A few days ago I visited Singapore, a city-state between the Malaysian and Indonesian archipelago. My knowledge of the country was limited to its flag, its magnificent Apple Store, and four generalizations about the development and economy of its economy. skyline characteristic. For a struggling Valencian, information also reached the existence of specific individuals, but that is another matter.

The thing is, stepping into Singapore was an experience from the moment I stepped off the plane. No more carpet in your airport than a mite detector can detect as recommended;Most of the country looks like it opened last week.. Everything is in its place, everything is taken care of, everything is in good condition.

It reminded me of the comparative indignity of the toilets I left behind in Barajas when I went to the restrooms (which were public, I might add) and saw the urinals so clean that I felt I could eat in them without much trouble. And the feeling that what I was seeing in the background was too clean, too perfect, like when I visited a friend’s house in the nineties, and the furniture wasn’t scratched like it was at my house, didn’t make sense to me. Traditions.

smoking free

The first journey through its streets continued in much the same way: the city planning was like a SimCity game with infinite money tricks, but without the glitz of Dubai. Nightlife brought some surprises, not because of its presence but because of its absence: tobacco.

For non-smokers, Singapore is the closest thing to heaven: Smoking is increasingly banned in public places, even outdoors, and there are fines of up to 2,000 Singapore dollars, or about 1,400 euros.

Smoking is prohibited throughout this park. Regardless of whether it is outdoors or not. Fine of 2,000 Singapore dollars (about 1,400 euros). Image: Xataka.

Smoking in Singapore is something we only find in areas specifically designated for this or other areas that have no smoking areas but are the only blind spots outside the restrictions. For example, at the exit of a shopping mall… but in a dead-end corner, not in the corridor connecting the street to the workplace or public transportation (limited). They were all crowded there.

There are no cigarette butts on the pavements or roads either, because the penalty for littering any form of litter, including cigarettes, can be quite large and, unlike in Spain, there is oversight and a willingness to punish offenders.

How can you explain the fact that there is not a single cigarette butt on the ground in Chinatown, with its narrow streets, restaurants and street stalls? Image: Xataka.

Cigarette butts on Spanish beaches are a problem, but in Singapore there are no problems. Image: Xataka.

A smoker was fined $15,000 for throwing butts out of his window in 2015 (33 butts worth about $500 each) and was also forced to perform four days of community service. He was caught thanks to security cameras. Singapore is full of them, and even a vehicle-only street on Sentosa Island with tiny sidewalks (and some with no sidewalks at all) had security cameras every few meters.

Oh, smoking is highly restricted, but vaping is strictly prohibited.

no gum

It is the same principle that governs another famous ban, which is even considered funny because of how ridiculous it is for those of us from other latitudes in Singapore: The sale of chewing gum is prohibited. Although this is perhaps one of the loosest bans, spitting on the ground or sticking it in any public place can lead to the same punishment, without the risk of consuming it without much hassle by tourists who bring it from their country. or more than those for tobacco.

Because the motivation behind this ban has less to do with concerns about Singaporeans’ oral health than with gum and saliva residue polluting the streets. And avoid the classic look of pavements full of stains.

The kind of gum-throwing pavement stains Singapore wants to avoid. Photography on Spanish soil. Image: Xataka.

Walking in Singapore is seeing ridiculous but pleasantly clean streets, There are no cigarette butts or papers on the floor, but also no stains that are almost impossible to remove. We initially thought it was perhaps a matter of the most touristy or relevant spots like Marina Bay, but a night walk through Chinatown made us see that even the markets, street stalls and narrow alleys were equally clear of dirt. .

Little India, the Indian quarter of Singapore, was perhaps the point where this axiom was most questioned, but it remained, on the surface at least, a much healthier space than we could find its equivalent in almost any other country.

Beyond bans on chewing gum and vaping devices and strong restrictions on tobacco, there are many smaller civil regulations that include urban signage reminding of violations and penalties.

Using a fishing rod is prohibited in Marina Bay, with a fine of up to 3,000 Singapore dollars (about 2,000 euros). Image: Xataka.

These principles of cleanliness and order apply to the public transport system (MRT, Rapid Public Transport), trains arriving on time like a Swiss soldier, and a civilian environment where no one shouts.

Much of that spirit comes from Lee Kwan Yew, the former prime minister and main supporter of this country that has been dead for 60 years since its independence, transforming it into a financial center that is little more than a commercial port. It rapidly increased all its economic indicators until it became one of the richest nations (per person) of the world. He told the BBC in 2000 that he was aware that his country was called the “Nanny State” because of its laws and the strength in enforcing them, “but as a result we live in a nicer place today than we did 30 years ago.”

A warning sign in the cable car queue reminding your employees that being a jerk will not be tolerated. Image: Xataka.

Most of these efforts were aimed at reducing crime. At one HarbourFront shopping mall, cardboard police officers with reminder signs were common. Just stealing goods from the store wasn’t a road to prisonbut even the number of chorizo ​​they caught in the act.

Many stores had lots like this. They recall that theft is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and show the criminals arrested in each institution. There were six in that perfumery. Image: Xataka.

Another big contributor to the adjective “pleasant” is the amount of vegetation. Although 100% of Singapore’s land area is urbanized, Singapore is the greenest city in Asia and has few rivals in the rest of the world. In 2016, 47% of its surface was “green” (10% more than in the eighties), and in this label both street hedges and lush urban gardens coexist. Even the walls of the airport are covered with vegetation.

Views from the cable car. There was almost the same vegetation on the main highway. Image: Xataka.

Super trees (as they are called) from Gardens by the Bay. They are artificial trees with plants and flowers on their walls, photovoltaic panels and rainwater collectors, up to 50 meters high. And a tourism business. Image: Xataka.

Palm trees and a vertical garden at Changi Airport. Image: Xataka.

Not only the concern for the creation and protection of these green areas, but also Singapore has almost no natural resources. Its water comes from Malaysia and desalination plants. Fuel oil is also imported. And it doesn’t have enough surface area to consider large areas dedicated to solar energy, and the sky is often covered by clouds. Madrid has approximately 3,000 hours of sunlight per year. Singapore, fewer than 2,000.

not nice at all

Of course, there’s a spooky B-side to the futuristic synth-pop album that represents life in Singapore. There many workers in low-skilled jobs Those over 65 years of age. With remarkable frequency we find people in public positions who could easily be over 80 years old. This isn’t just a Singapore-specific phenomenon, but something we hope doesn’t happen in one of the richest countries on the planet.

We later learned that 70% of workers reaching retirement age in Spain earn less than 2,500 Singapore dollars (about 1,700 euros) per month. To put this number into context, this is the salary we see offered at a soda stand at the mall.

Job search promotional poster at a beverage stand in a shopping mall. The salary offered is 2,500 Singapore dollars (about 1,700 euros) per month. Image: Xataka.

And of course, although Singapore is a parliamentary democracy, its position on Human Rights is far from the excellence it boasts on issues such as urban cleanliness or social order. Amnesty International says this in its 2022/2023 report.

Singapore Uses repressive laws and carries out executions to silence dissent. In fact, a petition is circulating around the world these days to prevent a man convicted of drug possession from being sentenced to death. It did not bear fruit and Tangaraju s/o Suppiah was executed on 26 April.

This report also mentions judicial harassment of independent media critical of the country’s government and the fact that same-sex marriage has not yet been legalized. Until a few months ago, the situation was even worse, as consensual sexual relations between men were classified as a crime, which was revoked at the end of 2022.

Order, but at what price.

Featured image | Xataka

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*An earlier version of this article was published in May 2023.