Imitation the highest form of flattery? This Indonesia housing estate has ERP gantry, Merlion and more

Singaporeans, if you're in Indonesia and find yourself missing home, head on over to 'The Singapore of Medan'.

This housing estate located in the Percut Sei Tuan district of Medan City has Singapore landmarks galore.

While a number of Indonesian YouTubers have been raving about it since 2020, photos of the housing estate resurfaced on Reddit on Thursday (June 23) and amused netizens. 

To say that this neighbourhood is inspired by Singapore might be an understatement.

Visitors will be greeted by landmarks such as the iconic arches of the Fullerton Hotel and the Merlion in estate clusters named after locations such as Fullerton, Dempsey Hill and Raffles Place.

From the Fountain of Wealth, Orchard Boulevard street signs to an ERP gantry, one might actually feel they've been transported to Singapore if they squint hard enough.

Photos of 'Singapore of Medan' piqued the curiosity of netizens from both Indonesia and Singapore.

Redditors on the SingaporeRaw section generally found the images rather amusing and flattering even, with one writing "imitation is the highest form of flattery".

On the flip side, a number of Indonesian netizens cringed at the thought of a housing estate fully inspired by Singapore.

But, it appears to be a hit among locals. 

Over at the Indonesia subreddit, one netizen said that "people like this place and it's always crowded almost every week".

The popularity of the housing estate led to the developer releasing the fourth cluster named Clarke Quay last June. According to Indonesian news publication Kompas, this cluster covers an area of ​​8.6 hectares and has a resort-style lake view.

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amierul@asiaone.com