Singapore — A video on Malaysia’s Mr. Money TV YouTube channel comparing Singapore and Malaysia has gone viral, getting viewed on YouTube over 200,000 times since it debuted on Sept 22.
In the video “Malaysia VS Singapore, why are we so BEHIND?,” Mr. Money TV’s Peter Yong takes a gander at why Malaysia has not progressed as much as Singapore has, despite beginning at pretty much the same starting line.
Mr Yong first points out that one Singapore dollar is worth three Malaysian ringgit, and the average salary in Singapore is five times as much as that in Malaysia.
He then seeks to explain why.
“What led to such differences six decades later?” he asks. “Why is Singapore so wealthy and Malaysia is so… behind?”
Mr. Yong of the Mr. Money TV YouTube channel does provide some answers, including Singapore’s emphasis on developing human capital.
It’s a worthwhile watch, but in case you can’t find twelve minutes and 37 seconds to actually watch it, we did it for you, and here are our four takeaways.
YOUTUBE INSIGHT #1: MALAYSIA SEEMS TO HAVE A TEACHER PROBLEM.
“Guess what? In Malaysia, we have English teachers who don’t speak English, and science teachers who don’t do well in any science subjects,” Mr Yong said, after telling listeners that in Singapore top students are recruited to become teachers.
Unmotivated and uninspiring teachers cannot, after all, be expected to produce a top calibre of students and ensure later economic success.
He added that Malaysia’s ministers know this, and therefore send their own children to “prestigious boarding schools overseas.”
YOUTUBE INSIGHT #2: PARENTS NEED TO STEP UP TO FILL THE GAP
Mr Yong said that while his father is a school dropout with a failed business, and his mother a high school graduate, they “did some things that really impacted” his life.
His mother had him and his sister watch cartoons in English, and Sesame Street together, as well as took them to the local library. This caused him to learn better at school, and he pointed out that they barely needed private tuition.
His father, on the other hand, often spoke about his life and real-world experiences, that helped Mr Yong as he went into adulthood.
YOUTUBE INSIGHT #3: MR. YONG BELIEVES NOT EVERYONE IS INHERENTLY GREEDY.
While some Singaporeans may not be happy that the country’s public servants are among the highest-paid in the world, Mr Yong makes the case for paying public servants well.
He quotes Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who once said, “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”
Higher pay, Mr Yong added, would attract higher quality public servants, including teachers and would also serve to curb corruption.
He does not believe that people are inherently greedy and thinks that most people just want to make enough for themselves.
Pointing out that junior police officers in Singapore earn $3,000 a month – he said he’d probably want to be a policeman if he lived in Singapore.
YOUTUBE INSIGHT #4: HOUSING SHAPES SOCIETY
Mr Yong praised how well Singapore’s housing system was designed, which he says has one “explicit intent”—to shape society by creating cohesion between different income levels.
Two-room flats are placed next to three-room flats, which are, in turn, placed next to four-room flats, allowing people to aspire to a higher standard of living due to proximity to their neighbours.
But one-room units are not placed next to five-room units, as too much inequality could cause disunity, he added.
He also praised the ethnic quotas in HDBs, as this aids in integration.
Mr Yong clarified that he did not make the video in order to “bash” Malaysia and praise Singapore, but merely to point out some factors that he believes contribute to economic growth. /TISG
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