FROM Romancing Singapore (which started as a government campaign in 2002 but became privatised in 2005) to Marriage Central, the folks behind these initiatives - widely perceived to be nudging Singaporeans into surrendering their single status and tying the knot 'til death do us part' - are working hard.
But reading some of the material on the newly-launched Marriage Central website, billed as a "one-stop portal that will offer couples easy access to marriage-related information and programmes", makes you wonder if they could be overly earnest.
Other than articles covering everything from planning a wedding to staying together long-term, advice from experts on dealing with relationships and stories about real-life couples, there's a small sidebar on the site titled "365 tips for love to work".
Click through them and you'll see that they range from the run-of-the-mill, to the mildly amusing and to the eyebrow-raising. Some examples:
- Refill your spouse's cup.
- Play 'hide-&-seek' at home.
- Carve 'I LUV U' on a bar of soap.
- Share a sausage from opposite ends. (Inspired by The Lady and the Tramp?)
- Play 'Role Reversal'. (Hmm, very enigmatic. What does that mean?)
To remain relevant to Singaporeans, the tip-writers have also added a local twist to some of the suggestions, such as:
- Explore Fort Canning Park.
- Go for a trishaw ride together.
And my pick of the lot:
- Give a bottle of Tabasco with a note 'U R HOT!'.
I will never look at a bottle of Tabasco in the same way again.
Oh wait, I'm not part of a couple, so I'm not the target audience. But if my reaction is typical of the average (cynical) Singaporean, the group has their work cut out for them.
What do you think of the tips? How would you react if your partner took a cue from them? Are the tips at www.marriagecentral.sg relevant to you? Leave your comment below.