Why do Singaporeans love complaining?

Sarah Martin, a local university student shared: “Singaporeans love complaining, it’s their full time job. It’s either too much or too little of something, and even if it’s just right, Singaporeans complain or doubt every situation. Credit to Singapore being where it is right now—it’s partly due to our incessant complaining if you think about it.”

What do Singaporeans complain about the government?

The things that Singaporeans complain about are not that different from other nationalities and cultures. Rising prices of essential goods and services. Specific government policies. Metro system (MRT) breakdowns. Stressful education system. Boos boos by government departments.

How do you turn your complaints into commitments?

Turning our complaints into commitments is the only way to effect change. Rather than complain about your boss, commit to having a conversation with him or her to address the difficulties you’re having. Rather than complain about the economy and about how difficult it is to find a job, commit to upgrading your skills and knowledge.

Is Singapore’s economic policy helping or hurting?

The policy has helped Singapore to achieve high economic growth rates, said analysts. But Prof Lim and Prof Pang said such growth was possible only by adding huge amounts of labour and capital, rather than by increasing productivity.

Is there a shame in having Singaporeans take up manual jobs?

Speaking in Parliament, Associate Professor Theseira said: ‘If we recognise that all work, especially socially essential work, has value, then we need to agree that there is no shame in having Singaporeans take up manual and service jobs.”

Why are Singaporeans not cleaning the streets as often?

“We realise plants are not pruned as frequently, streets are not cleaned as frequently… The ability to go about your day-to-day activities really depends on the efforts of these individuals,” she said. Singapore’s reliance on a large pool of cheap labour, often sourced from overseas, is not a recent phenomenon.