#trending: Are some S'poreans quitting pursuit of the 5Cs? Netizens suggest many are content to 'just get by'

[TerrexLee]

SINGAPORE — 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.


One suggested that Singaporeans aspiring to “hentak kaki” is a sign of prosperity, because it signals that people have experienced enough material comfort to look beyond their job.

More at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/trending-5cs-dream-quit-just-get-2003191

 

[laksaboy]

Keep on doing the bidding of the Davos demons, and you will see their objective become reality sooner than expected. Their target year is 2030.

 

[batman1]

Millions of PRC residents have given up hope in life and just "lie flat" . With the high costs of living ,most Sinkees will just "lie flat" and get on with life and going over the daily motions with no motivations.

 

[rushifa666]

Pigs finally found a mirror? In what way are you worth even 1c let alone 5. Cant cook cant clean cant fuck, and make less money. Then talk equality

 

[SexOClock]

It is so obvious at work place, all simply bo char and knock off right at the dot.

 

[tobelightlight]

The Singaporean dream

you only believe in it when you are asleep. - George Carlin

 

[Loofydralb]

Don't these idiots know that it is better they migrate out of SG? Keep your dual citizenship and at every GE, come back and vote against the clowns.

Many are like frogs being slow cooked in the pot.

 

[maxsanic]

This is a natural progression of any highly developed economy, some will consistently want to pursue greater material wealth while others will want to sit back and chill. However, I would like to touch on a few areas based on my personal observation which I think is not often spoken about:

#1 Singaporeans have a very strong need for external recognition, this applies to both the material and the get by crowd. The material crowd constantly want to boast of the 5Cs, want fancy job title, spend money on all sorts of senseless activities which they deem as a means to gain external recognition that they are part of the high SES crowd.

The get by crowd is also the same. They constantly gather into online groups to comfort each other their choice is correct, consistently post on social media and share with everyone what a relax life they have, how their jobs are supposedly very meaningful and/or slack, laugh at the 5Cs crowd for being so old fashioned and not keeping up with the millennial work-life integration trends etc.

In short, most Singaporeans are ultimately not confident of their own life choices and constantly seek affirmation from others.

#2 Most of the 5C crowd are actually overspending and living a lifestyle one to two levels above their actual SES. They do not save and invest enough and seem to arrange they and their families' lifestyle on the basis that their income upward trajectory will simply extrapolate in a linear fashion all the way until retirement at 67. The chances of that happening is very slim.

Some of the lucky ones will have their income plateau starting from mid 40s and simply trudge along till retirement. Most are unlikely to stay on their career paths and will likely meet some sort of event like retrenchment which forces them to either unemployment or a career switch resulting in a plunge in income.

#3 Most of the get by crowd who think that their current lifestyle is "cool" are actually adult dependents who are leeching off their parents in one form or another. If they are old enough, it could be inheritance. For the younger ones, the support is often less direct. This could be in the form of free childcare labour provided by the parents, meals (either staying with parents or keep popping by whenever they feel like it), down payments for major cash items like house and car, temporary bunking in with parents in between freelance jobs / periods of unemployment, household chores performed by parents or at least close supervision of maid by parents etc.

In short, their current laid back and chill lifestyle is not fully funded and supported by themselves, but subsidized by their parents in some form. Whether they can continue to do so without parental support is often untested.

Ultimately, I hope Singapore as a society can one day progress to a stage where we accept people who have different lifestyles without a need to be judgmental and most importantly, as individuals people don't feel the need to keep "proving" to others that their choice is correct.