Compassion In Singapore

Compassion Next Level

At least fourteen people have died in eastern Taiwan and scores more are trapped or missing after a super typhoon caused a mountain lake to burst its banks, fire officials said.

The barrier lake, formed by previous landslides, broke on 23 September afternoon, sending water surging into the nearby township of Guang Fu in Hualien county.

Rescuers from across Taiwan are heading to the area. Super Typhoon Ragasa is the strongest storm of 2025The heavy rains in Hualien county, Taiwan caused a so-called barrier lake in the mountains to overflow on Tuesday and release a thick sludge of water and mud on the town of Guangfu.

While the flood waters have receded, the dark grey mud continues to blanket large parts of the area, creating problems for residents and rescuers alike. Rescue workers, sometimes wading in mud up to their waists, have been cutting holes in the roofs of buildings to check for missing people.

Liu Chung-hsien, an official of the Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation, said the barrier lake was still overflowing, so the government had not lifted the alert. “About 12 percent of the water is still left in the lake,” he said.

Nearly 500 personnel from the military, fire department, coast guard and volunteer groups have been deployed to the disaster zone, where heavy machinery is being used to clear debris.

What do common Taiwanese people not affected by the disaster do? Without any government initiatives, they brought their own shovels, travelled to Guang Fu disaster area and helped their fellow countrymen clear the thick mud from their floors.

Anyone who has interacted extensively with Taiwanese people will not fail to see the 人情味, perhaps better known to us as the kampung spirit. People are helpful and friendly. Once, when I was watching a street band at Xi Men Ding, the singer tried to interact with a group in the audience. When they didn’t respond, she asked if they were Singaporeans. Yes, we have a reputation overseas. If you raise your camera at loudly dressed young lady at Xi Men Ding, she is likely to pose for you. Better not try that in Singapore.

Of course, not everything in a liberal society like Taiwan is “respectable”. Try allowing this in Singapore and you’ll get an earful from AWARE and other virtual moralists. So are we more decent and compassionate because we don’t tolerate such events going on during temple festivals? When you have shallow definitions for morality, you’ll also have narrow definitions for compassion.

Coming back to Singapore, people talk about compassion as giving up one’s seat on the MRT. Interestingly, a mother took to social media to share that a man occupying an MRT priority seat mocked her when she asked for a seat while carrying her child. Sharing her experience in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group also on 23 September, she explained that she had “politely requested” if she could have the seat as she was struggling to balance with her child in her arms.

“It was so tough for me,” she recalled. “[But] the guy just gave me a weird look and replied, ‘Are you pregnant or what? What do you need?’ He and his girlfriend continued sitting there, enjoying themselves.”

Confused by his reaction, she asked fellow netizens: “I just want to check—aren’t the ‘Priority / Show You Care’ seats in MRT meant for the elderly, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, and also for those carrying young children?”

She added that this was not the first time she had been ignored while carrying her child on the train. “There have been many times when I was carrying my little one and struggling to balance, but the person sitting in the priority seat simply ignored me,” she wrote.

Someone pointed out (rightly) that there is no legal requirement to give up a priority seat to someone who needs it more. It would be nice if the one who needs it less gives the seat to that lady. But wait a minute. Is it nice or kind to demand for that seat? There are parents who push huge prams loaded with shopping items and with a 6-year-old running after it. The child doesn’t need the pram, but just in case he gets tired, he can get pushed around. If not, they can push their inflated entitlement onto the train.

What is it that breeds this sort of behaviour?

To me, a worldly person who can appreciate how other societies work, I see compassion on many levels. Yes, having the kindness and generosity of giving up one’s seat on the MRT is a kind of compassion. But to me, compassion is much more than that. It embraces understanding, magnanimity and forgiveness. In kiasu Singapore, this level of compassion is very difficult to come by.

But take a look at the Taiwanese volunteers who, at their own expense and initiative, travelled to the disaster area to shovel mud. They don’t stand to gain anything. One victim called them bodhisattvas.

Indonesian volunteers sacrificing their day off to clean up after the flooding. Similarly compassionate people ransack the homes of corrupt politicians. We can expect compassion to come out of imperfect, impulsive and emotional people. It’s less likely to come out of cold, calm and calculative people. I often hear Singaporeans complaining about this and that being so bad in Singapore and they can talk about migration at the drop of a hat. But what these folks don’t realise that other countries are even worse off in the areas they complain about. If you’re a writer like me, you’ll appreciate the freedom of speech in another country, but don’t expect that country to be as clean and safe like sheltered and nannied Singapore.

There are good reasons that Singapore is not well known for the magnanimity we see in Taiwan. Safety is what Singapore is well known for and I appreciate it. However, we didn’t get here because everyone has learned to be compassionate. It’s our tough laws and zero tolerance that make sanitary Singapore such a safe and pleasant place to live in. Some foreigners are very impressed with how we have managed to be so efficient and safe. But once they see that all this was made possible because of a no-nonsense approach and tough restraints on human imperfections leading to the loss of humanity, they start wondering if this is a good place to settle down. Go search for the countless YouTube videos comparing Singapore with Bangkok. These folks know which city is cleaner, safer and more efficient. Why do they still choose Bangkok? Because to them, it feels more like a dirty, messy and dangerous place in the imperfect human world. There is more scum and smut out here, but also more kindness and compassion even though personally, I wish Thais could clean and tidy things up just a little, but certainly not to the same extent to which it is done in Singapore. That would be overdoing it.

Recently, our very efficient government has cracked down heavily on vaping. Meanwhile, a shop in Kathmandu that I patronise regularly for essential oils has now pivoted to selling vapes. Business was brisk – a lot better than the rapidly dwindling essential oils section. It’s a little like Popular whose books are rapidly disappearing and replaced by tit-bits, kitchenware and electronic devices. Personally, I have nothing against vaping. What these folks put into their own lungs is none of my business; their own funeral. I don’t know why so many people are applauding the harsh laws. Maybe their imagination is better than mine. Maybe they want their estranged and impressionable children to be “protected”. I’m not against punishing offenders, but I also believe in moderation in punishment and giving second chances. Everyone is capable of making mistakes. What if there is a sudden increase in the number of “chewing gum incidents”? Label gum as a drug and punish offenders with jail and caning? Compassion is also about forgiveness and magnanimity as in 得饶人处且饶人. But no. Judging from the numbers who support cyberbullying of litterbugs, there are many who think that Singapore is not clean enough. I say they are all on the wrong ball. A little rubbish here and there won’t hurt us. Fires are not uncommon yet our stairwells are choked with all kinds of “treasures”.

In our conformist society where the drop of a hat can trigger panic and fears of chaos and anarchy, naughty boys, mavericks and rebels capable of creative innovations are sidelined or even exiled. Compassion is not just about giving up one’s seat on the MRT. It’s also about not taking things so seriously and cutting folks like Chua Lam some slack and tolerating their “deviant” ways..