Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
18
Chew on This
Contrary to popular belief, it's perfectly legal to chew gum in Singapore, and you
can bring in small quantities for personal consumption with no problems. It is,
however, illegal to import and sell it. The story goes that after the multibillion-
dollar Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system opened, vandals brought the network to
a halt when they disposed of chewed gum by jamming the trains' door sensors.
The ban took effect in 1992.
In 1825, hundreds of Indians who had
been imprisoned in B encoolen (in S uma-
tra) w ere transferr ed to S ingapore, wher e
they wor ked as labor ers. These convicts
built many of the go vernment buildings
and cathedrals—for instance, St. Andrew's
Cathedral, S ri M ariamman Temple, and
the I stana—and wor ked on heavy-duty
municipal projects. Eventually, they served
their sentences and assimilated into soci-
ety, many remaining in Singapore.
While most I ndian immigrants w ere
from the southern r egions of I ndia, there
is still gr eat diversity within the commu-
nity. The largest group by far is the Tamils,
but y ou'll also find M alayalis, P unjabis,
and G ujaratis. S o despite Little I ndia's
reputation as an Indian enclave, the Indian
population is actually split into gr oups
based on social divisions and settled in
pockets all over the city. The Indians were
also divided b y r eligious affiliation, with
factions split betw een I slam and H indu-
ism, which r evolves around the holy trin-
ity of S hiva, Vishnu, and B rahma but
includes many, many other deities; other
groups include S ihks and Christians as
well. Interestingly, while the B uddha and
Buddhism originally came from India, few
Indians follow his teachings in I ndia and
around the world.
The Indians tend to be an informal and
warm people, adding their o wn brand of
casual ease to S ingapore life. But any Sin-
gaporean will tell you that one of the most
precious contributions the Indians made is
their cuisine. I ndian r estaurants ar e w ell
patronized b y all ethnic gr oups because
the southern I ndian vegetarian cooking is
the only food that can be enjo yed b y all
Singaporeans no matter what cultural or
religious dietary laws they may have.
Recently I ndians hav e become some-
what discontented with life in S ingapore,
feeling overwhelmed by a Chinese govern-
ment they feel pr omotes Chinese cultur e.
Indians are some of the most open critics
of government practices.
THE GOVERNMENT
Since Lee's election, and without debate,
his unfailing vision of a First World Singa-
pore has inspir ed the policies and plans
that cr eated the political and economic
miracle w e see today . D uring his tenur e,
he mobiliz ed go vernment, industr y, and
citizens toward fulfilling his vision, estab-
lishing a go vernment almost dev oid of
corruption, a str ong economy built fr om
practically no resources except labor, and a
nation of racial and r eligious harmony
from a multiethnic melting pot.
Both critics and admir ers r efer to Lee
Kuan Yew as a strict y et generous “father”
to the “ children” of S ingapore, raising
them to a high position on the world stage
yet dictating policies that hav e cost citi-
zens many of their personal fr eedoms.
You'll find that the av erage S ingaporean
expresses some duality about this: H e or
she will be outwar dly critical of the go v-
ernment's inv asion of priv acy and disr e-
gard for personal freedoms and of policies
that hav e driv en up the cost of housing
and healthcare, but will also r ecognize all
that Lee has done to raise S
2
ingaporeans'
