Picture Perfect 2008/#04
Theme : Around The World
Camera : Canon PowerShot S5 IS
Date Taken : 2008 Jan
Picture taken at the lift lobby of the flat where I am staying now. The sign / information board above the lift is printed in 4 different languages, which is very common in Singapore as a multi-racial country. Notice that there is also a warning sign for smoking and urinating in the lift are prohibited.
Singapore - Malay: Singapura; Chinese: 新加坡; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர is an island nation located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.Singapore is a mixture of an indigenous Malay population with a third generation Chinese majority, as well as Indian and Arab immigrants with some intermarriages. There also exist significant Eurasian and Peranakan (known as "Straits Chinese") communities.
The national language of Singapore is Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national anthem, "Majulah Singapura".
The official languages are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. English has been promoted as the country's language of administration since independence.
Public signs and official publications are in English, although there are translated versions in other official languages.
Singapore is also known locally as a "fine city".
There's a fine of S$500 for smoking in public places such as cinemas, trains, lifts, air-conditioned restaurants and shopping malls.
Littering carries a S$1000 fine, with offenders forced to do litter-picking duty.
Eating or drinking on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) could cost you a S$500.
Other fines include those for urinating in lifts (some lifts are fitted with urine detectors), not flushing a public toilet and chewing gum, which is outlawed in Singapore.
Join in the Fun =>> FotoFriday's Picture Perfect Friday
Thanks so much for the view from your world.
ReplyDeleteThis was great, It's awesome that we have a chance to tour your part of the world.. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite something, maintaining four official languages. It can be costly to live there if you don't read the signs but once you know, you have no choice but to go along. Very good entry and a nice take on the theme. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on mine.
Very interesting. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt's so fun to visit other cultures....thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat's very interesting, all the rules, and posted in 4 languages too! With fines like that, I imagine you don't have too many offenders.
ReplyDeleteHey thank you for sharing that , this is fun like a real trip around the world !!!
ReplyDeletehttp://sharonl344.multiply.com/journal/item/59/Picture_Perfect_Around_The_World
hi great take on theme...
ReplyDeleteAnd how many of those languages do you know?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Sounds like people are pretty cooperative to have signs in languages for everyone, even us dumb ones that only know English! :-)
That's unique! Great shot.
ReplyDeleteMine's up: ~ P i c t u r e P e r f e c t ~ - AROUND THE WORLD -
Heehee! Thanks for the tour at the "fine city'!! But I think that's what made it unique! And the irony is Malaysians are very good at obeying the rules there when compared back home! LOL!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
"There is also a warning sign for smoking and utinating in the lift are prohibited."
ReplyDeleteWhat are they prohibiting here besides smoking? Is it what I think it is? Too funny!
Thanks for sharing! Rani
Oops.. sorry, typo error, should be "urinating" heehee~
ReplyDeleteAs the lift is a public facility, some people, either conveniently, drunk, or what other reasons, tend to urinate in the lift which makes it stinks and also spoils the lift. Thus urine detector is installed in the lift to trap the culprit inside the lift once urine is detected.
hahah~ ruzie, that's true, I heard many of my Malaysian friends they themselves say that too.
ReplyDeleteI know almost 3 of them, except Tamil, just knew certain words, as really too difficult for me.
ReplyDeleteEnglish (as it was implemented as a first language medium in the education system)
Chinese (my mother-tongue)
Malay (used to be taught in school during my father's generation, nowadays, consider as mother-tongue language, I learned the language DIY, simple words or phrases still manageable but not complex sentences).
However, my Indian friends know how to speak very fluent Mandarin, some even know how to speak dialects like Hokkien, Cantonese, very clever!
That's part of our national pledge "...pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society..."
Hi, I used to live in one of the HDB buildings. That's very singaporean style :D.
ReplyDeleteVery cool signs!
ReplyDeleteA very unusual take on the theme! I love it!
ReplyDeleteDoes it help, all those fines? Does the world around you look cleaner?
Singapore! My friend musicalfalls would be able to read these. :)
ReplyDeletegreat take on the theme, very interesting,thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing what a multi-cultured place Singapore is and thaks for your comments on mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the colorful signs of Singapore.
ReplyDeleteHei Dreamz
ReplyDeleteGrand take on the theme!
Singapore is most certainly international.
Have a super weekend. Rii :)
Mine's up as well...
I go to Singapore every year so this is something very familiar to me *smile*!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have a great take on this week's theme, Dream! People around the world - East and West - do meet in Singapore, don't they? Thanks for sharing and visiting my take! I wish you a great weekend there!
I like your idea on the theme..whats sad is that someone had to urinate in order for them to post the sign. eww Thanks for checking out mine.
ReplyDeletefirst of all i like your unique take on the theme..your interpretation certainly covers it.. but no sign for English ? Just teasing.. Thanks for coming to my page.. I think its a first for u and me to see each other;s pics. Thanks for finding mine.
ReplyDeleteI used to live in S'pore .. couple of my best friends still live there, great country, very clean & organize ;o)
ReplyDeletehmmm, interesting...been to S'pore before, but never noticed a board of sign/information in 4 different languages.. TFS.. have a nice weekend!
ReplyDeleteha ha ha! These are some very original signs! Singapore has always been something very exotical to me!:)
ReplyDeleteSingapore is so clean that I was afraid I might drop a hair, and I'm from Denmark where no one pees in elevators.
ReplyDeleteI like clean surroundings, but S'pore is rather too much. Your toddler drops a bit of her ice cream, and you're fined a week's pay (I suspect; not sure). But nice city, definitely.
I was thinking of posting a photo from Kashmir where I live, but I think it's too late now. Or isn't it? What are the rules of this fun game, Dreamz?
ReplyDeleteOh wow! Very cool and so unusual! Great information you gave, too!
ReplyDeleteHere's mine.. http://serenole.multiply.com/journal/item/47/_Around_the_World_
Owww...YES...I love Singapore.
ReplyDeleteBeen there several times and gonna be there again this June for about 3 days.
We could see each other there if you want to.
I'll be there for the exhibition called CommunicAsia 2008. Just something to do from work here at the communication company.
Thx so much for stopping by at mine first.
Sorry for the late visit, I've been out of town with hubby.
Have a great weekend there (^_^)v
First off, I want to thank you for the visit to my little part of the world. Next, what a neat place you live in. Sometimes I wish they had tougher laws here in the states. As then there would be less offneders. Thanks for the visit. I have enjoyed myself very much here. I am flying off to visit another part of the world. This has been so much fun. See you around, lilangelwolf
ReplyDeletehahaha~ Not to that extreme :D
ReplyDeleteWell there's always one or two rotten eggs to be found in a basket full of eggs. Besides, the number of immigrants and foreign workers has been increasing dramatically within these few years, thus some of them might still not aware of the rules and regulations here.
Oh, Regina, so you ever stay in Singapore for a period of time ? That's interesting...
ReplyDeletehi Lil,
ReplyDeleteYes, Me too, habing a lot of fun looking around the world hahaha~
Thanks for your visit, and "enjoy your trip". c u :)
Wow Livy, so you must be quite familiar with Singapore as have been here for several times.
ReplyDeleteSure, no problem! Send me a msg when the dates are confirmed so we can make some arrangement and meet up with each other in June. Are you bring baby Lex along ?
Have a nice day ahead ! :D
hahah~ very common right ?
ReplyDeleteThanks. You can give me a call during your next visit if you want :)
Oh yes, not only the "East and West" even in terms of direction - people from different directions North,South,East,West meet here ! Thus no problem in finding good international cuisine here.
It's very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing and a great shot.
I have been to Singapura before but just for transit :(
Every place is unique in its own way. Thank you for sharing, very interesting info on "fine city". :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit.
I do like those laws! Singapore would be a very clean city then, right? I always thought the main language was Chinese. I have learnt something new today. Great post!
ReplyDeleteit is indeed unique.. it's so Singapore :))
ReplyDeleteEw urination warning? Why? Is it that common? Like New York? Love the picture and the different point of view. Thank You. LOL Yes I had the whole Idea wrong for my picture! I will try again next time!
ReplyDeleteDo hope that next time you have a chance and longer period of time to stop over at Sinagpore again!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit.
ReplyDeleteWell, I won't say 100% clean, however, comparing to some other cities, Singapore can be considered as quite a clean city already.
Probably that's because more than 75% of the population are Chinese, :)
Thanks ! Yeah ! Unique Singapore !
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not really common, only minority of such cases. For so many years, never see alarm being activated by the urine detecter.
ReplyDeleteUsuallly are those people who are too drunk or too urgent that they cuold not differentiate between a toliet and a lift...hahah~ precaution better than cure, almost 80% of the poeple are staying in high-rise flats,.lift is a public facility, which everyday,people will definitedly have to use it. Thus If the lift stink or malfunction, it really creates inconvenience to most of the people. .
Oh I could never come there..have to have my gum :) Very interesting.
ReplyDeletelol~ ginny, so long as u dun chew it "openly" and u dispose it properly, not to stick it anywhere and being caught by polive, u still can enjoy chewing the gum "secretly" "illegally" (ssshh~ dun tell people I tell u that.ok?hahahah~ )
ReplyDeleteWow! How did I miss this last week? Sorry 'bout that Dreamz. That is definitely something unique and a very informative blog... I've heard and read about the strict laws there, too. My niece, Abie, works in Singapore. She never told me about the "No Urinating" signs though. Hmmmm... shouldn't that go without saying? :-) I have to agree with Ginny... I'm a gum chewer, too. I like to have fresh breath. LOL Otherwise if I can't chew gum... you'll get tired of me talking all the time. What else is there to do? hehehe
ReplyDeleteWow that's alot of information for one ride!
ReplyDeleteunique idea well done ,ox
ReplyDelete