While Singapore is generally seen internationally as one of the safest, cleanest and most orderly countries in Asia, one entrenched thorn in the city’s side remains the behavior of commuters on the city’s transit system. Passengers not giving up their seats to the less mobile or not giving way to those alighting are persistent points of ire on Internet forums and in letters to local newspapers.
Government-sponsored courtesy campaigns have a long history in Singapore going back to founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s (largely successful) attempts in the 1970s to teach citizens how to respect the “first-come, first-served” system of lining up and to stop spitting and urinating in public places. Full story
