A child of the campaigns

MacRitchie was overflowing the other day. Literally. The water flowed over the top of the dam, through the little holes, spurting and bursting into a mighty river. Watching all that water flowing so freely and abundantly towards the thirsty sea provoked in me a sense of horror that any Singaporean weaned on `Save Water’ campaigns would have felt.

Do you remember the ads with the drop of water falling from the tap and the words emblazoned on top: “Every drop counts”? This was an entire river left running.

To illustrate how deep seated this dismay I feel when I see a dripping tap:

When I was in America, I was actually provoked enough to forget my better manners and reach over to turn off the tap while my roommate brushed her teeth. Also in the US, my host asked me what in the world I was doing in the shower turning the tap on and off and on and off again. I could only reply sheepishly, "Er, save water?" She was quite amused.


Check out PUB's water-saving tips here. The pic above shows the importance of using a cup while brushing your teeth rather than a running tap. The government will also inform you that it borders on the sacrilegious to use a hose to wash your car. You should always use a pail.

I am so embarrassingly a child of the campaigns.

I eventually got over the on-off-on-off habit in the shower – standing and shivering your little tush in the dead of winter helps break the habit fairly quickly. Not having a water bill to pay helps too. But I still cringe when I see taps left running. I am still the elder child in a two-child family. (Remember the poster with two girls under an umbrella with the words, “Two is Enough”?)


Source: National Archives, Singapore.

And who can forget the adorable courtesy lion?


Source: National Archives, Singapore.

Did you know that Singapore had a "Queue at Bus stop campaign" in the 70s? I guess that campaign didn't quite take off.

It is interesting that Singapore is growing up. In the 70s and the 80s, we were taught like a child all the rules of behaviour -- be kind, don't spit, save water, use your hands, flush after use, queue up! Now that we are finally 40 years old, we are urged to think for ourselves and stand on our own two feet. If anything, even if we are not the courtesy lion embodied, we are at least a queuing nation.

This is two months late, but Happy Birthday Singapore.