Mourning our loss of potential

Am now back in Bangalore after a week in Singapore. I went there once before when I was kid (hehehe, will not specify how many years ago. I don't want to feel old). Of course there are many of you out there who have travelled much more than I have, but then hey!!! this is my blog and so I get to say what I want right?
No point in raving about the cleanliness of the place or the fact that even the trees on avenues seemed to have some order to the way they are placed. What really amazed me for one is the traffic sense of the country. Not once, throughout my stay there did I see a single traffic cop. The roads are manned completely by signals and not once.... and I mean it... not once did I see a person speed past a red light or move onto the pedestrian crossing when the light for the walkers was green.
What amazed me even more was the fact that even if there was a free left which allowed vehicles right of way, they would stop in a line to let the pedestrians cross. You could literally close your eyes and walk when you see the green light and know for sure that you will not end up in pieces on God's lap.
The roads don't have a single pothole (but then I guess the craters of the moon are an Indian road side specialty). And you can actually get fined for going at a lower speed (there its around 80 mph) in most places. You can cover a distance of 10 kms in as many minutes. The public transportation in terms of the bus, MRT and the taxi service is not only cheap, it is also reliable, thus reducing the need to own a vehicle.
This in turn has reduced vehicular traffic and thereby pollution, traffic jams, road rage and so much. And all this is because, the tax rates are high and you know that they are being used for the betterment of the people. In our country all we know is that most of the taxes go in lining the pockets of our leaders.
My colleagues and I were constantly discussing the fact that our country will most probably never see this kind of progress, simply because they say the problem is too deep rooted and the population too vast. But all it takes is for each person to feel that they should do they duty to the country. Following simple habits can lead to a larger change. As utopic as it sounds, I feel that each state has a likelihood of being like Singapore. While the planning can take place at the central level, the execution should take place at the state. The underlining factor should however be that the political honchos should start doing it for the people.