Dispatches from Singapore, Part 2: Reflections on the city.
The British East India Company established Singapore-as-we-know-it in 1819 at the southern tip of Malaysia to compete with Dutch traders in Indonesia. Other writers have tackled the mixed results of colonialism, but Singapore seems to be one of the better survivors of it. Early Singapore was racist, classist, and hierarchical. The founders consigned different ethnicities to specific areas of town. They also laid the groundwork for one of the richest city-states in the world, today. Modern Singaporeans don’t seem to spend a lot of time rending their garments about colonialism.
The legacy of the British race and class structure lingers on, though the current government seems to take measures to address it. Most Singaporeans I encounter prize life in a pluralistic society, and most of the ethnic neighborhoods the British carved out now exist as mixed-race cultural heritage areas. One thing I find interesting is that none of the British colonial government buildings exist today as government buildings. They all remain, repurposed as art and cultural museums. It’s a nice way to preserve history without preserving a sense of colonialism.
An aspect of Singapore that makes it tick is de facto one-party rule allowing for long time-horizon planning. The city grows in an orderly, methodical way over decades, without labor issues or political party changes that scuttle ideas of past administrations. In addition to building buildings, Singapore is also building land, importing sand from abroad and using it to increase its square mileage.
Little India
Time Out Magazine recently ranked Singapore’s Little India as one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world. This was not originally a British-conceived area for Indian people (that distinction goes to now-defunct Chulia Kampong). Rather the nearby river was attractive for raising cattle, and the neighborhood sprang up around it.
Little India hosts a variety of Hindu temples and market stalls and the former house of Tan Teng Niah - a Chinese villa built in 1900. Indian food replaces Chinese food at the hawker centres.
Much of the architecture is British Colonial, making the area resemble Mumbai. While we were there, the area was abuzz preparing for Diwali. It’s vibrant and colorful and worth a few hours of your time.
Chinatown & Buddha’s Tooth
Chinatown, Singapore is a much older enclave with a rich history. It’s vibrant and busy and smells of Hainanese Chicken Rice and temple incense.
At the heart of modern Chinatown is a relatively new temple, completed in 2007, built in the style of the Tang dynasty. It houses a relic: one of the Buddha’s teeth, allegedly found in a collapsed stupa. That the tooth is 7.5 cm long calls into question whether it was actually one of the Buddha’s teeth. If so, he had extremely long teeth.
The Thian Hock Keng temple is far more authentic than the Buddha tooth temple. Established in 1839, it’s dedicated to Mazu, the Chinese Sea goddess. Mazu’s blessings were important as merchants, sailors and traders moved between Singapore and mainland China in the 19th century. It feels old, but for the Coca Cola vending machine by the front door.
The Jewel
Just before the pandemic, Singapore opened the Jewel—an egg-shaped shopping and nature complex with a massive vortex water fountain in the center. Photos don’t do it justice, but it befits a city that goes out of its way to impress and amaze, like a tasteful Las Vegas.
So what are my conclusions?
Singapore is new. It’s younger than the United States, which itself is young.
Singapore is extremely wealthy, and it shows. Its public spaces are immaculate. There is no litter, there are no visible homeless people, and if there’s poverty and crime, it’s hidden and unadvertised.
Singapore’s wealth and change happened suddenly, the bulk transpiring after the Second World War and within the lifetime of many older residents.
By some accounts, rule-of-law is draconian, but it’s no China or Russia. One-party rule has been beneficial, though many younger Singaporeans wish it were more progressive and wish the minority political parties had more power.
Finally, Singapore is a little bit dull. Drama is rare. Sure, you can flout wealth like a crazy rich Asian, or buy stuff, or stay in an amazing hotel—but it’s so clean and safe I was never gripped with a sense that something extraordinary might happen.