Are some S'poreans quitting pursuit of the 5Cs? Netizens suggest many are content to 'just get by'
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Loading... - Banyul Nur
- 28 Sep 2022
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The Singaporean dream used to be achieving the "5Cs" of cash, car, credit card, condominium and country club membership, but that may be fading. Given the recent trends of “quiet quitting” and “lying flat” in the workplace, have Singaporeans decided to “quiet quit” in life, too?
In a post on the r/singapore subreddit segment of online forum Reddit last Sunday (Sept 25), a Redditor seems to think so. The post received 222 comments within a day and based on the discussion, it appears that the Singaporean dream now is to “hentak kaki”, a Malay drill command for marching on the spot.
He posits that today’s youth “just end up remaining more or less where they were a generation before”, with many lacking “ambitions in their late 20s/early 30s”.
He said the Singaporean dream that “used to be the 5Cs” — that have long defined material success here at least in the eyes of some — seems to have morphed into nothing more than “just getting by”.
If this is indeed true, many Redditors suggest that it is nothing to be concerned about.
One user suggested that perhaps, Singaporeans are looking inwards and gaining satisfaction from self-improvement or from doing “good in the world” instead of material wealth or a rise in social standing.
Further rejecting the typical Singaporean dream of rising up the ranks and gaining riches, the user suggested that meritocracy in this country has resulted in a "society of snobs". Many agreed with the comment.
The Redditor added that since meritocracy encourages an individual to work for their success, an individual’s worth becomes linked to their ability to gain wealth and those who are financially less well-off are looked down upon as if they “deserved” to be poorer.
The view echoed the sentiments of Singapore's Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh, who called Singapore a "very snobbish and hierarchical society" in an interview with news channel CNA on Aug 12 this year.
Other users on Reddit explained why more Singaporeans might have adopted a more laid-back approach towards work and the pursuit of greater material wealth. Read More…
