The flat-dwellers in my mum's block are ever so happy. For almost half a year, they had endured the dust, the noise and the inconvenience that have resulted from the lift upgrading works on the block. It's part of the HDB interim upgrading programme for matured housing estates. And now, as from yesterday, the spanking new lifts that have been built at both corner ends of the block have finally sprang alive, breathing a life of their own, and bringing great cheers to the folks living on the "non-lift" landing.
I was happy too, for my mum and especially for my Dad who, in his mid-70s, has to endured descending two floors to take the lift on the 6th story every morning on his way for breakfast. It's hard for him, being a former stroke patient.
On the two occasions that I've taken the new lift, total strangers simply broke into conversation with each other, all expressing gladness that finally, they have a "personal" lift right in front of their unit to call their own. The conversation goes something like this.
Scene no. 1
me : Wah, shiok hor, the new lift? (talking to a man with me in the lift).
man : Ya man. Makes our live so much easier. Er, which floor you going?
me : 8th please.
man : oh me 2nd floor.
me : oh (expressing surprise and trying to hide my comtempt for his
laziness). Er...I guess 2nd flr also take.After all you also paid for it
right? (sounding a bit unsure)
man : of course, everyone who stays in this block must pay. Oh, my floor's up.Bye
me : bye (looking at him with even more contempt as he turned to exit the lift).
Scene no 2
me : Which floor ?(I asked upon entering the lift with a tudung
Malay woman right behind me)
woman : 5th floor please. Wah so happy finally got the lift.
me : Ya, I'm happy too. But this is not my flat. I'm visiting my mother.
woman : Oh, not your flat ahh...
Before she could go on, the lift door opened and she said "bye". So you see? Everything about the new lift is positive. Besides serving the elderly and the "lazy", it's also an icebreaker, helping the shy and the uninitiated to open up to each other. Haha.
Sad to say, my flat which is just a stone's throw away from my mum's, was not in the line-up for the upgrading exercise, and I wonder why and when? Must I wait till I'm in my 70s, like my Dad? Never mind the new housing estates. On a more serious note, whoever was in charge of HDB constructions decades ago, was obviously myopic. Didn't they see this coming? The graying population? The aging workforce? To add insult to injury, we flat-dwellers have to pay for the upgrading. It's like admitting you made a mistake and making others pay for your mistake. I come in peace and no offence to the "gahmen". No logic leh....
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2 comments:
Wah, lately your blog has been very active. On some days, there were even two posts. I kind of couldn't keep up with my comments. But this one I have been wanting to write for a long time.
I feel that it is not so much the authorities' lack of foresight that led to the lifts not stopping at every floor. I feel that it is more of a deliberate political move. Don't you remember that not too long ago during the General Elections, residents of a certain opposition constituency were exhorted to vote for a certain political party? The 'reward' goes something like this - if they don't do so, then they won't get priority for their flats' upgrading. Now if all the flats were nicely done up in the first place with nothing left to improve upon, then there was no way to issue this 'reward'? However, as you are aware, the opposition somehow still managed to retain that constituency. Hmm... seemed like they saw through that move and was in a way saying that they didn't like it at all.
What you wrote makes sense. But I think the dangling of the carrot, in this case the HDB upgrading, to the oppn constituency is purely incidental. So you're saying that the gahmen deliberately built flats with "less then perfect" amenities to garner more votes for the ruling party? If it's true, I must really take my hats of the power that be.
Obviously, the ploy failed to work. I dun care about the oppn ward. I want my lift upgraded. And if I have to pay, so be it. You can't win big brother, can you?
I'll reserve further comment cause I think we're treading on very dangerous ground here... We really dunno who is reading my blog...and I don't want to get famous overnight. Hee!
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