In Singapore, cupid works in civil service

0 Comments | Insight on the News, June 10, 2002 | by Stephen Goode

The nannylike government of Singapore already has brought the people of that tiny island nation frequent "Speak Good English" and "Clean Toilet" campaigns, hoping through blatant social engineering to make the country tidy and well-spoken. Now comes a new eight-page manual that offers instructions to the young folks of Singapore on what comes naturally, if sometimes awkwardly, or at least used to in most other places--that is, "What to Do on a Date."

The manual is published by a government-run dating agency called the Social Development Unit, an Orwellian name if ever there was one. The bureaucracy hopes the how-to guide will stoke the inert mating imaginations of the young and turn around the country's declining birthrate by overcoming traditional Asian reserve about dating, say various wire services.

Visits to museums and bookstores are recommended venues for dates, which comes as no surprise in officially prim and proper Singapore. Where else?

"If you have a dog, why not take a stroll with your pooch?" the manual asks. It goes on to suggest that a walk with the dog and the friend could take place in the country's gorgeous Botanic Gardens. Ever-cautious however, the manual warns: "Just make sure that your date is not afraid of dogs."

The government already offers tax breaks to encourage women to marry and become pregnant. There's even a government agency that organizes activities to bring together educated singles--if not for fun and frolic, which sounds too frivolous, at least for evenings of unruffled calm and propriety.

But there may be problems. One 31-year-old woman was quoted as saying the government dating service was a good idea, even if not for her. "Asians are very reserved. This could get them together," she said. "But I wouldn't use it, even if I could."

And why couldn't she use it? Because she's divorced, and in staid Singapore that excludes her from being a candidate for a blissful encounter through the government dating agency.