A short hop from Kuala Lumpur and we were in Singapore - a flight of
around an hour. There was a proposal to use the railway train from Kuala
Lumpur. We were given to understand that it was very comfortable where one
could book one’s specific seat or berth. The first class of the train
reportedly offered far more comfort than the similar class of railway
compartment in India. Somehow the plan had to be dropped as berths for so many
people were just not available. We, otherwise, would have had a chance to see a
bit of the Malaysian jungles. Famous all over the world for its facilities and
services, the train is likely to be speeded up soon as a decision is in the
offing to make it a high-speed line with trains touching more than 300 kms per
hour, nipping off some hours from the current 7 hours’ travelling time.
 |
| Singapore skyline from Oberoi Imperial |
Singapore has a long history but its modern avatar took birth in 1819 when it was acquired by Sir Stamford
Raffles to function as a trading post for the East India Company with the
permission of the Johor Sultanate that had sovereignty over it. Eventually, in 1824 the Sultanate yielded
sovereignty over the territory to the British and in 1826 Singapore became one
of the British Straits Settlement territories. (One can see shades of Indian
history) Occupied by the Japanese during the World War II, it was recaptured by
the British who later withdrew from the Settlements in 1946. Singapore joined
the Malaysian federation in 1963 only to be expelled in 1965. Tunku Abdul
Rahman, the then Malaysian Prime Minster, pushing for affirmative action in
favour of “Bhumi putras” (sons of the
soil) could not stomach the multi-culturalism of the Singapore patriarch, Lee
Kuan Yew. Lee was against discrimination and ghettoisation of ethnic communities – Chinese,
Indians and the native Malays. Contrary to Malaysian expectations, the new City
State of Singapore started taking giant leaps towards progress and prosperity
after its expulsion.
.
We landed not at Changi
Airport but at the old Paya Lebar airport. The airport at Changi was still in
the works. We were told that the area around the airport had potential for
urban development but projects could not be undertaken due to the air traffic
passing over it. Singapore is hungry for land and any land that could be used
for residential or commercial purposes could not be allowed to remain
unexploited. Even in 1981 the authorities were planning for an airport at
Changi where the planes would have to approach the runway not over land but
over the sea. Perhaps, that’s what they have achieved by creating an airport at
Changi.
Put up in the Oberoi Imperial, a five star affair, we again faced
the same problem of inadequacy of funds. With the split rates of daily
allowances we could not have had even breakfast at the hotel. While the room
had all the trappings of a 5-starred outfit the pretentious provisions of the
government for officers on tour abroad proved pretty inconvenient and tiresome.
We had necessarily to dine out.
In 1981 Singapore was not yet
one of the “Asian Tigers” but, on hindsight, it appeared to be well on its way
towards achieving that sobriquet. It was a vulnerable tiny city state and,
located as it was on the busy sea lane between east and west, it had always
been fearful of being overwhelmed by super and regional powers. And yet within
the limited confines of its territory devoid of natural resources export
oriented industries were being set up, housing projects were being implemented,
and a tough administration had been largely successful in tying up all the
loose ends of the administration to optimize utilization of its limited land
base, minimize consumption and boost productivity Its main economic activities
were in those days were oil refining and banking.
 |
| Jurong township |
Competence was expected in every aspect of administration and
officers were expected to be businesslike. No frills or no beating about the
bush, one had to be straightforward in dealing with every matter relating to
the state. A small incident was very illustrative. At tea at the Singapore
Institute of Public Administration I asked an Englishman sitting by my side what
he was doing at the Institute. On being told that he was teaching English to
officers when I said that it was an English-speaking country, he said that was
true but Lee was very finicky about the language used on paper. If even a
secretary wrote pompous or archaic English he would land up at the Institute
for a brush-up. Seems inconsequential but tells a lot about the man behind
Singapore’s push towards prosperity.
The government being highly competent and largely corruption-free
the management of the city couldn’t be better. The tough administration
penalises for deviations – minor or major – with fines, sometimes very stiff.
Lee used to say that Singapore is a “fine” country. One wouldn’t find a speck
of dust or any litter anywhere. I had to look for a trash bin to discard my
cigarette butts. For us it was an experience used as we are to presence of
muck, dirt, litter and trash in our midst. Unlike in India I happened to notice
beautiful tropical gardens developed under the flyovers. Unlike our civic bodies Singapore administration is very high on aesthetics. Even as late as earlier
this year I found muck and trash under one of the South Delhi flyovers where
migrant families were also living – and presumably multiplying.
 |
| High-rises and greens |
Likewise, the traffic on the
roads was excellently managed although number of cars was not negligible. To avoid
congestion even in those early days a car could get on to the High Street only
if it carried not less than four passengers including the driver. This applied
even to taxis. I don’t know whether it was true but we were told that one could
own only one vehicle at a time. If one owned a car he/she wouldn’t get another
from the government or corporate house or any other source. If a vehicle was
allotted by the employer one couldn’t buy a vehicle for one self. The same was
true of houses; one couldn’t own multiple houses. One could understand the law
in view of scarcity of land. There were definite plans for reclamation from the
surrounding seas but mostly for productive purposes.
In this land-scarce country
the Indian High Commissioner had a huge rambling old ill-maintained bungalow
with extensive grounds. A batch-mate of mine from the Foreign Service was the
High Commissioner who gave the group very welcome samosas and good Indian tea. His tips for shopping were very
helpful, shopping having been on everybody’s mind. Singapore those days was
known for all kinds of stuff – electronic or non electronic – and was known to
be cheap an image Singapore was keen to wipe away.
The High Commissioner had suggested the CK Tang mall which was
supposed to be good but one had to bargain rather hard. Situated in the Orchard
Road, the heart of Singapore, its facade was not pretentious like the ones we
see today. Nonetheless, the insides were something which I found fabulous. It
was my first experience of a mall and it was amazing to see a whole floor
dedicated to cosmetics and women’s perfumes. From it an escalator took off for
the men’s section on the first floor. Different MNC brands had cornered huge
areas. The sales persons, generally Chinese girls, were very friendly and
persuasive. Packed with electronic stuff and cameras that were virtually
non-existent in the pseudo-socialist India of Indira Gandhi it was indeed very tempting. Only the
lean wallet held most of us back. Within my limited means I shopped like never
before. In any case, in 1981 it was a whole new experience in shopping.
 |
| Singapore by night |
I patronised Tang’s food court and enjoyed the delectable Indonesian
and Malaysian cuisine. The night time hawker style food market was another
experience. As darkness fell scores of hawkers with their colourful lanterns on
push carts and offering delectable stuff would converge on the streets. But
nothing would ever be touched by bare hands. Like in Kuala Lumpur, none of the
sales persons would ever touch any foodstuff with bare hands. Out on the
streets also I saw fruit sellers selling pieces of papaya, melons, guavas etc
wearing plastic gloves – a practise that has not been adopted in India yet. I
tried to persuade the local sweet shop to have gloves or tongs used by his
salesmen but to no avail.
Soon the pleasant stay came to an end. We were up one early morning
to catch a Cathay Pacific flight for Bangkok where we had a daylong lay-over
before hitting Delhi.
No comments:
Post a Comment