"Excuse Me", Please?

Singapore. That's where I live. A country that is aesthetically beautiful, clean, efficient and bustling. People from all over world come to Singapore to visit and envy our country, marvel at how multi-racial people live with each other harmoniously but most of all, to shop and to try out local delicacies.

Our Government has worked hard to put our country, described by some as "a little red dot", on the map of the world. We're today known as a Tourist Hub, Education Hub and more importantly, a Business Hub. We've excelled in these areas - making us the best at what we do. But for what we've achieved in terms of excellence and affluence, we severely lack in grace. While I've stomached the disgraceful behaviour of Singaporeans for many years, two events yesterday, within the span of 20 minutes, prompted this entry.

My wife and I were on my way to a shopping centre near our home to pick up some groceries yesterday evening. As I was approaching the entrance to the car park, I noticed that a MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) was on the perpendicular road at the stop line. As I had the right of way, I carried on my path. As I approached, the MPV decided that he should cut into my path - and he did. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid a collision. I looked in the rear view mirror to see if there were a long line of cars coming for him to justify cutting into my path to minimise waiting time. No cars were in sight. So, to get into the car park 5 seconds earlier, he decided to cut into my path instead of waiting for me to pass - endangering my wife and I. Ok, this was perhaps the most inconsiderate Singaporean I was going to meet for the day. I was severely mistaken.

While shopping at the supermarket, my wife left her shopping basket filled with frozen meat and some vegetables on the floor beside her as she was selecting some sweet potatoes. I was not too far away. A middle age lady came by with her trolley making a "ssshhhhhh" sound. I was wondering what that was for and I realised that I was in her way. So, instead of the polite "excuse me", she decided "sssshhhhh" was the way to go. I moved. This was not the end. She decided she needed some plastic bags that were near the sweet potato trays. Seeing my wife's basket filled with meats, she did not even attempt the "ssshhhh" and moved the basket aside with her foot! I should have kicked her with mine!

In a country that is known to be populated with educated people, most of whom are highly educated, you'd think you'd never have to experience such disgraceful behaviour. But sadly, this is a daily affair. No one really cares for each other and anything they can do for their own convenience, they will - at the expense of inconveniencing others. It is no wonder why our Government has been trying hard to institute courtesy amongst its population with a courtesy campaign since 1979! It begs to question what kind of people live in Singapore when the Government has to have a courtesy campaign or a kindness movement. You see the ugly Singaporean everywhere you go - at food outlets, on the trains, on the roads, in shopping centres... everywhere! As a Singaporean, I feel ashamed by the behavior of my fellow countrymen.

We're a hub for practically everything in Asia. But what we'll never be is a hub for courtesy. To me, we've failed as a society, no matter how much success we've achieved economically. Our tagline promoting tourism says "Uniquely Singapore". I guess this is true in more ways than the tagline originally intended.

My apologies for the rant. Had to get it off my chest.