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