Singapore - enlightened model state or worryingly authoritarian nightmare?

[kyser_soze]

not sure how long this "model state" will last as it is running out of land + space. but will be interesting to see when the 2 casino projects are finished over there

Probably build an extension to the island out of old rubbish.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

interesting thread. i often go to singapore for work. (also lived in HK for 7 yrs before) singapore is more a hub for asia. so if you are there for work, and the pay is good, it's a tolerable place to be. - so ie. as an expat. but i know the govt & political scene is a nightmare. for the singaporean locals, afaik - many of them wish to emigrate over seas...
for a tourist, it is perfect (clean,safe,sterile...) good for food + shopping.
not sure how long this "model state" will last as it is running out of land + space. but will be interesting to see when the 2 casino projects are finished over there

They'll just keep building up maybe?

Last time I was there, they were going to start building on the other side of the River. Once that space runs out, who knows.

It's not like it's a huge country. Maybe they'll invade Malaysia

 

[feldbach]

Probably build an extension to the island out of old rubbish.

there already is so much reclaimed land, i feel they are running out of ideas...

It's not like it's a huge country. Maybe they'll invade Malaysia

if only for the water at least..

 

[Fruitloop]

I thought that all that caning and corporal punishment was a hangover from colonial times, not an endogenous SE Asian thing. 'The English Vice' and all that.

 

[Fruitloop]

Probably build an extension to the island out of old rubbish.

'Gomi' islands. Gibson was a fucking prophet...

 

[kyser_soze]

Totally. Altho I think he'd just winnowed out advance plans for places like Chep Lap Kok and other airports built on rubbish...

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

It could be the new Dubai and build some more islands

 

[kyser_soze]

Altho I reckon the Singaporeans would design and build such a thing with proper sewage and drainage so all the millionaire shit didn't wash up on the beach...

 

[invisibleplanet]

A (female) Singaporean friend cryptically advised me that i'd need a stick to defend myself from the fairer sex if I visited her city. I hope that's not what she meant!

Take it as a compliment, and possibly that your friend also finds you very attractive.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Altho I reckon the Singaporeans would design and build such a thing with proper sewage and drainage so all the millionaire shit didn't wash up on the beach...

Would be hard. I went to Sentosa and couldn't believe how ugly it was with a view of great big tankers whilst you sat on the beach

 

[feldbach]

Would be hard. I went to Sentosa and couldn't believe how ugly it was with a view of great big tankers whilst you sat on the beach

great photos ;-)

i remember going to sentosa & having at least 3 singaporeans tell me that the sand on the man made beach was real - imported from indonesia! palm trees also! - i looked at them blankly...i think they were waiting for some sort of impressed reply ?

 

[kyser_soze]

Doesn't that sum it up? 'We have real sand...imported from Indonesia!!'

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I thought that all that caning and corporal punishment was a hangover from colonial times, not an endogenous SE Asian thing. 'The English Vice' and all that.

Perhaps the caning is tbh. They don't do any of that stuff in China.

 

[teuchter]

Didn't know you were a canoeist Minnie. You look like you are having a good time there.

 

[teuchter]

and yet you can buy used schoolgirls knickers from vending machines in stations.

I simply don't believe this is true.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

great photos ;-)

i remember going to sentosa & having at least 3 singaporeans tell me that the sand on the man made beach was real - imported from indonesia! palm trees also! - i looked at them blankly...i think they were waiting for some sort of impressed reply ?

They're not mine

I don't think I have hardly any of Sentosa as there wasn't anything worth taking photos of (except the aquarium)

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Didn't know you were a canoeist Minnie. You look like you are having a good time there.

It aint me, I googled

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

If anyone wants to watch quite a nice little film about Singapore, I recommend Homerun. It's really set before it boomed into the modern city it is today, but well worth watching

Mind you, just IMDBd it and a Singaporean said it was absolutely terrible. I think it's allegorical and that's a bit heavy handed if you know about the place

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

If anyone wants to watch quite a nice little film about Singapore, I recommend Homerun. It's really set before it boomed into the modern city it is today, but well worth watching

Mind you, just IMDBd it and a Singaporean said it was absolutely terrible. I think it's allegorical and that's a bit heavy handed if you know about the place

I already have it on DVD

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

and do you know what, there was an almost identical film on the other night but I think it was Afghanistan or somewhere. I was watching it thinking it all seemed so familiar, but I totally forgot about Home Run

It may have been Iran?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Children of Heaven

Children of Heaven (Persian: بچه*های آسمان) is a 1997 Iranian film by Majid Majidi. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998. It deals with a brother and sister and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes.

in fact, it's the other way round

Homerun

Homerun, a 2003 Singaporean film by Jack Neo, is an adaptation of Children of Heaven. Unlike Children of Heaven, Homerun's theme is friendship and the film is set in Singapore in 1965. Homerun received two nominations at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards, for Best Theme Song (拥有) and Best New Performer (Megan Zheng). Megan Zheng, then 10 years old, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award, sharing her Best New Performer award with Wang Baoqiang, who plays a miner in Blind Shaft.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Yes, it's Iranian, and Homerun was indeed a remake of it. Children of Heaven.

What did you think of Homerun?

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Snap

Was the original any good?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Snap

Was the original any good?

I liked Children of Heaven. Homerun was ok, but I don't think it's something I'll rush to watch again, but if nothing else was on...

 

[kavenism]

Comparisons with China are way off. China is like the Wild West. Singapore is pretty controlled, clean, tidy and in many ways socialist

Looking at China as a whole it's still the wild west, but in the most developed areas there is a striking similarity, besides I was talking more about a type of economics mixed with authoritarianism.