The 5 C's of Singapore, namely: Cash, Car, Credit card, Condominium, and membership(s) of Country club are a term relating to materialism found and used widely in the Singapore Singlish lexicon. It arose as a popular joke based on certain truths attesting to the unstated Singaporean cultural ethos of materialistic obsession and aspiration to achieve these things in order to impress others, both socially, economically and sociologically.
How many of us get to this stage in life, i know not. How many of us try to get there, probably a lot easier to judge. Why work our butts off, on a futile attempt, to get to this utopian stage of having-it-all is a very important question I ask myself, having seen the disastrous effects that it can have on family, life and the general well being of oneself. Nevertheless, I (attempt to) assess ( and not get carried away with) what the craze is all about and why the youth of today are avid "C's-chasers".
C's of Singapore
* 1 Cash
* 2 Car
* 3 Credit Card
* 4 Condominium
* 5 Country Club
* 6 Career
* 7 Certificate
Cash
Cash is self explanatory, and refers more to a person's spending power than the actual amount of physical money in one's pocket. Financial security and affluence is a highly desirable status symbol and for many years was the measure of a person's worth and success achieved in life, more so than other achievements (e.g. great sportsmen were not accorded the same status as great businessmen, unless they happened to be rich, of course).
Of course, there's always never enough of this C. (Ask anyone, who is 10 days and lots of money short, before their next pay) I always dream of times when I wish I had more, dreaming of the so many things I could do, and how much happier i would be, doing all those things. Would i really be happier? Ask me when I really have the Cash. :)
Car
Approximately 1 in 10 Singapore residents have cars (Singapore Land Transport Statistics in Brief 2004). From a Nissan to a Mercedes-Benz, you can find almost any make of car on the roads. Despite high taxation on the import and ownership of motor vehicles (191% on new vehicles, an annual road tax based on engine size, and high pump prices) and a vehicle quota system (Land Transport Authority of Singapore), or perhaps because of it, cars are very desirable and viewed as a status symbol despite Singapore's highly developed public transport infrastructure.
My personal favourite C. Yes, you guys have heard me whinging about not having one, and how I soneed ok, want one from my previous posts.
Credit Card
Cards are a visible symbol of one's financial success. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the arm of the government that regulates the finance industry, has stipulated a minimum annual income of S$30,000 and a maximum credit limit of 2 months income for credit card issuers [1] . This automatically creates an easily identifiable sign of affluence, together with owning a car.
Before I extol the benefits of a Credit Card, such as having the ability to pay your gym membership in installments (ahem.), I must say that I have seen my fair share of university graduates flashing this C. Once upon a time, I thought that having a Credit Card was a really difficult adult thing to achieve. But, as I have been adequately informed by dear Shalu, one does not need to earn that much cash to qualify for a Card. *I see light at the end of the tunnel*
Condominium
This refers not to the duplex/quadruplex housing developments in countries with large tracts of land, but to privately-developed luxury (at least compared to government flats) apartments. Due to the limited land in Singapore, freestanding houses are very rare and generally available only to those of high social and economic standing. As such, the condominium is the most luxurious housing for "normal" people. This has generated a trend however, since government-subsidised flats are only available to citizens and permanent residents, that a large minority of owners of condominiums are non-permanent residents.
Luxurious housing, mmm, yes. Who says no to a pool right at your doorstep, sheltered parking (free of bird poo, argh.), greater security and nicer amenties. Not me. Bring it on.
Country Club
As land is severely limited, amenities such as golf courses and country clubs are very rare in Singapore. Therefore it is a testament to the monetary prowess of the holders of the membership cards of such establishments.
Not one of the most important things for me, but will definitely consider should I decide to take up golf. Hee hee.
Career
There's a variation that states Career as one of the Cs too.
Certificate
There is also another variation of the 5Cs that states a "Certificate", representing good results/certifications (e.g. a university degree or polytechnic dipolma) which are extremely important in modern Singapore especially with the competitive environment.
Ah, the paper chase. This one, all of us are all too familiar with. The emphasis on education has always been there and we always push ourselves to go further. Study more, upgrade yourself. Why stop at a degree. When are you going to do your masters. What are you planning to do about it.Do this. Do that.
And i wake up
How many of us get to this stage in life, i know not. How many of us try to get there, probably a lot easier to judge. Why work our butts off, on a futile attempt, to get to this utopian stage of having-it-all is a very important question I ask myself, having seen the disastrous effects that it can have on family, life and the general well being of oneself. Nevertheless, I (attempt to) assess ( and not get carried away with) what the craze is all about and why the youth of today are avid "C's-chasers".
C's of Singapore
* 1 Cash
* 2 Car
* 3 Credit Card
* 4 Condominium
* 5 Country Club
* 6 Career
* 7 Certificate
Cash
Cash is self explanatory, and refers more to a person's spending power than the actual amount of physical money in one's pocket. Financial security and affluence is a highly desirable status symbol and for many years was the measure of a person's worth and success achieved in life, more so than other achievements (e.g. great sportsmen were not accorded the same status as great businessmen, unless they happened to be rich, of course).
Of course, there's always never enough of this C. (Ask anyone, who is 10 days and lots of money short, before their next pay) I always dream of times when I wish I had more, dreaming of the so many things I could do, and how much happier i would be, doing all those things. Would i really be happier? Ask me when I really have the Cash. :)
Car
Approximately 1 in 10 Singapore residents have cars (Singapore Land Transport Statistics in Brief 2004). From a Nissan to a Mercedes-Benz, you can find almost any make of car on the roads. Despite high taxation on the import and ownership of motor vehicles (191% on new vehicles, an annual road tax based on engine size, and high pump prices) and a vehicle quota system (Land Transport Authority of Singapore), or perhaps because of it, cars are very desirable and viewed as a status symbol despite Singapore's highly developed public transport infrastructure.
My personal favourite C. Yes, you guys have heard me whinging about not having one, and how I so
Credit Card
Cards are a visible symbol of one's financial success. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the arm of the government that regulates the finance industry, has stipulated a minimum annual income of S$30,000 and a maximum credit limit of 2 months income for credit card issuers [1] . This automatically creates an easily identifiable sign of affluence, together with owning a car.
Before I extol the benefits of a Credit Card, such as having the ability to pay your gym membership in installments (ahem.), I must say that I have seen my fair share of university graduates flashing this C. Once upon a time, I thought that having a Credit Card was a really difficult adult thing to achieve. But, as I have been adequately informed by dear Shalu, one does not need to earn that much cash to qualify for a Card. *I see light at the end of the tunnel*
Condominium
This refers not to the duplex/quadruplex housing developments in countries with large tracts of land, but to privately-developed luxury (at least compared to government flats) apartments. Due to the limited land in Singapore, freestanding houses are very rare and generally available only to those of high social and economic standing. As such, the condominium is the most luxurious housing for "normal" people. This has generated a trend however, since government-subsidised flats are only available to citizens and permanent residents, that a large minority of owners of condominiums are non-permanent residents.
Luxurious housing, mmm, yes. Who says no to a pool right at your doorstep, sheltered parking (free of bird poo, argh.), greater security and nicer amenties. Not me. Bring it on.
Country Club
As land is severely limited, amenities such as golf courses and country clubs are very rare in Singapore. Therefore it is a testament to the monetary prowess of the holders of the membership cards of such establishments.
Not one of the most important things for me, but will definitely consider should I decide to take up golf. Hee hee.
Career
There's a variation that states Career as one of the Cs too.
Certificate
There is also another variation of the 5Cs that states a "Certificate", representing good results/certifications (e.g. a university degree or polytechnic dipolma) which are extremely important in modern Singapore especially with the competitive environment.
Ah, the paper chase. This one, all of us are all too familiar with. The emphasis on education has always been there and we always push ourselves to go further. Study more, upgrade yourself. Why stop at a degree. When are you going to do your masters. What are you planning to do about it.Do this. Do that.
Sigh. What would I want? A nice Car, so that I drive down to watch the sunset, that gets me to all the different things that I want to do with my Cash, that allows me to get to my Condominium in a jiffy, which I will drive to my Country Club (its membership, I will charge to my Credit Card) to play golf, that I will so need because I am so stressed from developing a Career and chasing for more Certificates.
Labels: general stuff
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home