Straits Times letter on building 'singles village' best troll letter of 2016 thus far

Not sure if letter writer is describing singles village or BMT on Tekong.

Jonathan Lim| March 16, 12:39 PM

The Straits Times has once again published a forum letter that has Singaporeans collectively asking the author, 'What is he smoking?'

ST is no stranger to publishing troll-ish or flame-bait letters. We've reported on them hereherehere, here (!!), here (!!!) and here (!!!!).

This time round, letter writer Chua Boon Hou has proposed that a 'singles village' be built to increases the chances of single Singaporeans of meeting, falling in love, and getting married.

To further increase chances, Chua proposes that "Wi-Fi or other entertainment should not be provided in the units. Those who want to watch TV or surf the Internet will have to go to community halls. All day-to-day activities, such as laundry, must be done in public places, so that singles will have the chance to meet and chat with strangers."

cant even

Here's Chua's letter in full:

Build 'singles village' to help young people get hitched

While I respect the decision of those who have opted to remain single, a check with my single friends revealed that most of them did not choose to be so ("More young people staying single"; last Friday).

Our working schedules are so packed that we simply cannot find the time or opportunity to meet other singles.

We have to think out of the box to increase the odds of a meeting exponentially.

Most of my friends got attached during their university days, when they stayed in hostels and had chances to mingle in places like the canteen and library.

Hence, building a singles' village would be a good way to go.

For this to work, a lot of criteria will have to be fulfilled.

First, the rent to stay in the village must not be high. However, the term of rental should be restricted to two years as singles are there to find love, not access cheap housing.

Second, these rental units have to be small or even shoebox-size. We do not want those staying there to be too comfortable with living alone.

Wi-Fi or other entertainment should not be provided in the units. Those who want to watch TV or surf the Internet will have to go to community halls. All day-to-day activities, such as laundry, must be done in public places, so that singles will have the chance to meet and chat with strangers.

There can also be meetings or outings planned every weekend, or even every night.

At the end of the day, even if one does not leave the village with a soulmate, one will leave with more friends than before.

Chua Boon Hou

not sure

But props to the keen sense of ST's forum editor, this letter has gone somewhat viral (over 200 shares in an hour) because of its incredulity - much like this letter writer not wanting people to sew on the MRT.

This was our favourite response from the Internet to the singles village idea:

singles village comment

 

Top image of Pulau Tekong from Wikipedia

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