Queues and Malaysians

So I was lining up today at the Customs department, patiently waiting for my turn to check out my parcel and bring it to the customs officer for checking and declaration, when suddenly, this guy comes up casually stops right in front of the booth - in front of all of us who've been queueing for ages.

Now, he's got a mean look and no one dares say anything, so I just casually mention "the line starts here." He nods, and that's about it. He continues standing by the booth, waiting for the person being served to be finished, so he can swoop in and get his stuff done first. The nerve.

I had half-a-mind to walk up to him and insist he line-up like everyone else (which, after due checking with my own paltry musculature, I decided against).

Thankfully, his friend across the other side of the customs office decides to signal him and he has to give up his spot to complete some other business. Business as usual.

But what's it with these guys? Can't we learn to queue up civilly like everyone else in the world? I mean, this is not the first time or first incidence or only form of queue cutting.

Many times, I've circled around MidValley and finally find a spot for parking when a large car (usually a gold Mercedes Benz, old model) will appear from the other side and swing into what was formerly my parking spot. Hello? Mother never teach you manners?

Or when queueing up for LRT. Can't queue properly. Lining up to embark an LRT quickly devolves into mass melee free-for-all. And poor women get taken advantaged of.

Or queue hopping. Have a bunch of friends go to McDonalds, everyone joins a different queue to a different counter, and the first one that reaches has all his friends join him. Suddenly, if you were behind him, you realise you're in for a 10 minute wait till your turn as the attendant sorts through the mass-ordering.

I wonder what foreigners think of us and our Queuing habits. Probably to be expected of at a Third-World country. But we protest. We're at least second world, if not close enough to first world.

So, in the spirit of Visit Malaysia Year 2007, I humbly call to you: queue up civilly, and respect those who queued before you. Let's show them foreigners that we're civilised too. Cheers.