‘Don’t stop complaining’: Singapore TikToker praises complaint culture

SINGAPORE: A local content creator recently went viral for defending the frequency with which Singaporeans complain, saying that it serves as a motivator for getting things done.

In a May 24 video on TikTok, Wei Liea (@kelpfishes) tackled the academic-sounding topic of “on social signalling and Singapore‘s great public infrastructure ethos,” which ended up being in praise of the city-state’s complaint culture.

After all, Singaporeans are known to complain a lot, like one father who took to a Facebook complaint group when a grocery store had run out of Yakult. Calling himself “extremely disappointed” that he couldn’t buy the beverage for his children at NTUC Finest Marine Parade, he added that he wanted an “explanation.”

For @kelpfishes, who admitted that Singapore probably has among the highest densities of complainers in the world per square metre, this is not necessarily a negative.

“But wait, who said complaining is a bad thing?” he asked, arguing that it’s natural for babies to cry when they need to sleep or eat, otherwise they suffer in silence.

“If a body does not feel pain, then it will eventually break down,” he added.

He called it “great” that Singapore, as a nation, complains a lot, “because it signals to the government that we need this and that.”

For example, Singaporeans complain about having to walk out in the open, under a hot sun and torrential rain. The government then built covered walkways around HDBs so that people could get to the bus stop.

As for bus stops themselves, the government also went and improved them, so that they’re “not old and stinky anymore,” doing this even without asking.

“They also changed the drainage covers to new covers because we complain so much, right? They already know we’re gonna say things,” he said.

Another example is the Cross Island Line, the longest fully underground MRT line scheduled to be completed by 2029.

“Do we need a Cross Island Line or not? No, but they’re still doing it,” he said, adding, “Don’t stop complaining, folks.”

He then began to talk about the United States, where the attitude is more of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” According to the TikToker, this causes big problems, such as the housing bubble of the 2008 financial crisis, the worst the country experienced since the Great Depression. /TISG

Read also: ‘To prevent the overconsumption of resources’: Stallholder at Lucky Plaza food court defends S$0.20 charge for extra bowl after diner complains