Why Are We Still Queueing Behind the Rules? A Rant on Courtesy in Malaysian Public Spaces
Why Are We Still Queueing Behind the Rules? A Rant on Courtesy in Malaysian Public Spaces
Look around. Seriously. The next time you’re supposed to be standing in an orderly line – LRT platform, toll booth, ATM, nasi lemak stall – observe the glorious Malaysian interpretation of “queueing.” It’s less a line, more a suggestive gathering, a loose affiliation of bodies with the collective spatial awareness of a startled chicken.
We know the rules. We just queue behind them, treating them like polite suggestions rather than the bedrock of shared public sanity. The elbow subtly inserted ahead? The “oh, I was just standing here” shuffle forward when the counter opens? The entire extended family materialising beside the one person who was legitimately queuing? The absolute audacity of someone walking straight to the front because their need is clearly more urgent than yours? It’s a daily...