‘This whole idea that Singapore is better than Malaysia needs to stop’ says Singaporean

SINGAPORE: In a thread that went viral about Malaysia vs Singapore, a Singaporean Reddit user admitted to thinking that Malaysia isn’t “all that bad,” adding that Singapore’s only advantages are “public transport and cleanliness and ‘less corruption.’”

Other than that, “there’s really nothing more to Singapore than just another westernised city,” opined the netizen on r/Malaysia on Saturday (Feb 18).

He not only wrote that “Malaysia is a proper sized country with things to do, and the people here are suprisingly warmer and friendlier and the country actually has a culture,” but added that “Singapore just feels like a hollow city compared to Malaysia.”

The post author further explained that the “Only downside of Malaysia is low income. Only upside of Singapore is high income,” and that the “best of both worlds” would have been to have Malaysian citizenship and Singaporean PR.

He mentioned that surveys have lately shown that “half of youngsters here having anxiety and depression” and that “Singapore is so small and claustraphobic.”

The point of his post about Malaysia vs Singapore was not to hate Singapore, but to look at the countries’ strengths and weaknesses. The author said that “this whole idea of ‘Singapore is just better all the time’ kind of needs to stop.”

The post author later added that he was shocked that so many people agreed with him.

“I’ve come to appreciate Malaysia more because life is really chill over here… In SG, everyone is always trying to do things faster, and there’s a lot of competition/judgment,” wrote one.

“If I have money, I would definitely choose Malaysia. But I do not, so I choose to slave in Sg instead,” another opined.

Another commenter agreed with him, “If you have money, it’s more enjoyable to live in Malaysia (and travel to Sg once in a while to have fun and spend on luxuries). For those who need money and want to make money faster, slaving (and living) in Sg is the way.”

“Singapore is just a place to make money but quality of life? Malaysia – But first one must have the dough,” wrote another.

“Many Malaysians and Singaporeans tend to view Singapore as superior to Malaysia. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realise that this is overly simplistic. Many countries have their pros and cons and it all depends on what you want out of life,” one chimed in.

/TISG

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