71 Comments » I’ve always felt that the yellow markings seen in MRT stations are an embarrassment to our country.
That the authorities need to draw bright yellow lines and arrows to teach us exactly where to stand and where to walk is an insult to our intelligence.
We do not need any lines, yellow, green or purple, dammit, because Singaporeans don’t give a freaking damn about them.
Your arrows don’t scare us.
We will stand exactly where we please, thank you very much.
So, here’s a little story to illustrate why we don’t need the markings:
One day, Little QY goes to take the MRT. It’s peak hour, so she stands behind a yellow marking to “queue up”.
Along comes OL (Office Lady). OL stands beside Little QY.
“WTF!” thinks Little QY to herself. (This compulsion to swear instantly robs her of her innocence so that she has to drop the “Little” from her name.)
Daaaamn.
“Stupid, uncultured OL,” mutters QY under her breath. “Wear so nice but got no manners lah. You’re supposed to stand behind the yellow line, not on it.
“As if standing on the line will fool anyone. And why must you stand right in front of my face?!”
Luckily, OL is as deaf as she is ill-mannered, so she doesn’t hear.
QY briefly considers going to stand right in front of OL to get her own back, but then she decides that she’s above such petty games.
After all, does it matter whether you’re the 10th or 11th person to get on the train?
By this time, many an RP (Random Person) has started to gather around the platform.
Shortly after, the train arrives from a distance away.
Some people shuffle anticipatively, some continue to stare blankly ahead, some take a step forward.
OL takes many steps forward as the train looms nearer and nearer.
A few RPs follow suit.
“WTF is wrong with you people?!” QY wants to shout out. “You want to stand there, then stand there from the start lah!! Why go through the farce of pretending to stand behind (or on) the marking in the first place? Siao lah, you people!”
She doesn’t, of course, yell those words out, because she doesn’t want to find herself accidentally pushed onto the tracks with a train pulling in at top speed.
By the time the train gets to a complete stop, the doorway area is crowded with inconsiderate morons trying to get on the train, sneakily avoiding eye contact with people inside the train trying their darnedest to get out.
End of story.
And now, the moral:
Isn’t it painfully obvious that the yellow lines and arrows in MRT stations do not work? People don’t even know how to use them.
As far as I can see, there are only two things that the markings and arrows accomplish:
- Make Singaporeans look stupid for needing markings to tell them where to stand.
- Make Singaporeans look stupid for appearing not to know how to use the markings.
So, get rid of them already. They’re such an eyesore. Just leave the original yellow line to stop people from standing too close to the edge of the platform and getting their noses sliced off by incoming trains.
Oh, and whenever I’m in the train trying to get out, I wish I were a bowling ball.
Striiiiiiike!
its look really annoying for tat … but those pple is kiasu.. typical singaporean wat.. hahah rushing to be the first in every small things.. this OL rush to get in first… some others rush to get out and up/down the Escalator… this kinda of things u can see u can speak u can curse.. but u cant change all tat .. haha but anyway.. nice strike!!
Smallapple: Thanks! :) Nice seeing you again here. Well, I think it’s all the more annoying knowing that you have to put up with such nonsense all the time and have no power to change things!
yep, Indonesia do that too.. and more pro! (read: worse!) but I believe the population that belongs on the “low” class wasn’t really educated about queueing by their parents. bah!
Indra: I suspect it is inconsequential of which social class u belong to. There are rich, well groomed and highly educated people who are just as poor on social etiquette.
sheylara: Convention breakers are by definition law breakers. But still… agree with u that inconveniencing others for the sake of self gain is a little selfish and unbecoming of a civilised human being.
“I suspect it is inconsequential of which social class u belong to. There are rich, well groomed and highly educated people who are just as poor on social etiquette.”
hmm.. I guess. fair opinion. sorry if it was offending. It was an unfair assumption made from daily experience here in Indonesia
haha was kinda busy the last few days but im onces again free again.. haha.. yea yea who call us to be such a *xiao ren wu* cant help it de… haha unless we are LKY =X
Indra: I don’t think anyone thinks your comment was offensive. It was a fair statement, although I must agree with Miccheng that there are equally rude and inconsiderate people in all stratas of society. Maybe it’s not like that in Indonesia?
Miccheng: Are all convention breakers really law breakers? I would think breaking convention could be something as simple as smiling to strangers you pass by daily, instead of regarding everyone with suspicion like Singaporeans are wont to do. It’s strange but doesn’t necessary break any laws.
Smallapple: Heh. I think even LKY also has to put up with rubbish that he can’t totally control.
QY: Guess i was referring to “laws” in the general sense – some people do things a certain way cos they feel its the way it has been done all along. Convention breakers question the status quo and break the law of nature, the law of “you can’t do it that way”, the law of “i told you so” and the law of “its the way things are, deal”. :)
But yeah, unscrupulous acts of law breaking shouldn’t be encouraged. We poke and push the boundaries of the status quo. If it breaks badly, we admit our mistakes honestly, pay our dues (if any) and move on. If it breaks in a good way, hallelujah! :D
Miccheng: I see. That makes sense. :) Yeah, I like convention breakers. They help to move the world. But it’s good only if there’s no collateral damage along the way. :P
[...] Click here [...]
You got the direction of the pins wrong.
Herbert: Haha. I know. But it wouldn’t make sense to have it the other way round because that’s the formation that the train commuters make. :P
Ok I see. Happy bowling!
I know it’s very irritating but when I exit I always put on a very BS face.
This is part of the MTE (Mass Transit Etiquette) program that was instituted by the PCP (Politically Correct Police). Washington DC is step up the same way. Obvious thing, made obvious.
Down with the MTE Program and the PCP!!!!!
http://www.sheylara.com_ I want to comment about this website. In Singapore, there are not only Singaporeans but also PR, Pass-holders and visitors. Now the taxi fees are also higher. So to travel in Singapore, taking MRT is the best way to travel. So not all the people know about the service of MRT. The instructions for passengers how to take MRT must be required. So I consider that it is not the embarrassment for the country. It is just the instruction for all the people living in Singapore to travel safely and comfortably.
wow this is like the story of my singaporean life. my solution to the problem? stop using MRT.
life has never been better.
ps. i would like to add that in MY country (thailand – since at brief glance we seem to be having a competition), people actually queue according to the yellow lines.
you know, i realise there’s a huge problem about singaporeans’ attitude. YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HOW TO APPRECIATE! i know you may have heard a lot from teachers, but you really don understand how to appreciate! the government is practically feeding you ppl with whatever u need! you don have to worry about anything. so you don understand how it feels to STARF, or to FEAR for your lives. Can you pls don take things for granted? its annoying!
he he he he………i think singaporeans really are stupid with or without that yellow lane. lime brained, stupid thinkers and undeniably garbage creatures, these singaporeans don’t even know where they come from.
Don’t you know the original yellow line isn’t good enough either? That’s why they’re now building walls on the above ground platforms, to keep Singaporeans from further embarrassing themselves and falling “accidentally” onto the tracks.
Hey Sheylara,
I think the lines are there for structuring reason. Without it you wont know where the doors will end up for those stations without barricade. So it probably will not be removed for safety sake; imagine some KS auntie and uncle pushing ppl to get to the door, what happens if someone trips over the platform? (I dun even wanna think about that)
Actually, we are not the only ones having such structure. I have seen the taiwanese queueing neatly behind the yellow line, they have no problem with that. The only difference btw our MRT and their metro is that they only have yellow line on one side of the door, and so everyone form one nice straight line. It kinda resembles how S’poreans form a nice straight line when queuing for the toilet cubicle. I think SMRT should seriously consider adopting changing their yellow line to just one side. It may really help.
I think they are there for a reason and not to mock our intelligence. It’s how we handle and discipline ourselves properly and by the look at it these days, some people are just plain stubborn but nice article though.