I dyed my grey hair a natural black. So I do not look like a 62-year-old senior citizen. Instead, physically I look more like I am in my early 50s.

I still work part time and I need to travel by public transport. Every morning I travel by MRT from one end to the other end to work. The to-and-fro journey takes me at least two hours.

All of us will have to grow old. Physically we might look young. However, internally, our body functional systems will deteriorate with age accordingly.

As a female reaches the age of 50+, osteo-arthritis of the bones, affecting the knees, hands and legs starts to set in, causing pain on the affected parts. As one approaches 60 years old and above, one just cannot stand for too long, say more than 10 minutes. The pain will start from the legs and knees and radiate to the back, upper limbs and shoulders,

As a senior citizen, I am hardly offered seats from able young male and female commuters and school students in uniform. Very often I have to fight for seats. I even hang my senior citizen purple colour card on my neck like wearing a chain with pendant. Yet the commuters just ignore me by turning their eyes in other directions, pretending reading papers or books, fiddling with their mobile phones, or just shutting their eyes pretending to sleep. Sometimes they simply stare at me and the card and ignore me. The purple colour senior citizen card has our names and I/C number, date of issue and the words 'Senior citizen' printed on it with our photos attached. Any one can recognise it easily. But the commuters simply treat us as transparent and invisible. I am not asking too much. I just need a seat to rest my legs so that the affected parts will not hurt me.

One day I was travelling in the train. I was standing for more than half an hour. At one of the stops one seated passenger was alighting. So I quickly asked for the vacant seat. Another 20+ year old lady wanted the seat too. I said 'Excuse me, can I have the seat? I am a senior citizen and my legs are hurting after standing for a long time.' She argued that she was the one nearest to the seat, and she should take it. She simply ignored me.

The rest of the seated commuters just looked and stared and pretended nothing happened. Finally one male foreign worker gave up his seat for me. Frequently, I carry heavy and bulky shopping loads, and stand throughout the journey. Nobody would offer a seat and very often I have to fight with able young commuters.

In Japan and Korea, senior citizens can ask a young commuter to give up his seat to them. Nobody is going to argue about it. Also, when parents travel with a young child or toddler, the parents will carry the child on their laps so that there is a vacant seat for another person. In Singapore, parents will let their young child or toddler occupy another seat. This deprives others of a seat.

The message at the MRT corner seat saying 'Please Give Up This Seat To More Needy People' is ignored and does not work at all.

>>Can SMRT do something by placing the messages on wider and more prominent areas and saying something like 'Please give up your seats to those people, for example, senior citizens, etc'.

>>Replay the message on the PA system repeatedly to urge able young commuters to give up their seats to senior citizens.

>>Allow senior citizens with a purple senior citizen card to ask for seats from able young seated commuters.

As the population ages, we need more kind-hearted and considerate people in our society. Singapore is supposed to be a First World country. But the people do not behave like one. They are too self-centred, selfish and inconsiderate. Schools and parents do not impart moral values to the young, because the parents themselves behave badly.

Lee Kam Woon (Mdm)