The Singapore Nouveau Riche: Stuck-up Snobs

The term “Nouveau Riche” means newly rich- it refers to a person who has acquired considerable wealth within his or her generation. When used as a method of social class distinction, it is used in a derogatory manner to describe people with newfound wealth as coarse creatures that lack the experience or finesse to use wealth in the same manner as old money. To put it simply, they have money but no class.

Given Singapore’s rapid progress up the socio-economic ladder, it is not surprising that many Singaporeans can afford to buy condominiums (worth approximately S$1 million) today. Twenty years ago, condominiums were only affordable to the rich, educated elites. As people become more affluent, they naturally become a lot more snobbish.

Based on WK’s entry earlier on courtesy, he brought up the typical snobbish thinking that most Singaporeans have “I paid for my fare so I have equal right to sit anywhere I want”. This snobbish cognition is extended to their perception of service tax aka “I’m paying service tax, so the waiter better listen to my demands”. This snobbish behavior is a manifestation of our heavy emphasis on material wealth as a measuring standard of snobbery. I heard this conversation at a kopitiam:
Aunty #1: “Ah Soh’s damn arrogant and snobbish nowadays. Why ah? She refuse to even eat at kopitiam now. Every time I ask her out, she say she not free. She last time not like that what...”
Aunty #2: “Aiyah, her son is a university graduate earning a lot of money! I heard she strike Toto first prize, now she’s very rich! She’s won’t associate with people like us la”.
Aunty #3: “Of course la, her family got scholar and got money, hiao (snobbish) already lor. They have the right to be hiao ma, not like people like us.”

There you go, financial wealth= right to be snobbish. In many condominiums in Singapore, tenants are told not to hang their clothes all over their balconies because it’s very unsightly and ruins the condo’s image. Genteel Singaporeans will comply because they see reason in it. However, many of the nouveau riche refuse to comply on the grounds that they paid so much for the condo, so they deserve the right to do what they want, regardless of rules set by the management. This snobbish behavior highlights how they nouveau riche have the ability to rich but they do not have what it takes to be rich.

In other words, I would say the nouveau riche are nothing more than brutes masquerading as aristocrats. They lack the sense of “noblesse oblige” (which proposes that wealth, power and prestige comes with social responsibility), they do not set a good example for their peers and subordinates. The rich have more money, technically, they should pay more taxes to the government so that wealth can be redistributed to the poorer masses. To me, there is a vicious cycle of poverty that people cannot crawl out from. This vicious cycle certainly doesn’t apply to the rich. If anything, the rich should set a model example of generosity and geniality. They should contribute more to charity, be humble and willing to help those who are in genuine need of help.

Unfortunately, the rich in Singapore are an “exclusive” bunch of people who reek of snobbishness. They hoard their money like misers, they treat their inferiors like dirt and they judge people based on their material wealth. Do you recall the ugly incident at neighbourhood spat between 2 semi-Ds? I won’t mention names. Well, I met one of the neighbours involved recently. He was a typical example of an ugly, snobbish Singaporean- where the ground crew announced boarding in favor of the young and elderly, he rushed in first. Well, he’s probably in his late 40s, hardly what I consider to be “elderly”. In his haste to get on board the plane, he smacked into me. He didn’t even look back and apologize, he just wanted to be the first to get on board. I’ve met my fair share of rich employers who literally bully their maid to do everything- they can’t even pour themselves a glass of water. They treat their maids like slaves, not as “domestic workers”.

If you noticed, the line between those who inherit their fortune and those who earn their own fortune has been blurred as the article processes, well, that’s deliberate. But my emphasis on the nouveau riche because the people who I know have inherited their wealth tend to be a lot more humble and generous. So my opinions here are directed to the rich people in general, particularly the nouveau riche

People always equate wealth to power. Why? Simple- money can buy you the world. That is prevalent mentality among humans since early history. Chieftains are often the richest and therefore most powerful man in the tribe. However, most people don’t realize that money isn’t everything, having more money doesn’t make you a generous person with plenty of personal integrity and humility. In contrast, money tends to make people conceited and snobbish. People like to show off their wealth because they think other people want that too!

Given our traditional Asian backgrounds, we have been groomed by centuries of teachings that wealth is power. Wealth can make you rise above other common men. Unfortunately, in today’s modern day context, emphasis on material wealth has led us to replace the emphasis of wealth as a defining factor of being “Great” over moral integrity. That’s really sad, have we lost our souls to the evils of money and power?