More Courteous Five Years Later

Five years ago, as Singapore hosted the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, I complained about how discourteous the organisers had portrayed themselves. First, it was about demanding that their buses be given the right-of-way, and then, came news that you’d be fined S$130 for failing to do so. Surely it could be that difficult to ask.

I’m glad that give years later, as Singapore now hosts the SEA games, things have improved. I suggested then, five years ago, to prepend the simple word please. That’s precisely what the signages on the SEA games buses now say. Instead of simply GIVE WAY, they now say PLEASE GIVE WAY.

A little bit of courtesy goes a long way.

I hope they won’t come up with a fine for motorist who fail to do so. I can appreciate that emergency vehicles need to be given priority on the roads. SEA games vehicles, clearly, don’t belong in that category. Sure, we should be nice to our guests. However, if these guests were really so important, I’m sure the organisers could have arranged for traffic escorts to clear the roads for them. I’m guessing that by and large these guests don’t belong on that category either.

However, just for being courteous, I’m inclined to oblige.