Moral value to next generation

I was having my lunch at ground floor cafeteria when I was introduced to a colleague who was transferred from Singapore office.

This guy is quite a good chatter. He was making joke by telling us why living in Singapore is so boring like everything is so organized, buses are so punctual (surprise if a bus being late for 8 minutes!), MRT arrangement is so flawless, and in one word, "no surprise in the life there". Ha!

Then after a few chats I realized his reason of moving back to Malaysia from Singapore is because of his family. Yeah, I thought, family should always being put in the top priority no matter what.

But then he continued and said mostly because of the future of his kid.

I thought he was talking about his kid's education. However I always think Singapore has the best education system in the South-East Asian region, albeit reluctantly. Hence I asked him.

Then he said although it is true that Singapore has a better education system but something missing in the system there. He was giving me an example of his cousin's son.

His nephew was brought up in Singapore and now goes to primary school. There were a few times that his nephew asked his dad, "Dad, why you are not driving Mercedes?" He asked because his classmates are those rich kid whose father are driving a Mercedes. He was getting all this influences from his surrounding friends. After a while, his cousin bought a Sonata probably because of the "pressure" from his own son. But, he added, although he's bought a new Sonata, in some school outing event those kids are more prefer to sit in those Mercedeses, including his own son!

A primary school students have already known how to judge one thing by its value of money? Say frankly, I didn't even know or care the model of the car my mother drove me to school everyday when I was 12! (Yeah, I grew up in moderate/low income family and my mum just drove a Nissan Sunny. But hey, I was happy that time!)

Apparently, it is the appropriate moral value the one that missing in their entire education system, if not entire society. They might have the best education system, but the kids are going to grow up with such values of what car is the more luxury one, or of what brand of the handphone is the latest, or whatever which are based on the value of money!

This guy is probably making a right decision of moving back to Malaysia, I'll say, though he had his pay cut by half because of the currency exchange difference!