M’sian Student Hesitates To Jaywalk In Home Country, Too Used To Crossing Safely In S’pore

Student Hesitates To Jaywalk In Malaysia After Using Road Crossings In Singapore

In Singapore, jaywalking isn’t rare but isn’t seen often perhaps due to the strict surveillance and punishment by authorities. For that reason, people often take the safer route of crossing at proper points such as pedestrian or zebra crossings.

Having made this a habit, a Malaysian girl who’s currently a student in Singapore found herself pausing before taking the first step to jaywalk across a street in Johor.

Claiming she had become reliant on zebra crossings and traffic lights, she waited until there were no cars before running across the road.

Malaysian student hesitates to jaywalk, jokes about ‘betraying country’

Johor-born Adriana shared her amusing experience via a TikTok video on Monday (4 Sep).

She started by saying that this is how one knows one has been staying in Singapore for “way too long”.

Detailing the problem she was facing, she said she needed to cross the road but there weren’t any zebra crossings around.

Subsequently, she said that she used to know how to jaywalk, because she is a “Malaysian, of course”.

However, she claimed she has since “lost all (her) ability”, having been relying on zebra crossings and traffic lights to cross roads safely in Singapore.

She then waited until the street was free of cars, and hurriedly ran across.

“That was so f**king scary,” she said upon making it to the other side.

Sharing her thoughts, Adriana said that she felt she had disgraced her family and betrayed her country, implying that jaywalking is an integral part of Malaysian culture.

Notices other differences between Malaysia & Singapore

Speaking to MS News, Adriana shared that she’s been studying for a diploma in Singapore for just two months.

Even so, she has noticed many differences in her time here, like our faster pace of life. She quipped that she was quite surprised that some restaurants have a one-hour dining limit.

She also observed that Singaporeans value independence a lot, as she has seen even young children being able to look out for themselves.

More starkly, Adriana realises that Singapore is much more ‘walkable’, likely due to more people taking public transportation. In contrast, more Malaysians take their own vehicles everywhere.

Malaysians puzzled by student’s use of zebra crossing term

Unexpectedly, Adriana’s video confused a lot of netizens with her usage of the term ‘zebra crossing’.

While it’s common in Singapore, some viewers who were presumably Malaysian were not familiar with it.

One of them was left in stitches upon hearing Adriana say ‘zebra crossing’, as they were used to the term ‘pedestrian lane’.

In response, Adriana lightheartedly told the commenter to shut up and joked that she was “uneducated”.

Another thought Adriana was referring to a zoo-themed cartoon.

On another note, a viewer suggested that she reclaim her Malaysian identity by using the ‘power of hand’.

For context, this is the practice of holding up one’s hand to signal to passing drivers that one is crossing the road. It is supposedly common among Malaysians.

In a plot twist, one Singaporean admitted to flouting the rules by crossing the street even on the red light.

Meanwhile, one Singaporean who frequently visits family in Malaysia cheekily implied that Adriana can perfect her jaywalking skills with enough practice.

Despite the lighthearted nature of the video, we would like to stress that jaywalking is illegal and can put one’s life at great risk.

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Featured image adapted from TikTok.