Customs in Singapore

When Singaporeans receive guests, they usually treat them to lunch or dinner. When eating with Indians or Malays in Singapore, be careful not to use your left hand. When dining at a Singaporean's home, you can bring a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates as a gift. When talking, avoid talking about politics and religion. You can talk about your travel experiences, the countries you have visited and Singapore’s economic achievements.

You must take off your shoes when entering the mosque. In some homes, you have to take off your shoes when entering the house.

Due to British influence in the past, Singapore has become Westernized. However, the local people still retain the traditional habits of many ethnic groups, so the ways of greeting are different. The most common is to shake hands when people meet, and for Easterners, they can bow lightly.

In order to make everyone polite, the Singapore government has also made some regulations on politeness: Clerk politeness: greet customers with a smile when they come to the door; when customers make purchases, take the initiative to introduce them and never tire of them; when customers ask questions, pay attention Listen and answer questions carefully; when customers leave, send them off warmly and say goodbye politely. Neighbor courtesy, neighbors should greet each other when meeting. During festivals, neighbors should be invited as guests. Help your neighbors with housekeeping. When using public places, always think of others. Singaporeans always greet people with a smile. If you use a public phone, you will smile and say to the waiting person: "I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long." Even street posters promoting civility and courtesy are printed with a smiling character and some slogans, such as: "Be polite when dealing with others", "Everyone is polite, life is better", "Smile sincerely, be polite" way". At night, colorful slide signs promoting politeness flashed constantly.

Cabinet ministers and parliamentarians also often go to the people to lecture on the importance of civility and courtesy. Even the police always smile when they impose fines on people who violate traffic rules. Therefore, Singaporeans jokingly say: "I am afraid that the policeman will smile" - he will have to pay for it when he smiles. Because there are smiling faces everywhere, foreigners always feel "at home" when visiting Singapore.

Singaporeans hate men with long hair, and they also don’t like people with beards. In some public places, a placard is often erected: "Men with long hair are not welcome." Singapore has very strict regulations on hippie-type men with long hair. Men with long hair, jeans, and slippers may be banned from entering the country. Young people, in particular, must dress neatly and freshly when going abroad, and do not let their hair reach shoulder length.