AUG 23 — Sometimes it really feels great to be Singaporean.
Not always; there are also moments of intense frustration which I frequently highlight in this column. But there really are times when you just can’t but be intensely grateful for being born on the Little Red Dot.
The last such moment was after a harrowing week (or two) in a less functional part of Asia — and the relief I felt landing in the familiar functionality of Changi airport was just overwhelming.
The plane lands on time, it proceeds to the parking bay in minutes, the doors open and in no time I’m swiping my passport and clearing the green channel. I think I once made it from cabin to cab in 10 minutes flat.
The routine is familiar to most (at least a great many) Singaporeans as we are a nation of frequent flyers. It’s a (very) small country and we have to fly to get almost anywhere and there is only one airport — fortunately though, it’s world-beating.
Changi really is like a national birth canal; we are born through it or at least come of age through it. I remember my first flight, my first solo flight, the flight I took for my honeymoon etc. It’s a place that connects us to so many significant experiences.
Every immigrant and expat (more or less) inevitably passes through it. It’s the Ellis Island of our time and place. Without exaggeration it’s that significant — in some ways arguably the most significant piece of our modern heritage.
While some might poke fun — stand-up comedian and popular local drag queen Kumar has a line in one of his routines where he describes Singapore’s obsession with its airport as a “Terminal Illness” — Changi airport, though, is really no joke.
The government regularly trots out the figures: 54,093,070 passenger movements in 2014, 341,386 aircraft movements, with 100 airlines serving over 300 cities at a rate of a flight every 90 seconds. Changi has won over 490 international awards for the quality of its services since 1981.
But Changi is more even than the sum of all that.
It really is the bedrock of our modern nation. It cemented our place as a truly global city. Not just a regional centre or local hub but a place that is connected to and connects the whole world. And its development sums up everything that was right about our first generation of post independence leadership — ahead of their time, able to spot a global economic opportunity (in this case for air transport hubs) and capitalise on it with rapid and efficient execution.
More than anything, it’s stood the test of time. The original brainwave of placing it at the edge of our island to allow for further growth via reclamation will keep Changi in the airport big leagues far into the future.
A 4th terminal will be ready in 2018 and a monstrous 50+ million capacity Terminal 5 is already being planned.
What really impresses me is that despite all this development, Changi still feels like home.
Something about the place for all its gloss is distinctly homely and Singaporean.
Maybe it’s the super abundance of good food. I make a beeline for the T3 Toast Box laksa. There’s pretty decent nasi lemak at the old T1 departure food court too, then there’s the awesome old school food court in the basement of Terminal 3 (not the new departures food street) for kaya, kway chap, la mian…everything…
I think every frequent flyer has their own favourite nooks. I’m a regular at the Bengawan Solo in T2 and even the butterfly gardens and orchid gardens are more than gimmicks. They are genuinely restful places that also bring out something Singaporean.
The whole thing is impressive, though constant change and improvement mean nothing, not even your favourite little corners, will last forever.
The latest headline-grabbing expansion project — Jewel, a 10-storey duty free mall and hotel with a giant indoor waterfall — will bury my beloved Terminal 1 car park.
I love a car park? Seriously it was nice — broad old trees and frangipani, low key and open air. The moment you step into it, you can smell.... home.
Now it will be replaced with a climate controlled dome but I guess people will find their niches in there too. That’s simply how it is — Changi relentlessly and constantly goes forward.
While it may never be the world’s busiest international airport (though we are currently No. 6) I hope Changi will always be synonymous with the best run.
That’s a deep part of our national success and brand.
Speaking of synonymous with Changi, it’s hard to think of the airport and its development without mentioning youknowwho. Recently a petition was circulated calling for Changi to be renamed Lee Kuan Yew international airport in honour of its effective founder. It attracted 12,000 signatures and has been submitted to the government for consideration.
But I’m not so sure.
Initially I thought it was a good idea. I don’t doubt Lee Kuan Yew was instrumental in creating Changi airport. He personally pushed for the location even after millions had been spent upgrading the existing airport at Paya Lebar. Typically he took risks, broke some eggs, cracked heads and eschewed conventional wisdom — why does Singapore need such a large expensive airport people asked?
And of course his gamble paid off.
LKY created Changi and in doing so created a new pillar for Singapore’s economy
He also took a name that was once synonymous for ignominy — Changi (notorious as a colonial gaol and for Japanese atrocities) and he made it a symbol of Singapore’s success.
No mean feat. So I really don’t think we should take that away from him — Changi was his baby and Changi it should stay. No one is going to forget the man who made it anytime soon...
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
