TWO Australian tourists were trying to survive a long bus journey when one asked the other: “Gee, I see Raffles everywhere. What’s that? A mascot of Singapore or something?”

 Shrugging his shoulders, the other replied: “I think he’s a person; probably someone famous.”

Indeed, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles – founder of modern Singapore in 1819 – is famous, and he should be very pleased too that many schools, medical institutions and companies name themselves after him to denote “first-class” and “elite”. But Sir may just have an issue with the rate it is going, without control. Imagine a hawker stall, a pet shop or a nightclub called Raffles.

Give the founder a break, Singapore. He no longer owes us a living.