“Singaporeans were always adding to the list of reasons each one kept to hand, in case they met a Malaysian, of why it was so much better on the island than the peninsula.”
Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder, Cap 5
Context: And yet, the inspector thought, Kuala Lumpur had a certain something. It was difficult for him to put his finger on what it was exactly. There was a sense of freedom perhaps, of anarchy even, that Singapore so sorely lacked. Perhaps it was the lack of deference to authority, the physical space, the ability to take a step back and enjoy a moment of quiet that lent Kuala Lumpur its atmosphere. Singaporeans were always adding to the list of reasons each one kept to hand, in case they met a Malaysian, of why it was so much better on the island than the peninsula. They ranged from law and order to cleanliness, from clean government to good schools, and always ended on the strength of the Singaporean economy. But in the end, the Malaysian would nod, as if to agree on the points made — and shrug to indicate that they wouldn't trade passports, not really.
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Shamini Flint 20
Malaysian writer 1969Related quotes
Speech in 2000, reported in "Sotomayor's jackpot win, court rulings revealed" at MSNBC (5 June 2009) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31080516/.
Variant: People see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is and the future less resolved than it’ll be.
“A handful of soldiers is always better than a mouthful of arguments.”
E 19
Aphorisms (1765-1799), Notebook E (1775 - 1776)
