Singapore weighs its options in order to pull the punters in

Singapore isn’t exactly known for its cultural sights or events. There are no monumental landmarks or historical preservation projects.

For most visitors to this city-state, they’re here for commercial reasons, whether on business or as shoppers. This squeaky clean metropolis has become one of the tidiest cities on earth.

Its notorious bans on chewing gum and the fabled fines for unflushed toilets have given it an air of authoritarianism that can be off-putting for some.

City officials are now ready to give the city a new slant and there are many new projects and events on the table and under debate.

As in many countries before, the construction of casinos to specifically draw in tourists with a penchant for gambling has divided popular opinion.

“It’s wrong to think that by putting up a casino that will attract tourists. It will attract a niche market - gamblers, I haven’t seen a tourist in Las Vegas, I’ve only seen gamblers.” said Insight guides founder Hans Hoefer.

There has been a petition signed by many local residents saying that this will attract crime and that this is the wrong way for the city to attract tourism.

“They’re burying the old Singapore. It will be gone soon,” laments novelist Paul Theroux.

In a scenario all to common in expanding Asian cities, all remnants of the old culture are being bulldozed to create a generic urban shopping centre, One can only guess how long it will take for all evidence of the city’s history to disappear.