I'm noticing a certain phenomenon with Singaporeans lately. Or specifically, local drivers. It seems to me that their patience level is inversely proportional to the size of the car that they are driving. I mean, I saw like 4 or 5 cars beating the red light in this month alone?! One of them even drove into the yellow box causing a minor jam along Clementi Road during the peak hours by swerving dangerously to avoid me as I stopped to wait for the traffic across the road to clear. And that bugger even horned me while doing his stunt risking a 3 hour massive jam all the way from AYE by doing so should an accident occurs. Darn that bus should crush his BMW when the lights turned green.

How many seconds could you save by beating a red light dangerously with your overpriced and environmentally unfriendly piece of metal on four wheels? What happened to all these folks (obviously from the upper income quarter) when they are behind the wheels? Had the rat race corroded their ability to think for themselves and for others? It's ironic for Singapore to have one of the most stringent driving test when all we do is churned out reckless drivers after reckless drivers.

Drivers are not the only folks guilty of that on the public road, just a few days back, I had a pedestrian crossing the road at a junction by cutting across diagonally. He started by blocking my way as I waited for my chance to turn right out of the carpark and he crossed the road diagonally so he could save a couple of seconds. In doing so, the lady driver trying to turn right into the carpark I was in could only stare with disbelieve while the van behind her overtook her and turned into the carpark. 2 impatient buggers at a junction, what more could I say. I hope they have adequate insurance cover because some day, Mr BMW will be around the corner to send them to their maker. Who knows?

Singapore had progressed remarkably in the past many many years but we had failed miserably as a society. Singaporeans are told to depend on themselves because if anything bad happens to us, its our fault if we did not a) buy insurance, b) upgrade our skills ... In fact, that's what the social 'elites' believed anyway. We are asked to give selflessly to the Nation (or NUS for that matter) but when we have problems, we are told to deal with it ourselves because it's our fault. The only time the nation is going to step in to help you is when you have lost your job and sold your house and generally at your wits end, then you could either a) jump off the mrt track or b) get some support from society.

(This is also why I seldom donate money for the needy during flag days. Because I don't believe that we would have so many needy if we are doing things right.)

However, there is nothing wrong technically if citizens are told to fend for themselves but we have to live with the consequences of such a society. Most citizen will end up becoming a selfish bastard if all they could do everyday is to think of themselves. If this is the future of Singapore, I do not wish to be part of it. Just look out and observe the world around you, do you find a lot more selfish acts compared to selfless acts?

When was the last time you offered your seat to someone who needs it more than you on the train? I know my answer, it's 3 years ago, about as long as I stopped taking public transport and started to drive around. What about you?

Let's take small steps for a better future and please signal when you want to turn, don't be selfish and keep others from turning so you could have your own way.

singapore essay