Mr Juraimi is the youngest of seven siblings born to police officer parents, and grew up in a three-room flat at 95 Commonwealth Drive – one of the earliest neighbourhoods where public flats were built.
As he took me on a tour of the old neighbourhood, he reminisced about how, even though it was an estate of flats, the “kampung” (Malay for “village”) spirit was alive and well because people had more time to get together with their neighbours.
After walking back from school – the now-demolished Permaisura Primary School that he attended was just a 10-minute walk from his flat – he would have lunch at home before knocking on neighbours’ doors to ask friends out to play.
As we walked around the estate, he pointed out the grass patches where he had played sports such as football, badminton and hentam bola with his friends.
“Sometimes, when I peered out of my window, some of my friends were already playing and I’d rush to join them,” he said, adding that parents back then occasionally had to “chase” their children at dusk to make them come home.
These days, however, life has become so fast-paced that it has gotten harder to stay in touch with friends or even get to know one’s neighbours, he said.
He recalled how, back in the day, because not everyone could afford a television, it was common for neighbours to visit each other’s homes to watch shows together, for instance.
In contrast, a few years ago, he bumped into an old friend at Changi Airport, whom he had not met for several years. As they chatted and exchanged pleasantries, Mr Juraimi discovered that the friend had been living in the same housing block as him for years, and yet they had somehow never bumped into each other in the vicinity of their homes.
“Singaporeans (now) are busier, more stressed – sometimes they don’t even have enough family time because of work,” he said.
He added, too, that he and his wife would love to travel more with their friends, but they cannot do so, because many of their peers are still tied down by full-time jobs.
