Chope: To reserve a seat, table or queue spot with personal items
People chope queue spots with items at Bishan East food rescue event
On Friday (23 Aug), the Facebook page for the Bishan community group, Bishan East Zone 1 Residents’ Network (RN), posted about an incident of people chope-ing queue spots with items at a food rescue event instead of physically queueing. The event took place at the Bishan East Zone 1 Green Hub, located at Block 112 Bishan Street 12. Food rescues are community events where unwanted food collected by volunteers is redistributed to residents. This serves to both reduce food wastage and give food to those who need it.
According to their Facebook page, the Bishan East Zone 1 RN food rescue events are bring-your-own-bag and first-come-first-served. No reservations were allowed. The 23 Aug food rescue event had been a success, with “overwhelming support” from residents, many of whom got up early to queue for the event. “We appreciate the early bird zeal in queuing up for restocks in good orderliness & neighbourliness,” the Facebook post said. However, in the same Facebook post, the Bishan East Zone 1 Green Hub Food Rescue Team also noted that people were chope-ing spaces in the queue like they were at a hawker centre.
To illustrate what had happened, they posted two photos. The first one showed a line of people queuing physically; this post was accompanied by a smiley face emoji sticker. On the other hand, second photo showed a queue of inanimate objects, mostly plastic bags, held down by stones from the nearby community garden. This one featured a shocked emoji sticker instead. The team acknowledged that the chope-ing was creative but prohibited. “All items found lying on the floor will be deemed as litter and cleared or confiscated,” the post warned. Coincidentally, the queue also started right next to a pillar with a “no littering” sign plastered on it.
Makes FOMO look like child’s play
Singaporeans commonly use personal articles such as tissue packets to reserve tables in the city’s crowded food courts before purchasing a meal. The practice is considered quintessential “kiasu.” (David Pierson / Los Angeles Times)
Long before Americans discovered FOMO — the fear of missing out —Singaporeans were fixated with its more excessive forebear, kiasu.
Taken from the Chinese dialect Hokkien, kiasu translates to a fear of losing out, but encompasses any sort of competitive, stingy or selfish behavior commonly witnessed in this highflying city-state:
- If you stand in line for hours just because there’s a gift at the end, then you’re kiasu.
- If you claim a spot at a table at a busy food court with a packet of tissues while you wander off in search of grub, you’re kiasu.
- If you’re a parent who volunteers hours of your free time at a school just so your offspring has a better chance of enrolling there one day, then you’re most definitely kiasu.
It’s a survival instinct born out of Singapore’s dominant Chinese culture and deep-rooted insecurity as a blip on the map, one that’s only slightly bigger than the San Fernando Valley. Letting opportunity pass is tantamount to failure, the thinking goes. And if you do, you have no one to blame but yourself.
The most ambitious country in the world?
Author Sarah Keating had only been in Singapore a few months when she first experienced kiasuism (Credit: Marco Brivio/Getty Images)
I'd only been in Singapore a few months when I had my first experience of kiasuism. It was a Saturday afternoon and after a couple of hours exploring the shopping area of Orchard Road in the dense, heavy heat, I headed to the MRT (train) station weighed down with a pushchair and two tired children ready to go home. The station was thick with people, and I searched for a way to get to the train platform. I spotted a lift and squeezed into a queue of about a dozen people, who were dutifully waiting even though there were two escalators less than 100m away. There was an air of anticipation as the lift cranked its way up to the concourse. As the lift arrived, everyone surged forward. Once the last possible person had squeezed in, the lift doors slid shut with a ‘ding’. I was left on the concourse, perplexed.
This ostensible lack of consideration hadn’t been my experience of Singapore thus far. Previously, construction workers had stopped their jackhammers as I walked past so as not to wake my sleeping baby. I’d had umbrellas offered to me when getting off the bus in the teeming rain. So why did getting into a lift seem like survival of the fittest? I soon learned that this is what it is to be ‘kiasu’. Kiasu is a Hokkien (Chinese dialect) word that comes from ‘kia’, which means afraid, and ‘su’, which means to lose: fear of losing out. In 2007, the word was included in the Oxford English Dictionary, where it’s described as ‘…a grasping, selfish attitude’. Dr Leong Chan-Hoong, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore, explains it as survival instinct. The small, young nation, just 53 years old, he told me, is vulnerably situated in the middle of South East Asia, surrounded by neighbours who are culturally different from Singapore. “It’s always been drilled into the minds of Singaporeans that you’ve got to be self-reliant, you’ve got to stay hungry, you’ve got to be ahead of the curve … the need to stay ahead has always been part of the social psyche,” he said.
In practical terms, this means Singaporeans hate missing out and love a bargain. They will queue endlessly for the latest model of a phone or even a limited edition Hello Kitty toy in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Singaporeans themselves joke about their ‘elbows out’ mentality at buffet meals, piling their plates as high as possible. And going to a food court means quickly coming to terms with the Singlish word ‘chope’, which means reserving a space while getting food by putting something such a packet of tissues or umbrella on the table. “Kiasuism is still rather controversial as a behaviour,” said local literary critic Gwee Li Sui. “Nobody likes it done to them, and yet many quite happily practise it. When we see others show it, our feelings range from awe and mild amusement to annoyance and embarrassment.”
Where the word kiasu came from and how it spread
How a Hokkien Chinese slang expression, meaning being afraid to lose out, slipped into Singapore English and went round the world. Does it apply to you?
Do you know the word kiasu? If not, then be kiasu and google it. You’ll get more than a million hits and learn that, usually associated with Singaporeans, it means “to be afraid of losing out”. You’ll come across references to kiasu parents, kiasu companies and even kiasu apps.
Just four decades ago, the Hokkien term kiansu was confined to Singapore army slang. As the dominant lingua franca of Chinese Singaporeans, Hokkien terms first spread among males performing compulsory national service. But before long, this one had entered everyday, albeit colloquial, Singapore English.
Being A ‘Kiasu’ Singaporean Wasn’t Always A Bad Thing. So What Happened?
Of all the myths in Singapore, none is more ridiculous than the notion that Singaporeans are Kiasu.
Don’t get me wrong. I won’t deny for a moment that some Singaporeans engage in ‘Kiasu’ behavior, like sending their child for unnecessary tuition or grabbing free napkins. What I’m suggesting, however, is that those behaviors are not just normal, but universal.
‘Fear of losing’ is NOT a ‘national’ characteristic that belongs exclusively to Singapore, because every nation with a modern economy is, to some extent, very Kiasu:
- Consider the USA. Singaporean parents are often accused of kiasu-ness for sending their children to expensive tuition or ‘volunteering’ at desirable primary schools to secure admission, but are they really any different from middle-class American parents? They match us dollar for dollar in SAT prep, college application tutors, and various activities to pad out the US equivalent of CCA points.
- Consider the United Kingdom. Having studied in the UK for 3 years, I learned nothing except that English civility is a myth invented in the 1990s to sell romantic comedies starring Hugh Grant. The British are no more polite than any other nationality. Londoners are often celebrated for their orderly queues, but anyone who actually takes the tube every morning will know it’s a lie.
- Consider China. In 2011, a toddler named Wang Yue was run over twice on the road and ignored by no less than 18 passers-by, all of whom were ‘afraid’ to get involved lest that they be accused of causing injury to the dead child.
- Consider Malaysia, which recently got its panties in a twist because Singapore applied for UNESCO Heritage Status for Hawker Culture.
- Consider Japan, where the presenteeism—aka show face—is so extreme that people literally die from trying to make a good impression on their boss.
Why such behaviour should be labelled ‘hardworking’, ‘ambitious’ or ‘assertive’ in other countries, but disparagingly termed ‘Kiasu’ in Singapore is a question that deserves an answer. It seems to me that nobody has a monopoly on Kiasu; some countries just have a greater talent for branding — or self-delusion.
Uniquely Singaporean – Kiasuism
I have been looking for an interesting subject to dwell on and thought, this might be an interesting subject for discussion. Since I was born and raised here, I think I have a fairly good idea on this topic and in all fairness, I must admit I’m also quiet a “kiasu” guy myself in some ways. In plain dialect conversion, “kiasu” literally means “afraid to lose”. I’m not sure if the word is listed in the dictionary but it sure is one of the words most commonly used in associating with the typical Singaporean attitude. It’s kind of a derogatory term to use but I suppose if we look at things from both sides, there are positives to being “kiasu”. The term is so often used that most if not all Singaporeans are used to it and we generally take it within our stride if such terms are used on us sometimes.
So, lets start with the negatives on being label as “kiasu”. We all read and hear complaints about how expensive things are nowadays for just about anything. While it may be true in some instances, I noticed that in some instances, the “kiasu” mentality is at its best to wreck havoc here. Take for example housing. Singapore is a small island, so no matter which “ulu” corner you’re staying now, eventually the amenities would be fully develop. By that time the value would have shot up and selling it would reap in a tidy profit because back then the area was still relatively under-developed so the price of the house would be relatively low as compared to mature estates. But …. the “kiasu” mentality would say why can’t I stay in a more developed area and yet still enjoy the lower prices of under-developed areas? He/she wants instant accessibility but is not willing or unable to afford it.
The situation is even worse when it comes to education. In order not to be left behind, the typical parent would put his/her child in some form of learning school as young as 3 or maybe 4 years old. I don’t have a kid so I don’t know the exact age when a child gets exposed to his/her first taste of group learning. While this may be for the good of the child, did anyone consider some children may actually feel stressed under such conditions and yet not able to convey the message across to his/her parents clearly? A young mind absorbs things pretty quickly, so it’s a matter of exposing the child to the correct environment, not necessarily a school environment. It’s not very common here but there many kids overseas who are home schooled and yet makes wonderful contributions to the society at large.
KIASU: SINGAPOREAN BY ORIGIN, GLOBAL IN MEANING
One of the very first words of the local vernacular that a foreigner is likely to pick up in Singapore is
"kiasu". Originating from the Hokkien dialect, it may literally be translated as "afraid of losing out",
"afraid of not getting the best", "always wanting the upper hand or something for free". Kiasu implies
a great deal of negative qualities and rude behaviour, such as greed, egoism, acquisitiveness, rudeness,
being on a constant lookout for freebies and stuffing oneself at buffet lunches. Kiasu behaviour in Singapore is manifested in everyday situations.
Driving in Singapore has a local tinge. Before changing lanes, you naturally signal right or left, naively believing that this is a universally understood sign. Well, not in Singapore. To the driver behind you in the adjacent lane (the one you'd like to get onto), the amber twinkle of your blinker is what the red cape is to the bull: the enraged kiasuer driver charges forward, preventing you from entering his lane, his nostrils flaring and eyes glaring as he swishes by. Unable to verbally express his indignation with what to you and millions of other motorists the world over consider courteous driving as prescribed by driving manuals, the kiasu driver resorts to furious honking, too. When I shared my take on such driving habits with Singaporean friends of mine, they recommended: "Don't signal – just change lanes, otherwise kiasu drivers will never let you in."
When parking his car, the kiasu driver looks for a lot nearest to the lift or escalator. In case the first level of a multi-storey parking is packed, he will stop in between rows of parked cars, his flashlight on, his engine idling. He means to be the first to snatch the sought-after lot as soon as it is vacated. He knows that there are plenty of vacant lots on other floors – it was indicated so on an electronic board at the entrance of the carpark, but since he was here first, he must have the benefit of parking his car on the lowest floor, no matter how long the wait might be. Last year, there was a brief promotion in Singapore: "a dollar a litre of petrol", when fuel was sold at a reduced price. It caused long lines of vehicles, contributing to traffic jams all over the island. The power of kiasuism forced many motorists to jump at the opportunity, which proved highly dubious. Since the cars had their engines on while queuing at the filling stations, the amount of fuel they wasted surpassed the profit gained. It was obvious to anyone sensible, but those who succumb to fits of kiasuism are normally not.
Why Being Kiasu is a Winning Singaporean Trait That Saves You Money
Being kiasu means you tend to win — from the small things like getting a good deal, to the bigger stuff like buying the home of your dreams
To be scared of losing and / or losing out; to compulsively want to be ahead of everyone else. If kiasu-ism doesn’t resonate with you to some degree, chances are you are not Singaporean. Maybe it hasn’t been the most extolled of Singaporean traits, but that’s because it’s too often associated with those who join queues for no reason other than because everyone else is in the queue – and they don’t want to miss out.
But being kiasu can stand you in good stead if you know how to exploit the trait. After all, if you have compulsive FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), it also means you start thinking and planning ahead of your peers in order to maximise the potential of things – and that can only be a good thing in our books:
- You're More Likely to Have More Money - The 20s is the age of little responsibility when many feel they can splurge on avocado toasts and artisanal coffee.
- You Always Score a Good Deal - Never mind the insane amount of spam in your inbox from receiving marketing mailers from almost any imaginable organisation.
- You Get What You Want Faster - Before you even turn 21 years old, you’re already planning your dream home.
- You're Ready for Anything - We’ve already established being kiasu can be a good thing.
- You're More Likely to Be Successful
- When you read about people who are very successful, traits like “laid-back” and “mellow” aren’t often used to describe them.
S'pore's education system breeds unhealthy "kiasu-ism" & obsession with rankings
Selena Ling is the Chief Economist at OCBC Bank. In 2015, she wrote an essay titled "Two Milestones for Singapore in the Next 50 Years", expressing her hopes that tackling income inequality will become a national priority. In her essay, she also highlighted some concerns she had regarding the education system.
This was originally published in the book Singapore: 2065, a thought-provoking collection of perspectives on the future of Singapore, published by World Scientific. Ling's essay is reproduced in full here:
Education system: breeding "kiasuism" in S'pore
- One example of this could be the current education system where Singapore has chalked up an impressive performance across a wide range of education league tables and is usually held up as an exceptional case study for the rest of the region, if not the rest of the world.
- It is admirable that the government walks the talk when it comes to education spending and the single-minded focus on achieving bold results in the drive for academic success whether in education or lifelong learning.
- But one unintended consequence is that young students and their parents are now embroiled in this high-stakes game called the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), and the attendant flourishing private tuition industry that caters to the associated exam anxieties that arise from “kiasuism” (the fear of losing out).
- While there have been policy efforts to ensure “true meritocracy” and “social mobility” over the last five decades, the complicated system of school affiliations, “through train” schooling, and the concentration of “good” schools in select neighbourhoods, contribute to many parents believing that paying for their child’s education is the best investment they can make.
Singapore Society: 'Kiasu and Complaining', but one that cares for the Elderly
A resident from St Luke's Eldercare Centre plays Chinese chess with a student from Fajar Secondary School, at the school's annual Inter-Generational Games on October 26, 2017
Six years on, Singaporeans still see society here in predominantly negative terms, associating values and behaviour such as "kiasu", "kiasi", "complaining", "competitive", "materialistic", "blame", and "self-centred" with the people around them.
The term "complaining" was added to the triennial National Values Assessment survey this year and it emerged as second-most cited value. Not all was bleak in the latest survey conducted by the Barrett Values Centre and aAdvantage Consulting Group, which polled 2,000 Singaporeans from March to May this year.
A positive change was the term "care for the elderly" making the list for the first time. It was something that Singaporeans had indicated they desired in society since 2012, and featured alongside two attributes which Singaporeans indicated they liked about Singapore in 2015 – "effective healthcare" and "educational opportunities". "Peace" and "security", which featured in the 2015 list, were replaced.
Why Singapore’s ‘kiasu’ culture prevails
Tissue packets are used to reserve tables
Nowhere is that more obvious than in Singapore’s queuing culture. The fear of losing out has created a herd mentality when it comes to lines, especially at the city’s famous open-air food courts, known as hawker centers. “When you see a queue snaking, it means the food must be good, that it’s something you should try,” said Yeo, the journalism student. “I just returned from visiting Taiwan and saw long lines for food. Half the people were Singaporean.”
Some lines are still talked about today, like the time when thousands of Singaporeans thronged outside McDonald’s restaurants in a kiasu-crazed bid to score free Hello Kitty toys. The pull to line up has even inspired a business, iQueue. The service, which is similar to errand apps such as TaskRabbit, gets up to 50 requests a month to stand in line for things such as boba tea or concert tickets to see the band BTS.
Justin Zheng, a manager at the company, said he queued in line for 12 hours outside a prestigious art class last month for parents who wanted to register their elementary-school-aged child. Zheng arrived at 7 p.m. the night before the doors opened and still found someone ahead of him in line. By midnight, there were 100 in line. By the next morning, he estimates there were twice as many people. The parents next to him weren’t even taken aback that Zheng didn’t have any kids and was hired to be there. Instead, they took down his number. Anything to gain an edge, they told him. “It’s in our blood,” said Zheng, who was paid $110 to line up for half a day. “You realize you have to work harder to be earlier than the next guy.”
Kiasu
Kiasu (simplified Chinese: 惊输; traditional Chinese: 驚輸; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiaⁿ-su) is a term derived from the Hokkien “kia” meaning afraid and “su” meaning to lose. It is commonly defined as “the fear of losing,” and is directed at a person who behaves competitively to either attain their goal or to get ahead of others. The term has been part of the Singlish (formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English) lexicon spoken in Singapore since the 1980s.
Since then, Kiasuism has settled into Singaporean society and has become part of the cultural norms such as within the local education system or the queuing culture. Nevertheless, Kiasuism still exists in other countries, which have their own variation of the word. Acts of Kiasuism can be either positive or negative depending on the intent of the person committing the act and on the act's end result. Kiasuism has had a notable history since its move away from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) army barracks to the streets of Singapore, from the emergence of Mr. Kiasu to government attempts to curb Kiasuism.
Others have considered Kiasuism as something positive and beneficial. Among others, factors include the mentality to drive many Singaporeans to work harder and strive for success, which helped the country to become one of the most prosperous and competitive countries in the world. This mindset has also fostered a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, encourage people to be prepared for any situation, and promote a culture of safety and risk management. This has led many Singaporeans to be careful and cautious, which has helped to improve overall safety in the country.
Ho Ching urge Singaporeans not to be kiasu
Hello, kiasu Singapore!
There are plenty of stocks for the medical grade masks, so don’t come and Q with your bag and SP bill, unless it is your birthday today, tmrw and this weekend.
This will help reduce the Q and crowd for everyone’s safety!
Temasek Foundation has plenty of stock, and collection is over one month.
Why not make it a birthdate treat to go collect on your birthday, on behalf on your household?
If you are born on 26 of whichever month, come down and collect today.
If you are born on 27 of whichever month, come down and collect tomorrow.
That way, we collectively help to manage the queue - each one make a simple decision to collect on the date of our birthdays.
Sorry, lah, cannot send to your letterboxes, for one practical reason.
Putting Packets of Tissue to “Chope” Seats
Chope is to reserve a place, such as a seat in a fast food restaurant, sometimes by placing a packet of tissue paper on it
I have witnessed overly-cultured and genteel visitors from strange lands descend onto our popular hawker centre (where they serve flavors that define the country’s culinary culture), at mad peak hour moments and wonder, “Ahem, so is someone going to show us to a table for 4?” Not going to happen ma’am.
The technique of securing seats at those feeding frenzy hours had long ago been reduced and translated to a fine art form called “chope.” The first thing chope master artists do is to hone in on an empty table and mark their turf — by putting the cheapest or most useless personal item they have on them, usually a half used tissue pack, a cheap ball point pen or even a worthless bargain stall umbrella on the seat. That, in mod-Singapore street food speak, means “lay off, she’s taken,” or in local vernacular called Singlish “Chope, this seat mine” (a local English slang, sans the polite grammar and attitude the British left us with).
These are the 10 immutable laws of using Singapore’s hawker centres:
- Firstly, scour the hawker centre for empty tables or chairs
- Chope also an extra seat for your bags
- Say your order in slow but clear broken English (loose all the polite grammar) for best effect
- If you are wearing white tops that need to stay clean, stay away from curries, thick soups and dark sauces
- Choose who you want to share a table with
- Ordering drinks from the beverage auntie or uncle
- When seated, wipe the edge of table directly in front of you with wet tissues
- If it’s not a self-service stall and they offer to bring the food to your table, sit close to them
- Transfer the leftover crockery of your vacated table to another, so the cleaner will attend to your table faster
- If you are clueless as to what to order, just follow the queues
Couple in "Chope" table incident arrested
Chow Chuin Yee (2nd from left) and Tay Puay Leng were charged for causing a public nuisance. (Foto: Gayathiri Chandramohan)
The couple who got into an ugly spat with an elderly man at a hawker centre in Toa Payoh was handed a S$2,700 fine on Friday (Aug 11).
Chow Chuin Yee, 46, was fined S$1,500 for using criminal force on 76-yr-old Ng Ai Hua, by using his upper body to forcefully barge into Mr Ng.
Chow’s partner, Tay Puay Leng, 39, was fined S$1,200 for using abusive words on Mr Ng with the intent to cause alarm.
Taking free items in bulk is criminal misappropriation
"Din Tai Fung toothpicks are so good" says labour chief Lim Swee Say
In fact, he revealed with a laugh, the Din Tai Fung toothpicks are so good, he "can never resist" - he always takes half a box of them during each visit.
"They always serve in a pack," he told reporters at BreadTalk Group's new headquarters in Tai Seng. "And because I go there very early - 10.30 in the morning - always full right. And guess what? By the time I left, normally right, it's half left. The other half is in my pocket."
In fact, Mr Lim had a Din Tai Fung toothpick on him, and showed it to reporters.
Singapore urges calm after panic buying hits supermarkets
Okay, I’ll be the first to admit: the first panic-buying in Singapore, which stemmed from the change of the DORSCON level from yellow to Orange, didn’t sound rational to me. But this time, it’s a tad rational.
I mean, Malaysia’s going to be on lockdown? With so many of our produce coming from Malaysia, surely this is going to affect us?
Moments after Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the lockdown that took Singapore by storm, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing immediately took to Facebook to reassure us that we’ll have enough supplies despite the lockdown.
Every school is a good school
No more 1st, 2nd or last in class for primary and secondary students
Whether a child finishes first or last will no longer be indicated in primary & secondary school report books from next year - a move which Education Minister Ong Ye Kung hopes will show students that "learning is not a competition".
Report books will not just stop showing a student's position in relation to class or cohort. The information to be dropped includes:
- Class and level mean
- Minimum and maximum marks
- Underlining and/or colouring of failing marks
- Pass/fail for end-of-year result
- Mean subject grades
- Overall total marks
- L1R5 (English plus five relevant subjects), L1R4 , EMB3 (English, maths, best three subjects) and EMB1 for lower secondary levels
The Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday (Sept 28) that the change is to allow each student to focus on his or her learning progress and discourage them from being overly concerned about comparisons.
Bickering over a Reserved MRT seat
A video of a woman and an auntie engaged in an altercation over an MRT reserved seat has been circulating on Facebook.
The video, shared on Sure Boh Singapore’s Facebook page, shows a woman sitting on the reserved seat on board a MRT train. An auntie in turquoise can be seen standing in front of her. The woman then told the auntie:
A video of a woman and an auntie engaged in an altercation over an MRT reserved seat has been circulating on Facebook.
The video, shared on Sure Boh Singapore’s Facebook page, shows a woman sitting on the reserved seat on board a MRT train. An auntie in turquoise can be seen standing in front of her. The woman then told the auntie:
- “You pay, I pay.
- “I don’t think you deserve it (the seat).”
Chope parking lots with dustbins
Can they do that? Drivers use cones, bins and clothes rack to 'chope' parking spaces
Two Stompers alerted Stomp to incidents of drivers using physical items to 'chope' parking lots at two locations in Singapore. Firstly, a Stomper sent a photo showing an orange cone placed in front of an empty parking lot at Ubi Avenue 1.
He came across the sight at 8.30am this morning (Jan 18) and said that he has been seeing this for more than three months. In a telephone interview and WhatApp message, the Stomper said that the lot was reserved by a BMW driver who owned a shop nearby. The parking lot was demarcated by white markers, meaning that it was meant for public use. The driver however claimed that the lot is allocated for him and will park his vehicle there from 8am to 4.30pm, according to the Stomper.
Stomper Chan also witnessed a similar occurrence yesterday (Jan 17) at around 1pm along Cheow Keng Road. In a video he sent, dustbins were used to 'chope' spaces in between several parked cars along the road. Towards the end of the video, there was even a clothes hanger that was used to reserve a parking space.
Singaporelang - What the Singlish?
Huat ah!
This new monthly series highlights the diverse range of stories these Singapore photographers have produced in recent years, from a quirky visualisation of Singlish, to an extensive documentary on life in Singapore’s Southern Islands. Often going beyond what mainstream news outlets produce or publish, these photo-essays add rich new layers to the visual record of changing life in Singapore.
We kick off the series with “Singaporelang — What the Singlish?”, photographer Zinkie Aw’s technicolour love letter to Singlish. So, mai tu liao, check out the photos below and see if you can suggest lagi better captions.
I think I am very Singaporean because I eat, think, breathe and speak like one, and I am self-confessed sibei kiasu with my photography.
While working on this project, I also realised that many people have the misconception that only ah bengs or ah lians or army boys use Singlish. But hey, wrong lor! The whole Singapore does!
Kiasi
Kiasi (simplified Chinese: 惊 死; traditional Chinese: 驚 死; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiaⁿ-sí) is a Hokkien phrase, literally means afraid of death, to describe the attitude of being overly afraid or timid.
Kiasi is commonly compared to Kiasu (literally: “fear of losing”); both are commonly used to describe attitudes where Kiasi or Kiasi-ism means to take extreme measures to avoid risk and Kiasu or Kiasu-ism means to take extreme means to achieve success. Kiasi is not as popular as kiasu, but is widely used by Hokkien-speaking people in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The history of kiasi can be traced back to the Chinese idiom "Greedy for life, afraid of death" (Chinese: 貪 生 怕 死; pinyin: tān shēng pà sǐ), which describes a person's extreme fear of death, and may drive a person to lose his sense of justice and righteousness. The idiom was originally applied to cowardly soldiers on the battlefield. In modern usage, it refers to people who are irrationally frightful to undertake any task.
5 Bits of Distinctively Singaporean Culture
What do you think of when probed about our Singaporean culture? It’s amusing how the inner satirist in most of us would emerge in response to this, because we’d immediately think towards the generalized 3Ks (Kiasu, Kiasee, Kiabor, and sometimes Kia Zheng Fu) we have grown accustomed to in describing ourselves.
I do acknowledge that those 3Ks do constitute part of us, but it sometimes becomes almost kind of sad when it seems like there isn’t even anything positive we can gather to describe about our country. Let’s face it, introducing our Singapore that 3Ks way to for instance an international friend we’ve just made is almost akin to introducing yourself as a no-life, irrationally competitive joker fixated on only the shallow pursuits of life. That we’re just 5.312 (data from 2012) million empty shells stripped off of any other interesting traits that may differentiate ourselves.
This kind of annoys me to some extent, because hey, there’re a million other things about us you can introduce to your international friends, alright? 5 Bits of Distinctively Singaporean Culture:
- Singlish
- Ordering Kopi
- Hawker Culture in Singapore
- Our Chope Culture
- Queuing
SINGAPORE LADY: We are Longing For The 5Bs Man
I’m sure you have heard of the 5Cs a Singapore lady expects of her future spouse. BUT, I tell you, the 5Cs is over. Now we are looking for the NEW 5Bs. Well, here is something to link the 5Cs to the newer 5Bs:
- I don't need a CAR, but I want a BMW
- I don't need a CONDO, but I want a BUNGALOW
- I don't need you to have CREDIT CARDS but I expect you to be a BILLIONAIRE
- I don't need you to have CASH but I want you to own a BANK
- I don't need you to have a CAREER but I want you to be a BOSS
However, there are 5Ks for them too:
- Kiasu (scared of losing)
- Kiasi (scared of dying)
- Kiabor (scared of wife)
- Kiaboh (scared of having nothing)
- Kiachenghu (scared of government)
