Opinion Singapore cab-drivers
In every country,cab-drivers have a world view and chats with them often offer interesting perspectives.
In every country,cab-drivers have a world view and chats with them often offer interesting perspectives. Most people will vouch Singapore cab-drivers are not only law-abiding and courteous,but also educated and aware. Here is gist of a recent conversation,more like a stream-of-consciousness monologue,once encouraged by me.
Everything that follows is actually within quotes. What happened in Haiti is terrible. We (Singapore) gave 50,000 dollars (Singapore dollars). We would have given more,but we don’t want neighbours to keep asking for money Indonesia,Malaysia. They can’t manage their economies. They can’t compete. Look at Malaysia now. See what they are doing to Christians and even Hindus. Nothing like that happens in Singapore. There is dialogue between religious communities. It is there in Lee Kuan Yew’s memoirs. We didn’t leave Malaysia. They wanted us to leave. Malays didn’t want Chinese. They wanted a country based on religion. We wanted a country based on merit,like Ceylon. We were left with nothing ¿ airlines,banks and the port.
Look at Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines now. The port is all the way from east to west now. Lee Kuan Yew asked foreign investors to come and they came.
In Singapore,you go to the police and they will help. The law is the same for everyone. A lot of tourists come here,tourists from India also. If you follow the law,there are no problems. In Indonesia,if you go to the police,they ask for money. In Sentosa,there will now be casinos. The new government is talking about building a huge dome. Don’t know where they will find the money. But there is no competition for cab companies. There are seven cab companies,but they are all owned by politicians. All owners are MPs. For minor traffic violations,there are compoundable fines. But if they send you to court,you are finished. We planted trees to protect rainforests. Those are frangipanis and that is bougainvillea. Once,when I was driving to the airport,I saw a monitor lizard crossing the road,almost as big as a commodore dragon. All of us waited until it crossed the road. I know about Chennai,a lot of Indians from Chennai here. If you go to Little India,a lot of Bangladeshis also. There must be a lot of Buddhists in India,Hindus also. Forget India. Rare is the country,even in the west,where cab-drivers are so knowledgeable and patriotic.
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