. They have many highly educated people in their churches which again reflects the culture at large. Numbers of Singapore’s Christians are complacent and materialistic but that is a global problem not one unique to Singapore. Do they need missionaries and financial support in Singapore? Not really. Do they need to be a little more understanding of their less prosperous Asian neighbours, I think so. Will they like me for saying all this ? Not likely, they are not known for their ability to receive criticism…but is the pope a catholic, I will let you decide.
God Bless,
Doctor Pastor Emeritus Wayne Sehmish