Revive the Courtesy Campaign

This happen practically every single day. I was boarding the usual frantic evening rush hour train ride, when I realize Singaporeans will always be standing right in front of the door. Initially, they will be standing behind the allocated yellow stripes, then when the time gets nearer (I called that “shot clock”), everyone will starts to creep in slowly, but surely, to the door and wait for it to open. Passengers will be squeezing into this “gauntlet” by elbowing their way in. The most surprising thing is, no one seems to mind it! There is no discrimination of profession, age, gender or size. Even the most well-dressed man, will be doing the same thing as a 55 year old uncle!

I find it amusing at times, and giggled. I know everyone wants to go home fast and get a hot bath and a hearty meal. But in the expense of being the ugly, kiasu Singaporean, I think we have to take a backseat and reflect on our actions. I reckon it's e Asian mentality, i.e kiasu n competitive..it happens in Japan n Hong Kong as well...so it's not surprising to c it here. It’s not that I favor the ang-mohs, but their actions spell out, how well their up-bringing are. In an article I read, countries like US, Europe and somewhere closer to home, Australia, they are courteous wherever they go. For example, newspaper stands can be left unattended and patrons will still duly pay the newspaper money in the coin box or container. That is their culture. If this were to happen here, the coin box might even be gone! I’m not belittling our locals, but if everyone shows a bit more initiative, life will be much better and things like theft, petty theft (i.e. not paying money for toilet visits) and even terrorism can be minimized or ideally, gone. It always starts small, and gradually progresses into more pressing issues like saving planet earth by taking public transport etc.

These countries are better developed than us, but they are able to show bits of courtesy in their daily lives and that shows that, it just takes a bit more effort to make this happen. It’s their up-bringing and their social culture that shape their character and projecting it in their everyday lives. We can start off with our little ones and shape their behavior when it has the most impact. Hopefully, in 50 years down the road, our society can be the same of any European cities and courtesy will be in our blood; and not afraid to show it.

Our courtesy movement, since the 1980s, had seen improvement, but it’s just not good enough for us to become a truly, world-class society. The government should give the Courtesy Campaign a new lease of life and make it youthful and reach out to people at all levels, by saying, “Courtesy is easy, and it’s a way of life” sort of slogan. Let’s put away some personal gain and make our home, a better place to live, work and play in.