Pessimistic Remarks By Cabby Could Etch Negative Impression
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Of Singapore On Minds Of Tourists.
extracted from STforums.
AFTER a fulfilling Sunday meet-up with friends on Aug 20, my friends and I boarded a Silvercab to catch a quick peaceful ride home. However, the journey turned out to be more than we bargained for.
First, the speed of the cab was over the limit allowed on most roads in Singapore. Dying to catch up on our beauty sleep for the tiring week ahead, we were pretty glad the driver seemed to be in a more of a rush than us to get us back home. Whatever, we didn't really pay much attention to where the needle was pointing on the speedometer.
What was appalling in the behaviour of the driver was his vehement response to a simple roadworks on a stretch of the Central Expressway (CTE), most likely a frantic government initiative in preparation for the International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings in mid-September. Hoping to strike up a friendly conversation with the cab uncle, I made a remark on the speed of traffic on an 'expressway', asking his opinion why the CTE is always so packed.
What ultimately resulted was verbal diarrhoea by the cab driver on his prophesy of how 'first generation of Government make money, second generation maintain stability, and third will eventually waste away all that was achieved by the predecessors'. As a 'skilled conversationalist' with his passengers, he managed to direct a conversation on roadworks and link it to CPF.
'Mark my words,' he said, 'by the time you retire, even if you have a million in your CPF account, you'll not be able to retrieve a single cent of it out of the Government's coffers.'
How pessimistic, I thought. What dismayed me was not just his attempt to convince me of his thoughts, but rather, I shudder to think that these exact same taxi drivers are the first point of contact with many tourists visiting Singapore. They could be the ambassadors of the nation, with such a rampant number of taxis plying the streets of Singapore.
I was appalled by the thought that such negative impressions could be etched on the minds of tourists even before they step into our welcoming hotels. With or without the much anticipated IMF-World Bank meetings just round the corner, it is such a shame that the people with the most opportunity to rub shoulders with tourists, have such negative views of the country they represent.
Please, all taxi operators, do more to send drivers on courses in communication. Perhaps National Education should be promoted in taxi companies as well. Whatever is true or untrue, it is never too late to change the environment and attitude of people around us. It is only when we complain but do nothing that things start to spiral out of control.
Audrey Tan Liling (Ms) -
can you believe this woman?
what has the impression of a tourist towards our govt got to do with anything?
ask yourself this. before deciding on whether to go to hong kong or switzerland for a trip do you consider what the author said before making a decision? will you not go to hong kong just because a cabby complaint about his govt?
if that is the case i bet we wont see any tourists in korea anymore.
we singaporeans are not saint. we, like all other nationalities, are angry and frustrated about certain policies. it is something that happens to everyone, everywhere. why do we have to suppress our feelings? why? just to give the tourists a good impression?
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12-year-old students 'not spared atrocities of litterbugs'
extracted from STforums.
I REFER to the article, 'Warning! Singapore is becoming a garbage city' (ST, Aug 20).
As 12-year-old students, my friends and I are not spared from the atrocities of litterbugs. Every day, we go to school only to be greeted by the routine morning lecture on keeping the school clean. Even then, our classrooms, canteen, staircases and toilets are littered with tissue paper, scarps of foolscap, bits of pencil shavings or lead, and the biggest culprit, empty plastic water bottles. The standard lectures don't seem to be working, do they?
Is it enough if just a handful of us want to keep the city clean? Leave the city. Look at our schools. If children litter at school, how can we expect them, the leaders of tomorrow, to keep the city clean? Why do children litter? The biggest reason is that children are not taught well enough. They are not responsible enough. They don't care if Singapore becomes a wasteland. They don't really mind if foreigners throw rubbish at our bus stops and in our streets.
Now, we face a big problem. With the International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings happening, how are we going to clean up our city by the time all the foreigners come over here. Isn't it the same as when you have a visitor coming over to your home? You clean your house, tidy it, and maybe even add minor decorations. No one seems to be bothered to clean up our island home. We have to work fast. How?
It's easier to build children than repair adults. Children need to know what it is like to pick up litter others carelessly chuck aside. They should be made to pick up litter around their neighbourhood as part of their National Education (NE).
During NE lessons, children can discuss with their teachers what can be done to deter people from littering. After all, National Education is about loving Singapore and if we love Singapore, we'll definitely want to keep it clean, right?
P. Mirnalini (Ms) -
Taxi driver was right.
Passenger still in Dream Land - haven't wake up yet.
Must be young... -
i noticed the phrase (in bold prints) keeps appearing in recent articles.
are we supposed to behave differently from what we normally do just because of the IMF/World Bank event?
isnt it hypocritical? -
Originally posted by ShutterBug:Taxi driver was right.
Passenger still in Dream Land - haven't wake up yet.
Must be young...
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are they complaining for the fame or out of altruism.
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People in every country bitch about their own government.
What else is new?
Hell, even George 'Monkey' Bush have his own share of hate sites -
C'mon man, when I was in Oz, their own people told me their own country sucks too. Including their taxi drivers. In fact it was the taxi drivers who tell me the suckiest things about their country.
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i wonder if the poor are advised to avoid that area during the meeting.
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If any of the delegates wish to visit potong pasir or hougang, the ambassadors are trained to tell them these areas do not exist, or off limits.Originally posted by dragg:i wonder if the poor are advised to avoid that area during the meeting. -
or they will switch the road signs of marine parade and bring them there.Originally posted by ditzy:If any of the delegates wish to visit potong pasir or hougang, the ambassadors are trained to tell them these areas do not exist, or off limits. -
My taxi driver boasts about Samoa
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Miss Audrey busy shopping for her branded stuff, making herself look good and want to catch her beauty sleep.Originally posted by ShutterBug:Taxi driver was right.
Passenger still in Dream Land - haven't wake up yet.
Must be young...
And she's just like many....like to flaunt their intelligence once in a while. It sad fact is, she/he knows nothing....
I'm still amazed why i don't read the local papers!!! Then again, it's not worth getting upset. -
The young of singapore think life is a bed of roses, their future all rosy is paved for them. I just want to say:"Fcuk you understand?!?!"
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Let that damn taxi driver complain !!!
Yes he will say government this one no good that one no good ....... till he pick up a passenger in the IMF from the 3 world !!! The visitor will just tell him off how luck he is compare to his follow country men, which have no job, not even a cab to drive, and here the taxi driver so comfortable in aircon cab that they so relax and free to have time and strength to bad mouth of our country !!!
Yep the visitors will have a good impression of Singapore - life is so good that a taxi driver is so comfortable in their cab and well fed that have the strength complain and complain ....... country too good that why have this problem. ....... -
if everybody see things the way you do who has a reason to be unhappy?Originally posted by storywolf:Let that damn taxi driver complain !!!
Yes he will say government this one no good that one no good ....... till he pick up a passenger in the IMF from the 3 world !!! The visitor will just tell him off how luck he is compare to his follow country men, which have no job, not even a cab to drive, and here the taxi driver so comfortable in aircon cab that they so relax and free to have time and strength to bad mouth of our country !!!
Yep the visitors will have a good impression of Singapore - life is so good that a taxi driver is so comfortable in their cab and well fed that have the strength complain and complain ....... country too good that why have this problem. .......
lets assume you got robbed and beaten up. you complained about the pain and the money lost. but was told, "why complain? there are people more unlucky than you. you are very lucky to be lying in the hospital bed with air-conditioning. over in africa women are gang-raped and left in the wild to die."
so, again you have no reason to be unhappy.
you get my point? if you compare yourself to the rest of the world of course you cant complain. afterall even thought you arent the best you wont be the worst.
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Well put well put! Bravo! Bravo!Originally posted by dragg:if everybody see things the way you do who has a reason to be unhappy?
lets assume you got robbed and beaten up. you complained about the pain and the money lost. but was told, "why complain? there are people more unlucky than you. you are very lucky to be lying in the hospital bed with air-conditioning. over in africa women are gang-raped and left in the wild to die."
so, again you have no reason to be unhappy.
you get my point? if you compare yourself to the rest of the world of course you cant complain. afterall even thought you arent the best you wont be the worst. -
Goodness...the Tan liling is irritating.
The more i read, the more i get irritated. -
+1+2+3+4+5..........Originally posted by dragg:if everybody see things the way you do who has a reason to be unhappy?
lets assume you got robbed and beaten up. you complained about the pain and the money lost. but was told, "why complain? there are people more unlucky than you. you are very lucky to be lying in the hospital bed with air-conditioning. over in africa women are gang-raped and left in the wild to die."
so, again you have no reason to be unhappy.
you get my point? if you compare yourself to the rest of the world of course you cant complain. afterall even thought you arent the best you wont be the worst. -
coolOriginally posted by dragg:if everybody see things the way you do who has a reason to be unhappy?
lets assume you got robbed and beaten up. you complained about the pain and the money lost. but was told, "why complain? there are people more unlucky than you. you are very lucky to be lying in the hospital bed with air-conditioning. over in africa women are gang-raped and left in the wild to die."
so, again you have no reason to be unhappy.
you get my point? if you compare yourself to the rest of the world of course you cant complain. afterall even thought you arent the best you wont be the worst. -
IMF, World Bank = lots of Ang Moh.
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Wah like that also want to complain. The woman striked up the conversation herself what.
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Tsk tsk tsk, children nowadays, think they fcuking own the fcuking world.Originally posted by elasticplastic:Wah like that also want to complain. The woman striked up the conversation herself what. -
the 12 yrs old girl must be from one of those top schools thinking complaining to the press is mature.