A short demonstration of Singaporean transportation, manners, and humor. The MRT system shuttles thousands of people around the island everyday on three (soon to be four) efficient, safe, and air-conditioned subway lines. Of course, nothing here is really very old so the niceties of daily commuting have not been firmly entrenched. To help, LCD televisions in various stations play the music video posted above to instruct straphangers about how to behave on the train or the bus. It's a funny example of the nanny-state chiding visible around Singapore, but I wish London or New York occasionally tried to encourage a few more public-transport pleasantries.
The advisement features the Singaporean television actor Gurmit Singh in his role as Phua Chu Kang of "PCK Pte Ltd." His gold chain, creepy mole, bushy wig, and yellow gumboots distinguish him as a Chinese contractor on the make, an uneducated type called an "Ah Beng" in Singlish. Good to know that contractors are well regarded the world over. Phua Chu Kang also warned Singaporeans about SARS (YouTube link) in 2003.
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