I flew through T1 for the first time a couple of weeks ago and have to agree with the OP, its a zoo. The worst thing was the immigration staff wandering up and down/leaving their posts to have a chat with their mates and a play with their phones, despite the queues of people going all the way back to the entrance. I assume its the untouchable Emirati syndrome at play again?

HKG is my favourite airport, but Singapore is up there. I cant even think where you would be searched as you don't encounter security personnel until you get to the gate? The people checking your passports are not there for security purposes. There must have been some kind of threat at the time, or you were behaving particularly strangely.