I had a great time speaking with Chang May Choon for her article on Singapore’s complaint culture in The Straits Times.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Excessive or habitual complaining, however, breeds negativity and holds us back from taking necessary action.
Mr Jonathan Sim, a philosophy lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS), told ST: “If we keep complaining, we end up in a situation where it becomes harder for us to see and appreciate good things. We tune ourselves to keep focusing on all the flaws and all the things that need improvement.”
The frustration and angst that emerge together with a rant blur the line between complaint and feedback, and effort is needed to leave the emotions out so that the complaint can be taken more seriously.
“Yes, people are complaining. But some people do have sincere intentions of wanting to give feedback as well, and sometimes this gets tangled up,” said Mr Sim.
Some Western scholars distinguish between a complaint and an emotional lamentation, he added. There is a difference – complaining is expressing that something is not right, but lamenting is an airing of your emotions and how you’re feeling. But in Singapore, all these get combined together into what we call complaints.
“In a sense, to be a complainer, one must also be a master of one’s emotions and not be dragged on by compulsions to complain and instead use it strategically to connect with others.” Making it count
One way to make complaints count is to raise the issues with the relevant authorities or on a platform where community action can be taken. Having been away for nearly a decade, I was pleasantly surprised to find that our civil service has upped its ante in addressing public complaints.
The OneService app, for instance, receives 1.7 million complaints a year from civic-minded residents regarding problems in the neighbourhood, from littering to damaged road signs to pests. It is heartening to know people care enough to take a photo of the problem and upload it to the app, instead of just complaining to a family member. More On This Topic Podcast: Why does it feel like Singaporeans are angry all the time? Singaporeans less happy, but those with balanced approach to life more satisfied: Survey
Internet forums and community chat groups are also filled with complaints, but it’s not all negative. In my neighbourhood Telegram chat, at least, I see the good intentions behind the complaints about errant behaviour, such as incorrect disposal of trash and unsupervised children playing dangerously.
Given the ease of complaining anonymously on various online platforms, Singapore’s complaint culture has turned into constructive feedback on these channels, Dr Atiqah said.
“Now when we have social media, we’re adding on to the complaints of other Singaporeans and it can be tagged directly to whatever policy or issue. So the complaining becomes more targeted, and in a way, we are turning our complaints to something more instrumental.”
Mr Sim from NUS, however, warned of a downside to this.
“Because we have such a strong complaint culture, we also end up in a situation where we need complaints to hit a critical mass before people start to take them seriously,” he said. “But I’d rather have people complaining than apathetic people. It means they still care enough to voice their opinion, and they still feel some raw involvement with the community.”
This brings me back to my friend. She’s no whiner, but when something crosses her line, she is dogged enough to go the extra mile to make herself heard. “Service will never improve if no one complains,” she tells me. I applaud her effort in voicing out. She is, after all, trying to make her feedback count.
Jonathan Y. H. Sim 