I've been provoking people, mostly my Singaporeans friends, with this hypothetical situation for a while now.
"Would you agree to giving up all Singapore's reserves to buy over a piece of Johor?"
The reactions I get are varied. Some people very quickly say no. The very thought of even contemplating that our $300 billion was spent on anything strikes fear, apprehension and downright nervousness. They respond with "Crazy lah you" or "Siao. How can touch that money?" and "Malaysia won't sell you anything. Water already want to fight already."
Others think about a little and venture a few questions to which I quickly spit out answers. I want their gut response as much as possible.
"How about some of the money?" Sure, I say, how about two-thirds.
"How much land?" Let's say up to Muar then we draw a radius across to the eastern coastline. Sometimes, I suggest a 50km radius from Johor Bahru's city centre.
"Do we keep the people or just the land!" We keep the people. Or rather we give them an option which side they want to join.
"Wah what will happen ah?" I usually reply with statements like it'll be like when East Germany reunited with West Germany. It took a decade for them to get back on their feet but the whole nation is better for it. And our dollar's strength will be first to plummet of course, to say 1.5RM to the dollar but that's ok. We'll make up for this soon enough. And finally our NS boys would have something real to do. We'll move the airport further away.
"Why do you ask this question?" Well, I've always felt we've been held back by our lack of land. We were booted out of Malaysia back in 1965 over political differences and have pulled ourselves in front economically with a high degree of affluence and prosperity. But our homes are expensive and cars are pricey. Our people are growing less happy with more people crowding this tiny space. Our supply of fresh water has always been something to worry about.
There are bigger things too. Space, the lack of it or having enough of it, does things to people. It alters our mindset and perceptions. Things are easy administratively in Singapore because it's small. Public works, telecoms, infrastructure. Getting into the city is 45 minutes by train from the far ends of the island. When things are easy for people, two things happen - we get lazy and start to take the ease for granted.
The people most affected by this affliction will be the second and third generations of Singaporeans, most of whom would have grown up with some degree of affluence, had one or more colour televisions at home, took taxis regularly, maybe had a car in the family. They experienced clean streets and working trains, nothing that makes life inconvenient or messy as most other people experience. With no need to think around how to solve day-to-day issues, there's a general apathy towards public service (someone else somehow gets the job done).
Stretching that a little further (well to some extreme really), maybe our tiny, well-run country limits the need for creative thinking or innovation (last great thing we invented might have been Breadtalk's flossss bun) and little drive towards entrepreneurship (it's just too uncertain, give me an office job please).
Little space also means less breathing room. There's no countryside to go do nothing in. No forest to frolic about in. No mountains to climb. No rivers to cross. No where to stop, take a long deep breath and smell the roses. Stress just kept inside a tightly wound city, accumulating.
A friend who's been in the USA spoke about losing his job is too unhappy because he's saved. The rest of us felt he was going to be fine because he had options. Getting a cheaper place to stay was an option. Moving to another city or state was an option. Starting lemonade stand was an option. In a small country, options are more limited. In Singapore you'd get arrested selling lemonade on the street. I think there are cops after the folks selling curry puffs at MRT stations.
There's a song called Big Country also by the band Big Country. The song came out many many years ago but the opening line in the chorus always stuck with me like a scar. "In a big country, dreams stay with you". I guess in Singapore most dreams are shaped by circumstances and decisions out of one's control. How on earth would I have become the astronaut I wanted to be when I was nine. Yes it sounds depressing but the reality is, in Singapore you make a living, you don't live life. I'm not ungrateful for my upbringing in this safe, clean and efficient city, aware that a few billion others wouldn't mind trading places. Perhaps I just need a road less travelled, literally and figuratively, to tread on. Perhaps I am just worried about how my country is going to grow up, how my friends' kids (yes, their kids because my friends are mostly resigned to their circumstances, and various forms of acceptable, non-threatening addictions to deal with their fates) going to look back and wonder if it was worth it.
A time machine to go back and give Raffles a few ideas about territorial allegiances. If only.
