Weekend in S'pore

Weekend in S'pore

My son, who happens to work in Singapore, invited me to spend
my weekend there on Feb. 17, 1995, and I enjoyed a wonderful time
in Asia's 'Garden City.'

If I say that the government takes good care of its citizens,
by providing proper housing, efficient transportation and jobs, I
would only parrot other foreigners' impression. Further, the city
tries its utmost to preserve the environment in its natural
state. Parks, gardens and the trees on both sides of the streets
are well taken care of and even the water in the harbor is clean.
It seems that cleanliness and discipline are of prime importance
to Singapore, and I did not seen any graffiti on buildings or
walls.

I believe that all the top names of car makes are found in
Singapore -- Jaguars (England), Saab (Sweden), Holden (Australia)
Ferrari (Italy), Proton Saga (Malaysia), and of course the
Japanese makes. However, only affluent people can own a car,
because to purchase a car, one has to secure a certificate of
entitlement, which is expensive and takes up to five years to
obtain.

As in Japan and the United States, water from the house faucet
can be drunk without first boiling it.

We visited Santosa island, which impressed me greatly. The
gardens are well-kept and the restaurants that cater to the
tourists are spotlessly clean and the food is reasonably priced.
I didn't see any flies around or piles of garbage.

Many affluent Jakartans of Chinese ancestry send their
children to Singapore to study, where they can learn the
Mandarin, Chinese, English and Malay languages.

There is an ancient Japanese proverb: i-shokujyu tarite
reisetsu wo shiru, which means "a man knows courtesy, if the
essentials of life, namely food, clothing and shelter are
available." Singapore citizens can buy a government-built
apartment and pay it in installments for 30 years. So every man
earning a salary can afford to buy an apartment.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta