SINGAPORE: A local recently went online to let off some steam, saying he honestly “cannot stand the way Singaporeans in his circle think.” According to him, too many of them come off as entitled, complacent, envious, constantly complaining, and somehow always too tired to actually do anything.
In a post titled “The longer I stay out of SG, the more I feel Singaporeans are entitled” on SGWhispers, he said this realisation really hit him after catching up with friends back home.
He shared that life is tough everywhere, not just in Singapore. But in his view, a lot of Singaporeans seem to expect things to work out nicely without putting in the effort, and then act shocked when reality hits.
“I honestly think Singaporeans stay complacent and can’t accept the consequences of nonchalance,” he said.
“A lot [of them] complain that their salary isn’t high. I tried teaching them how to negotiate. They kept saying, ‘What? Oh, it won’t work, it’s not that easy…’ But wah, it worked when they actually tried! No thank you, no appreciation, and then they start saying, ‘Yeah, I deserve this.’ Attitude flips like prata.”
He also noted that many Singaporeans struggle to genuinely celebrate others’ achievements. Rather than feeling inspired, they tend to find excuses to downplay someone else’s success.
“It’s like we can’t appreciate when people are doing well, and we feel the need to find some justification for why we’re not. ‘Ah, this person must be a nepo baby, parents probably helped.’”
“Or, ‘I think I have a mental illness, that’s why I’m struggling.’ Anything to shift the blame away from themselves when they don’t achieve certain things.”
On top of that, he noticed that complaining about Singapore is almost a daily routine. But when he suggested something very simple, like moving overseas, the response was always the same. Total shutdown.
Even when he pointed out that plenty of other Singaporeans have done it, all he got back were “excuses, excuses, excuses.”
“Don’t complain when you don’t wanna move or do anything to change your situation?? What the??” he wrote, frustrated by their attitude.
When it comes to business and side hustles, he said the same pattern shows up again and again. Everything is already there, but nobody wants to take the next step.
“[They’re] all passive. The idea and product are already there, but they’re lazy and don’t want to execute, and are too cheap to pay someone else to do it. How can they be successful like this?”
He ended the post sounding completely done, saying he might need to rethink the people he surrounds himself with.
“I think I need new friends,” he wrote.
“Singaporeans have made complaining into an art form.”
In the comments, a Singaporean netizen wryly pointed out that the post author “was complaining about Singaporeans who are complaining about Singapore,” highlighting the irony and suggesting that he’s not so different from his friends.
Others agreed with the sentiments expressed in the post. “For someone who has lived abroad for nine years, I do agree. I feel that we are very lucky to have what we have, but Singaporeans are constantly complaining,” one individual said.
Another commented, “I agree to a certain extent. Those who complain are really a lost cause, but there are many who either leave to try something new or are genuinely happy. But you’re right. We need to sit down and take stock of our situation. It’s really not bad at all.”
A third remarked, “Sad to say, but Singaporeans have made complaining into an art form.”
Still, not everyone shared the same view. A handful of users suggested that the post author was overgeneralising, basing his observations only on his own circle of friends rather than Singaporeans as a whole.
“I think you have bad friends. None of mine sounds this annoying,” one shared.
“I do think it is your circle of friends; just find new friends who are positive,” another told him.
In other news, an employer has taken to social media in frustration after discovering that her domestic helper is repeatedly retreating to the bathroom, not to answer nature’s call, but to scroll through TikTok.
In a post shared on the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper Facebook group, the employer said she is at her wits’ end over what she believes has become her helper’s growing addiction to the popular video-sharing platform.
Read more: Singapore employer at wits’ end as helper keeps going to toilet to watch TikTok
