Dad keeps saying that Ipoh reminds him of Singapore in the 60s and 70s. I can see why. The city is made up predominately of 2 storey colonial shop-houses. With wide streets in between the rows, open drains and ‘old style’ road side eating – this would what I’ve imagined Old Singapore to be like. Even the street lights and road dividers that line the roads look like something out of the post-modern era – made of cement and usually in bold colours or shapes.
More importantly, there is an unrushed, rustic feel to life here. It seems everything can be laid back, or taken at a slower pace. This is definitely not a testosterone driven, caffeine fuelled, get-out-of-my-way urban environment. Bear in mind though, that this is West Malaysia’s third largest city.
Was Singapore so colourful and different not so many years ago? Today, leave the country for 3 years and you’d return to an unfamiliar home country. Is there no value in preserving what little architectural and historical heritage that we have? Was it absolutely necessary to tear down the National Library?
We return to a Singapore that holds no memories for us. There is no wonder the younger generation is leaving. How can the Govt convince us to stay if we are inculcated that change in inevitable and nothing is worth preserving – not even on historical grounds? Sigh…
After tearing down the history Singapore grew up with, the Govt then goes on to artificially create some semblance of culture for us to ‘identify’ with. Rubbish. It won’t work.
Well, at least I know that if I ever want to taste how Singapore really was like, I can always come up to Ipoh. Its like a walk into the past. When everything was much simpler.
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