Singapore Sting

Singapore is known for being strict. Draconian laws. In the 1990's, the US papers covered with much fanfare the caning of an American for theft and vandalism. There are a number of odd laws (see more here), my favorite are walking around nude in your house is considered immodest and can result in jail time. Failure to flush a public toilet can result in a fine or jail. Thanks to the laws against spitting phlegm or gum, we say that Singapore has a "swallow don't spit" policy....though that statement could get me jailed for sedition or insulting modesty. Locals say Singapore is a "fine" city, because of all the fines.

Our offices in Singapore are on the 30th floor at United Square. From my borrowed office, I counted 19 active cranes. Remember from one of my earlier visits to Jakarta that the IMF uses the number of cranes in operation as a judgement for the strength of a nation's economy. Cranes mean skyscrapers. Skyscrapers mean a strong financial system, because banks are always lending money to build them. They also mean a strong economy because growth of population and demand for office space is encouraging the creation of the skyscrapers. Seeing 19 in one part of the city is phenomenal.


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This is also the rainy season in Singapore. Every day it rains. Growing up in the Midwest, I'm accustomed to watching clouds roll in from the west. Here, I arrive in the morning to a clear sky as far as the eye can see. An hour later, the sky is filled with clouds. They materialize out of nowhere. It's interesting to watch.

Speaking of strange laws, I always read the corporate policy documents applicable to my employment and my position. Sometimes, I come across a strange policy that I know has a story behind it - like the dress code policy a few jobs ago that explicitly stated "you must wear underwear". Recently, I've received a lot of emails reminding us of the Alcohol policy - something most companies have these days. They started as a warning about the dangers of homemade alcohol using Ethyl alcohol as a base. I think we had either a fatality or a hospitalization as a result of some moonshine novices. A few weeks later came an email with the alcohol policy attached. This week, we received a cartoon (that I wish I could republish here) reiterating the policy. I bring it up because this is a good example of the different techniques we must employ as a company to ensure all employees, regardless of their level of education....or attention span. For me, the funny thing about the cartoon was that the English translated version had a blanked out obscenity "f...". Humorous from my perspective.