A video of an altercation between two women on a crowded MRT has been trending.
In the video, it appears that a Filipina bumped into a Malay-speaking woman who seems to be a Singaporean. The Malay speaker then threw the Filipina’s phone down in a rage. One of the women can be heard calling the other a “disgrace.”
In the argument that ensued, the Filipina blew up at the Malay speaking woman, screaming “What my phone do to you?!” When the other woman responded in Malay, the Filipina claimed to be a Singaporean and fellow commuters can be heard booing and asking the woman, “Singaporean? Very proud ah?”
[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM9WUzKxhN8&feature=youtu.be”]
Tensions on public transport has been high due to frequent train service breakdowns and delays in recent months. Frustrated commuters have flooded social media with their grievances, with one group starting an online petition pushing Guinness World Records to honour SMRT for Highest Number of Train Delays that went viral.
Responding to widespread complaints, SMRT Trains CEO Lee Ling Wee said in a statement this past week that the organisation has “no choice” but to conduct checks on the new signalling system on the NSEWL during peak hours, even though it may lead to train faults:
“If we were to restrict the performance checks to only weekends, or engineering hours (i.e. 1.30AM – 4.30AM), it would take Singapore years to implement the new signalling system on the NSEWL
“This is why we have no choice but to conduct checks throughout the day, including weekday peak hours, when trains are running at high frequencies with heavy commuter loads.”