Alright now, 3rd and last day in Malaysia. Starting to appreciate how lucky it is to live in Singapore.
Why?
A few things I perpetually felt when I was in KL were:
1. Sense of everything being cluster together
2. Disorganization
Sense of Everything being Clustered Together
I guess this is usual for any bustling city, not to mention the capital of Malaysia. This is also apparent in the Tanjong Pagar area in Singapore.
The feeling is as if you cant breath. Taking a deep breath might just breach the limits of your rightful "space". What's so horrible about that, you might ask. I mean being Singaporean, small spaces should be a problem. Well, it's the combination of this with the other listed factor that makes me miss Singapore.
Disorganization
In my opinion, things aren't really organized in KL as compared to Singapore. It's like the roads just seem to wind around like a knotted snake. Sometimes there's like no obvious way from point to point even if it is just across the road.
In Singapore, overhead bridges or pedestrian crossings are always within reach. Road signs are considerately placed some distance before the point where you need to turn and not AT the point where you need to turn.
Also there seems to be no general "theme" to sections of the city. There's a prison next to a shopping district. Shops are just grouped together seemingly by FCFS (First Come First Serve) basis. As in next to a toy shop there is a boutique and on another level there's another toy shop. There seemed not to be any classification.
This is totally unlike Singapore where areas of the city are classified quite clearly. Like orchard road, CBD, etc.
Perhaps Singaporeans really are a lucky bunch.
Look, I am not saying KL is a bad place. It's a bustling city. And it is due to culture that things turn out the way they are. No good or bad.
What I want to draw your attention to is not the differences in the way things are but the differences in mindset and culture. I think it is important to understand and accept cultural differences so as to see the way the world really is.
I am a pure blood post-'65 Singaporean. I grew up in the organized and comfortable environment that you see today. We have a government who does an efficient job in city planning leading to a city which is organized and easy to navigate. Consequently, people just get used to it.
Then you see KL. Not as clean, not as organized. But what is the subsequent effect on the people and culture? I haven't been in Malaysia long enough to meaningfully comment on their culture. So I will take the approach of putting myself in their shoes. If I were a KL native, I would imagine that I would get used to getting lost, settling things independently and imperfection.
So do you see the pattern? Culture/Mindset > the way things develop > environment exerts invisible forces on the people > Culture/Mindset is shaped and evolved.
Like Samuel Huntington says (I hope I don't reference it wrongly) civilizations used in the plural accepts that each culture has its own civil standards and none is superior. The comparison of KL and Singapore is also similar.
I have only been in Malaysia for a few days. It would be unfair to say that my views are absolute or my opinions apply throughout Malaysia. Also, I don't think that KL is inferior. (It's just that I am not used to it. Hahaha!) I mean I imagined KL natives to be independent thinkers; isn't that a good thing?
These 3 days have really given me some things to think about being Singaporean. Is it good to be Singaporean? Well, maybe....
Disclaimer
The above article expresses my personal opinion and does not intentionally hurt others. If any of my comments seem unfair or cause bad feelings among others, I am deeply sorry!!!!!
Hahaha! Bery Singaporean hor!!!!!
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