EVERYONE else lacks social graces, but not me.

That general sentiment was captured from 83 respondents in YouthInk's latest poll of those aged 17 to 27.

Sixty-one per cent of all respondents thought the majority of Singaporeans did not possess 'social graces' - that is, 'manners', 'etiquette' and 'the collective skill for dealing with people and society'.

At least half described the average Singaporean youth, out of a list of words containing both positive and negative adjectives, as 'inconsiderate', 'indifferent' and 'rude'.

Worse, at least half labelled the average Singaporean as 'demanding or calculative', 'inconsiderate', 'indifferent' and 'selfish'.

However, respondents considered themselves a polite bunch.

At least half of respondents said they practised all 14 Acts of Kindness suggested by the Singapore Kindness Movement.

Yet, about half also believed that the 'majority of Singaporeans' practised only four of them.

They especially felt that Singaporeans lacked initiative - they failed to clear trays, left food on tables at food courts, and did not properly dispose of litter.

Respondents specifically wished all Singaporeans to have better manners when taking public transportation - keeping left on the escalator, offering up seats on buses and trains, and giving way to alighting passengers on the MRT before boarding.

Respondents noted that Singaporeans were often guilty of turning a blind eye and shoving - or as one respondent called it, 'visual incapacitation and spatial disorientation'.

Unsurprisingly, then, that nearly 30 years after the first National Courtesy Campaign was launched in 1979, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong again brought up the issue during his National Day Rally.

Is Singapore really a developed nation with Third World behaviour? Or should we start looking more closely at our own behaviour before pointing out the flaws in others?

Andre Oei, 22, is a graduate student at Harvard University.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Nov 17, 2008.