SINGAPORE: A man sparked controversy online when he posted on the subreddit r/SingaporeRaw that “career, house, and car together are the most direct measure of success.”
The man also figured he could provide Singaporeans with a “definitive guide” on evaluating an individual’s success since the Chinese New Year was coming up, and most would be attending the customary family get-togethers where they would all talk about or be asked about their lives.
In this guide, the man used the “poor to excellent” scales commonly used in surveys.
However, instead of “poor,” the man replaced it with three adjectives that are frequently used to characterize someone’s level of success or status in life, namely “bad,” “loser,” and “burden to society.”
The Definitive Guide
“This is the definitive guide. If you have a mix, then revert to the lowest, ie. above example goes straight down to loser tier.
Excellent – Very rare, will be future family patriarch, everyone will speak to these people with respect: Job – Director in MNC, Car – custom small manufacturer, Pagani, etc. House – GCB or landed in D10
Good – Relatives will use you as example of success, each family got a few: Job – MNC, actual executives or professionals, Car – Maserati, Porsche. House – Landed in non-D10 or condo in D10
Average – This is where most people should be with average intelligence and ability: – MNC lower level, junior professionals or directors in SMEs, car – Merc high tier, BMW (the actual car) low tier. House – Condo in non-D10
Bad – This is who your parents warned you not to become. low IQ, lazy and unmotivated: – MNC lowest level, SME executives, car – Lexus, toyota, etc. House – HDB, 4-5rm in older estates, AMK, Queenstown, Marine Parade.
Loser – Extremely low IQ: job – Hawker assistants, cleaners, credit card/insurance salespeople, SME workers, “car” – BMW, House: 4-5rm in new estates, punggol, yishun, yio chu kang, etc. or 3rm in older estates
Burden to society – IQ not high enough but for the simplest jobs: job – grab drivers, cardboard collectors, karang guni man, etc. “car” – BMW, House: 3rm or worse in s**t estates”
He then added, “If people are better than you, please acknowledge, if people are worse than you; don’t waste your time on them.”
At the end of his post, the man stated that these “were the hard truths” and that people should not “hate the player, but the game.”
“Majority of us will be losers or a burden to society.”
In the comments section, several Singaporean Redditors expressed their displeasure with the man’s way of thinking.
One Redditor said, “OP sounds like the version of the red flag girl who hiam lao pa sat. By that measure almost 80% of Singaporeans who stayed in HDB are bad choices.
Since also only 30% of Singaporeans and PRs own a car, majority of us will be losers or burden to society. Perhaps OP can shed some light which category he falls under.”
While another Redditor took a shot at the man and said, “No successful man has time to write this piece at 6 a.m. in the morning.”
One Redditor also said, “not every family is toxic like this….everyone has their own talents and paths in life.”
Meanwhile, some Redditors took the man’s side and said that his “definitive guide” was quite accurate.
One Redditor, in particular, stated, “Very nice summary of Singapore’s caste system.”
While many people look forward to reuniting with their fun relatives, others have been dreading it because the gathering, which was supposed to be a joyous occasion, has somehow turned into a “lowkey flexing and showing off session.”
A man on social media even shared, “Like they will compare and say, A just upgraded to a new condo, B got a high paying job which pays $x, C got all distinctions in his exams last year etc. Others would show off their latest gadgets or cars,”
Read related: Man says CNY family gatherings “has turned into showing off session” instead of having “a joyous time”