Elderly man allegedly scolds Gen Z commuter over MRT seat until a ‘May I Have a Seat’ card appears

SINGAPORE: A Gen Z commuter wearing a yellow “May I have a seat” card allegedly refused to cave in after an elderly man demanded that he give up his seat on the MRT.

A fellow commuter who witnessed the incident shared the story on the r/SMRTRabak forum on Monday (Jul 27), saying the encounter unfolded over two train stops and ended with many passengers watching the drama play out.

According to the eyewitness, the young commuter was seated next to a priority seat when an elderly man approached and demanded that he move. Rather than responding, the young man reportedly remained silent and ignored him.

“The young dude just ignored him. And the old man started to raise his voice and scold (with vulgarities) the young dude. I think I saw a part where the young dude ‘uno reverse’ the old man by flashing the same card back to him.”

The card, part of a public initiative, is meant for commuters with medical conditions or disabilities who may require a seat but whose needs are not immediately obvious.

Eventually, it was the passenger sitting in the priority seat who gave up their seat to the elderly man.

At the next station, another commuter boarded and politely asked the same young man if they could have his seat. This time, the young man willingly stood up and gave it to them without hesitation.

The eyewitness said the elderly man appeared taken aback and allegedly began scolding the young man again.

“Honestly, it was a good show! And I support the young dude. There is a difference between asking for a seat and DEMANDING IT as if being old entitles you to everything.

He went on to argue that giving up seats should remain an act of courtesy rather than an obligation.

“Respectfully, by law it’s not a must to give up seats. The govt should 1) re-design the cabin layout or 2) increase the frequency so people have seats.”

He added, “Govt shouldn’t mandate people to give up seats. One day when all the elderly people are taking up the MRT seats or when the cabin is full of old people, then who gets the seat? Take out the NRIC to compare who is older, etc., ah? And it’s not possible for the govt. to have enforcement because they can’t determine who needs the seat more.”

“Heck, old man probably paying senior fare which is cheaper than adult fare + taking monthly CPF payout when the young dude have to work his a** off…”

In the discussion thread, many Redditors praised the young man because he stood his ground despite being scolded by the elderly man.

One wrote, “Good job to the young man, some of these seniors are so entitled that it’s infuriating.”

Another shared, “The elderly in Singapore are so entitled. I lived in Melbourne for a few years. The elderly over there never asked for priority seats even when trains were crowded. They even offered to give up their seat for me when I was with my young child. I politely declined as I was getting off soon.”

A third added, “If I’m the kid at this point, I will just put the card on my forehead so these entitled old people will stop asking me.”

In other news, a local employee took to Reddit to share that his company only approved the salary increment he had been asking for a week after he submitted his resignation.

Posting on the r/singaporefi forum, the employee explained that he had been on a two- to three-year contract and had first approached his manager about a salary increase or promotion around a year before his contract was due for renewal.

Read more: Employee asks for raise for a year, only gets it a week after resigning: ‘Why do companies wait until you leave?’