SINGAPORE: A woman who is four months pregnant took to a forum on Monday (Feb 17) to share that despite having a “May I have a seat please” priority sticker, she is still asked to give up her seat. According to the woman’s post, she is usually asked to do so by aunties on board public transportation.
“I’m currently (approximately) four months pregnant and still experiencing morning sickness. Due to my small body frame, I’m not showing hence it’s not obvious that I’m pregnant. I have to commute daily via public transport for work. On the few occasions when I managed to find a seat on the non-priority seats, I was asked to give up my seat. Usually by aunties.
“Most of the time I sat down because my nausea was getting too uncomfortable for me to continue standing throughout my journey. Does the ‘May I have a seat please’ sticker or lanyard work? So that I can just point to that sticker or lanyard instead of having to explain that I’m unwell and pregnant hence pls ask someone else.”
According to the Caring SGCommuters Committee, the “May I Have a Seat Please” initiative was launched to help commuters identify other commuters with invisible medical conditions who would like a seat on board public transportation. These identifiers can be attained from the Passenger Service Centres at MRT stations, bus interchanges or TransitLink Ticket Offices.
In response to the woman’s post, many encouraged her to speak up politely, reminding her that if she doesn’t want to give up her seat, she doesn’t have to. “There’s a low chance it will work, not saying it won’t it’s more like those people that voice out that they want your seat normally won’t check whether you got the lanyard or not at that point,” said one. “Just voice out politely, and don’t be afraid to voice out, most will understand and ask another person if they need a seat as well.”
“You should just tell them you are pregnant and unwell,” said another. “You don’t need to give your seat to an auntie if you don’t want to. They should be more considerate and you should stand up for yourself, or else you’ll get taken advantage of by them. You need to sit anyway for your baby. Oh but if you regularly take MRT and almost never take (the) bus, I can recommend something like this storage trolley.”