Singapore: Wealthy, Well-behaved, Multi-ethnic... and Repressed

Singapore, March 25 — Caveat emptor: Most of the history and theory I’ve laid out here comes from the two on-board lecturers, one a ‘classical historian and destination lecturer,’ the other a retired diplomat and professor of international relations... with a few tidbits from our excellent guides.

This is a big topic (and you know how I can’t edit down my material or my photos), so I will do this entry in three parts, starting with background and Day 1 Daytime:

Singapore is an incredible place. Incredible because in its 52-year modern history, it has gone from Third World to First World, amassing great wealth and business success, not to mention influence in other countries. Remember when I was in Auckland and I asked our guide, Where is the funding coming from for the extensive building going on in New Zealand? Answer: China. Canada. Singapore.

It was originally named ‘Singapura,’ Sanskrit for ‘Lion City,’ because an early visiting Sumatran prince thought he saw a lion, which was probably a tiger. Since 1965, this island (plus 62 islets) at the tip end of Malaysia has been a totally independent city state — the only island city state in the world, because the Vatican and Monaco aren’t islands. It’s about the size of NYC. One guide called it ‘the futuristic bridge between East and West,’ and it is one of the ‘Four Asian Tigers,’ along with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea. It’s also been called ‘Asia in a microcosm’ because it is such a blend of other countries in one small country.

‘Our objective is not territory, but trade.’ — Sir Stamford Raffles

Singapore was ‘created’ in 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. The Brits first went East at the turn of the 16th century, when the British East India Company was founded — and became the foundation of the British Empire. At the time half the world’s trade — remember spices — was through the BEI Co. Britain needed a port on the Straits of Malacca between Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula, which is a natural meeting point of several major world-trade sea routes. Since it was not already controlled by the Dutch, who were an even greater trading presence, Raffles negotiated with the Sultan of the province of Johore to the north for the island off the southern tip. He paid a yearly fee for it — in effect, he rented it. At the time, Singapore was a polluted swamp rife with cholera — and opium. Raffles’ concept was to establish a free port where there were no taxes or duties (the Dutch charged port fees), so any and all countries could come there to trade. He encouraged schools and religious freedom, and created a police force and ‘magistry’ (our guide’s word) in the new, purpose-built city. Gambling and opium were outlawed. Raffles created separate ethnic neighborhoods which still exist today, including Chinese, Indian and Arab. The ‘shop houses’ that I am so fond of were Raffles’ idea. You can see some in this photo taken from Marina Bay. More on them later.​

​Though they hadn’t asked for it or fought for it, Singaporeans were granted independence from Britain 52 years ago. In 1955 they had become semi-autonomous, in 1959 they became part of the Malaysian Federation, and in 1965 became fully independent. Lee Kuan Yew (Cambridge University, London School of Economics), Prime Minister from 1959 until 1990, is credited with building modern Singapore. At 1/6 the size of Delaware and with a population of 5.5 million, only Monaco has a denser population. Its per capita annual income, at $56,000, is higher than ours. One Sun lecturer called Singapore ‘Asia’s most successful nation.’ Someone else called it ‘the world’s only shopping mall with a seat in the U.N.’ Before I came to this part of the world, I didn’t realize how intermingled the people of Asia’s different countries are with one another. People from poorer countries migrate to richer countries for work. Sometimes they bring their families, sometimes not. There are ‘melting pots’ in all the countries that offer a better life, or so it seems from what I’ve heard. Some 75% of Singaporeans are originally Chinese, 13% Malay, and 9% Indian. It is a mixture of 34% Buddhists, 14% Muslims, 11% Taoists, 7% Catholic, 5% Hindu, 11% other Christian and 16% no religion. Per Raffles’ original plan, they all tolerate one another’s religion and ethnic origin. There are around 200,000 foreign construction workers in Singapore, mostly from India. This statue of a ‘samsui woman’ is a tribute to the Chinese women immigrants who came to Malay and Singapore in the 1920s to ’40s to work in construction. There is no minimum wage in Singapore. Today a foreign construction worker earns about $20 SGD a day, or $15 US, for a 12-hour workday.

Our Day 1 guide was Ignatius, or Iggy, whose ID tag had his name on one side and a photo of Pope Francis on the flip side. A Roman Catholic, his family is Chinese but, because his grandparents were both adopted (nothing official — each was most likely just given to a neighbor) he doesn’t know where in China they originated. ‘I don’t even know my dialect group,’ he told me. I asked him if DNA testing would answer any questions. ‘It’s too complicated,’ he said.

The ‘unofficial flag of Singapore’ — laundry drying on poles propped outside windows. In other housing projects, residents put their own bamboo poles out the windows. Housing is subsidized by the government.

On the street in Little India.

Interesting (to me) facts:

- Vote... or be fined for not voting

- You can also be fined for jaywalking, littering, smoking in public, spitting, chewing gum, having a dirty toilet (how would the gov’t know that?)

- Languages are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil (Indian)

- 90% of people have their own homes (condos), subsidized by the government

- There are ‘no homeless’ we were told

- The press is ‘restrained’ and ‘intimidated’

- One does not criticize the government

- They have a strong military, aided by the U.S. Some 19% of their area is occupied by military installations

- Until the 1980s-’90s, Singapore had a 6-day work week. Trouble is, everyone was so tired by Saturday night... the birth rate kept dropping. Solution: 5-day work week including ‘baby making Sunday’

- Homosexuality is technically against the law, but one would have to be caught in the act to be prosecuted

- At 1º north of the Equator, the average temperature is 90-95. The coldest day on record, it hit a low of 85

- It costs around $100,000 to put a car on the road in Singapore. The cost of the car plus tax, e.g., $20,000 tax on a Toyota, plus a huge license fee. To discourage city traffic, there is great public transport, as I can personally attest:​

​My Day 1 Daytime excursion was called Singapore Explorer. A group of us were given a survival kit — a map, a bottle of water, a tiny bag of $6 in coins and, for some unknown reason, a tin of tiger balm. With our guide, Iggy, we rode a tour bus to our first destination, a(nother) Buddhist temple. Then we popped around downtown on a bus (twice), a river boat, a subway and, in between, my trusty trishaw, above. My driver was a weaver, continually overtaking others in the caravan of 20 trishaws. The Buddha Tooth Relic temple. Yes, I swear to you, a splinter of Buddha’s tooth can be seen up on the fourth floor. But we weren’t allowed up to see it.

You can adopt one of these small figures — but it stays at the temple.

The wall hanging behind the altar is exquisite silk embroidery. Worshippers were chanting into microphones while we were there, so we were asked not to take photos of them. I should have recorded the sound...

Leaving the temple, we walked past a Chinese medicine shop...

... and a Hindu temple where a noisy wedding was taking place.

We were on our way to the ethnic neighborhoods, starting with the Peranakan section. Originally that meant locally born descendants of Chinese immigrants who came to this area in the 15th century and married indigenous Malays. A guide said it now more loosely means Singaporeans of mixed parentage, though I think my Viking Cooking School friend Helen, who is Peranakan, would say it means just Chinese/Malay. Love the color of this building...

These are the ‘shop houses’ I referred to earlier — shop below, family living above.

$1.40 SGD bought us each a ticket on the bus which took us to the Singapore River, where we boarded a boat for a cruise in Marina Bay and the Singapore River. The building below is the Esplanade performance center, where I performed with the Yale Alumni Chorus two years ago. Its form has been described as one half of a durian, the fruit that ‘smells like hell and tastes like paradise.’ It is so, um, pungent, it is not allowed in hotels... or on cruise ships!

The symbol of Singapore is the Merlion fountain in Marina Bay, in the lower right: half seahorse, half lion.

$1.40 SGD bought a ticket on the spotless subway to the Marina Bay Sands hotel — 57 stories high, overlooking the huge harbor. Its infinity pool on floor 55 is 150 feet long.

From its pool bar, we could see the Gardens by the Bay — the two white domes house the National Orchid Garden, which I had visited last time. In a subsequent post, you’ll see what this very odd hotel looks like from the outside. Notice all the green, below. Singapore policy states that for however much square footage a building occupies, its footprint, the owners/builders must create the same square footage of greenery — plants planted into the sides of buildings, trees on the roof, etc. It’s called the ‘green plot ratio.’

Any guesses?...

I was standing in the hotel lobby shooting straight up. Stay tuned for Part 2, the Night Safari. #