Where have all the manners gone?

12th March 2007

Down the drain, that is what I'm viewing. Singaporeans used to be very polite and well mannered but after my everyday trips going in and out of my country, Singapore, I'd say we have one of the rudest security personnels around.

We, the commuters, understand the responsibility the security personnels have to carry especially in the wee morning of 6-8am, making sure everything goes on smoothly and the country terrorist free. We also understand that they may be very tired since they have to scan everyone's items and vehicles and you have our sympathy when we see the personnels cutting half their life span away by breathing in the Carbon Monoxide gases caused by congested vehicles. Your service is greatly appreciated.

But that doesn't mean you can treat us like a pack of cattles every morning and raising your voice at us in your attempt to get the instruction through the crowd. Heck, we are human beings, adult working human beings who still pay taxes, not some highschool kids.

We, the commuters, wake up around 4am (we reach home from work at 9pm), some even earlier, in the morning braving through the heavily congested and unpredictable road traffics in Johor to Singapore in hopes to reach our workplace smoothly and if possible, happily. So I certainly do not like to be rudely treated like an idiot, with the officers at the scanning machine to raise their eyebrows at me with a sleepy and irritated look only to point to their fellow colleague that my bag needs to be check throughly due to my mobile office, my Toshiba laptop.

If there is a need to check my bag, at the very least tell it to my face with a forced smile, I wouldn't mind (we all understand they are tired). But to be treated so rudely... well that really can blow my fuse. A smile, that's all I'm asking! Is it too much to ask??

Then there were a few times when I saw a fellow Malaysian being rudely instructed a few times(screaming from the control panel, mind you) to re-insert his Access Card into the machine. Then there was a time when I was at MOM Temporary Job Placement (kim seng rd), to accompany my friend to apply for a foreign worker. I was squatting outside the room since all the seats were full (I know its considered rude for women to squat but what the heck, I'm tired) and a security guard came to rudely chase all the loitering foreign workers away. I think he has mistaken me as a Filipino since he was shouting in that arrogant voice for me to not squat there and to go inside the receptionist area to wait for my turn.

That really blew my fuse. I told the guard off. I respect that he's doing his job but don't treat us (me and the foreign workers) like dirt. What happen to the courtesy campaign that Singapore government had spend on last time?

What? Just because these people are foreign workers, most Singaporeans think lowly of them? Sheesh! Open up your eyes, they are still human!

I really hope that this situation doesn't worsen. I don't wanna think of the blow it will cause on my country just because of these really bad eggs.

A smile.. It just takes a smile, not your money!

Oh yeah.. I'm working on the trackbacks that my bro is currently fiddling with. He's free, I'm not so go irritate him http://azrin.net