SINGAPORE: A netizen has sparked a debate on whether a rich person taking the MRT signifies a poor economic climate, after he claimed that the chief executive at his workplace takes public transport to work despite earning between one to two million dollars a year.
Reddit user ExistingD00r wrote: “I work in a large company, mind you. And the Singapore’s CEO salary is published in the annual report. He makes $1-2million a year in total compensation. Guess what? He drives to work? No. He takes MRT. He say cars are expensive and MRT is faster.”
He questioned: “Is this not a testament to Singapore’s expensive nature that even someone like him thinks taking MRT is more economical?”
Commenters, however, asserted that this issue is not as big a deal as the netizen seems to think it is.
One Redditor, who uses the handle 45tee, said: “Nothing wrong for the rich to take MRT. Nothing wrong for the poor to buy a car.”
Another commenter, lbe91 on Reddit, pointed out: “Depends on how you look at it, I personally like MRT more than car where I can just browse my phone and enjoy on train while driving you have to damn well focus on it & losing energy.
“Same goes for landed house vs hdb/condo, if you ever owned landed 3 storey before you will know how inconvenient, need to take water? Climb down lvl 1 and climb back up, u literally do climbing all the day, don’t mention how stupid it is to clean the house.”
Some suggested that the OP needs a perspective change as his anecdote could show that public transport is so good that it is attractive even to those who don’t need to rely on it, while a number of commenters added that there is nothing wrong with taking the MRT. Reddit user belungar argued: “I think your mindset is very backwards and you lack insight.
“If he’s earning 1-2mil a year, he can easily, like very easily afford a vehicle in Singapore if he chooses to. Cars are expensive yes, but most importantly it’s the lack of value it provides. Public transport in our country is amazing, and if I really wanna get somewhere quick, I can just take a taxi/Grab. I bet he’s spending his money elsewhere to make better value out of it, and that’s by not getting a car. ”
Calling the OP’s view “myopic,” Reddit user MiloPengAlsoCan wrote: “I know many people making 6-7 figures who take the train to work for convenience. Even I do it myself so I don’t have to deal with traffic.” One Redditor, with the handle TheBx, added: “I think it’s the opposite. It’s a sign of a healthy society when the rich take public transport.”
Others pointed out that other wealthy individuals around the world take public transport, particularly in Western societies and countries like Japan. One Singaporean, however, quipped: “The day you find ministers taking mrt then it’s either bad or elections is coming.”