Housing Woes!
I know this is rather late but this caught my eye when I first read it. Only now do I have time to get down writing about it.
This is a post so wrong on so many levels. It is so off the mark that I think it really isn't about Singapore, much less insulting to Singapore(ans).
The crux of the matter is that the writer has poked fun of Malaysia.
Let's just say upfront that the best housing Malaysia can offer is probably not as good as what Singapore can offer (and indeed what many other countries can too) and the worst of Singapore is definitely not as bad as what Malaysia has.
But this is not about Singapore vs Malaysia, this is about how (what I assumed to be) a Malaysian could be so patently blind to the atrocious level of housing in her/his own country.
I do not intend to show any photographs. Those who are interested can survey the surrounding housing at KL's Hang Tuah station which is just a stone throw's away from one of the main drags: Bukit Bintang. We are talking here about private residence in Malaysia's capital city.
And this is not about whether one needs to be perfect to criticse others. Of course not. But if one makes references (even if obliquely) that one's public/private housing is much preferable than another country's with no basis whatsoever; then I can only say how insensitive and insulated this writer is from the vagaries of existence in her/his own country.
Has the writer ever been around Malaysia? Much work needs to be done to improve the housing condition in the country- particularly in urban built-up areas.
Some have commented (congratulated?) the writer on the irony in the post. There is irony alright, but it is not the least ironic in the way the writer and her/his fans believe.
And that is tragic.