The $40m Orchard Road facelift was a bad decision

The famous shopping destination for locals and tourists in Singapore, Orchard Road, has recently undergoed a major facelift which cost $40 million dollars-but did you notice the difference?

The Straits Times interviewed Singaporeans from students to executives about their stand on the Orchard Road makeover, and many were surprised as they did not even notice anything. I myself think that this makeover was a bad decision by the government and it was a total waste of money.

Firstly, the $40 million makover covered the cost of "state-of-the-art" lighting, power upgrading, landscaping, and repaving works. However, nothing much was really done. The only noticeable difference was the decorative glass panels and potted flower totems. Even so, the makeover should not have cost so much money. A sales promoter The Straits Times interviewed said that for $40 million, the governement should have builte a bridge across the road. The cost was too much for such small and insignificant changes.

Secondly, the government could have used this large sum of money for other more important purposes instead of this useless facelift. This facelift is just a change in physical appearance and is rather unnecessary. The money could have been used for other more beneficial purposes like helping the poor and giving more subsidies to Singaporeans. We would all want more money to spend rather than some decorations around Orchard Road-don't we?

Now, some of you may think that the government is doing this to attract tourists, but i do not think so. If even Singaporeans did not notice the changes, will tourists? Isn't it better if the government offers help to us instead of doing all these non-beneficial measures?

I feel that even if the governement wants to give Orchard Road a makeover, they should carry out useful and noticeable ones like cleaning up the entire place. Furthermore, they should not spend so much money on small and unnoticeable changes. Most importantly, they must carry out cost-efficient changes to save the most amount of money.

Now, I have justified my stand that the $40 million Orchard Road facelift was bad decision by the government. They should have shown more consideration and planning before carrying out this operation. I like to end off by saying that the government is not always right and this is a perfect example.