I AM amused by the stickers put up at MRT stations, featuring the comedians Gurmit Singh and his screen wife, Irene Ang, reprising their roles as Mr and Mrs Phua Chu Kang.

The stickers are part of the campaign to ask commuters to give way to alighting passengers. However, poor English is used to convey the message.

For example, Phua Chu Kang is quoted as saying: 'Don't play play! Let me come out first.' It is incorrect to say 'don't play play'. Rather, the correct sentence should be 'don't fool around' or, in this context, 'don't block the exit'.

The next sentence 'let me come out first' is also incorrect. The correct sentence should be 'let me go out'. When you tell someone you are getting off a train, you should say 'I'm going out', not 'I'm coming out'.

I would suggest a better phrasing: 'Please let me alight before boarding.' That would be grammatically correct and straight to the point.

I hope such poor English would not be widely publicised as it is a disgraceful example of our lack of proficiency in English.

Mr Raymund Koh Joo Guan

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