We Singaporeans have a strong penchant for queuing; standing orderly in line behind one another, quietly and patiently waiting for our turn. It is not the mundane file to board a bus or to pay at the supermarket’s cashier. I am referring to the hours and even overnight queues. There is always something worth the effort and time. No complains about it. It is in the blood.
Queuing is a civilised act, queuing is good. It is the reason for queuing that I find perplexing.
One famous event was the 24 hours queue that burst into a nasty fight. The queue was to procure a pair of Hello Kitty dolls from McDonalds. That bizarre incident ended after government intervention.
Then the businesslike group spending a cold night to purchase expensive apartments, the daily long line outside Ngee Soon’s toto collection centres because of its past records of winning stakes, the determined human chain outside the latest donut outlet or noodle stall etc.
The latest being the 4800-people turn up at a job fair at Jelutong Community Centre yesterday. Queuing up for a job was previously unheard of in a country where employers have to crack heads to invent incentives so to prevent their workers from resigning.
At least this time, it is for the reason. Welcome, sanity!
Queuing is a civilised act, queuing is good. It is the reason for queuing that I find perplexing.
One famous event was the 24 hours queue that burst into a nasty fight. The queue was to procure a pair of Hello Kitty dolls from McDonalds. That bizarre incident ended after government intervention.
Then the businesslike group spending a cold night to purchase expensive apartments, the daily long line outside Ngee Soon’s toto collection centres because of its past records of winning stakes, the determined human chain outside the latest donut outlet or noodle stall etc.
The latest being the 4800-people turn up at a job fair at Jelutong Community Centre yesterday. Queuing up for a job was previously unheard of in a country where employers have to crack heads to invent incentives so to prevent their workers from resigning.
At least this time, it is for the reason. Welcome, sanity!
No comments:
Post a Comment