Many have pondered Singapore’s aversion to graffiti and art in public spaces. While some might say that the country has come a long way in that aspect, heritage areas like Little India getting the special pass doesn’t necessarily make up for a troubled past.
Remember the harsh arrest of Samantha Lo, Singapore’s iconic Sticker Lady? If that doesn’t quite ring a bell, maybe the phrase, “My Grandfather Road” will? The Telegraph labelled the Sticker Lady to be a victim of a “notoriously conservative city-state“, as her lamp post stickers were met with an iron fist.
As of 7th January this year, it is cyclists who will get the privilege of pasting on lamp posts. This lamp post in Tuas is a beacon of a momentous journey to cyclists, many of whom paste stickers on it to mark their achievement. Many cyclists have even taken selfies with the lamppost as proof of having made it all the way there.
The “special lamp post”
Tuas Lamp Post 1 is a popular cycling destination in Singapore. If you want to go visit and leave your mark on it, a search on Google Maps will reveal that the location has even been pinned. The towering lamp post stands 13 kilometres away from the Tuas Checkpoint, marking the westernmost parts of Singapore.
The lamp post is adorned mid-way with stickers of all sorts, some making blatant references to pop-culture, and others leaving their viewer pondering their obscurity. The height that the stickers reach leaves no doubt that there are some cyclists who grapple to get an undisturbed spot further up the lamp post. And mind you, this is no short lamp post. It’s the ordinary sort of lamp post that you see lining the roads at night.
It was a recent incident that triggered Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung to term the lamp post as “special”, and to implement an exception to stickers being pasted on it. Sometime during Christmas in 2020, photographs circulated of workers removing dozens of stickers from the lamp post, as part of routine maintenance. The cycling community was upset to see the stickers go, and on 7 January, Mr. Ong posted a Facebook status to announce that changes would soon be made.
“Urban folklore has it that cyclists on round-island trips will make a pit stop there, where they will take photos with the lamp post, and leave their favourite stickers behind,” he said.
“I have discussed with Land Transport Authority, who in turn discussed with JTC. We decided to make an exception for this lamp post, given that it’s a far-out location and a special spot to help cyclists find their way,” he added.
The cycling community celebrates the move, but to other communities, it’s an aggravating one
One of Singapore’s most active cycling communities is LoveCyclingSG, of which the founder was quite possibly the first person to ever have pasted a sticker on the lamp post. A separate co-founder and cycling advocate Francis Chu, 60, was very welcoming of the announcement.
“It is a nice gesture from the authorities that they are willing to listen and be flexible when the situation allows. The stickers collected on that remote lamp post can be seen as a piece of ‘community art’, co-created by the cyclists and evolving as time goes,” Chu said.
Another cyclist, Woon Taiwoon, 57, had also pasted a sticker on the lamp post in 2014, as a mark of his 50km journey from West Coast Park to Tuas Lamp Post 1, which he cheekily references as a “Journey to the West”. He pointed out that the lamp post is not only frequented by cyclists, but by triathletes and motorcyclists as well.
To Mr Woon, the Tuas Lamp Post 1 represents an “Instagrammable moment” for cyclists who want to celebrate their achievements. He also likened the spot to bridges such as Ponte Milvio in Rome, famed for the locks that hang there as a symbol of everlasting love. He said that Tuas Lamp Post 1 is an example of local culture organically.
Meanwhile, some patrons of the arts and culture, as well as forum users have scoffed at Minister Ong’s special allowance, questioning why the “Sticker Lady” was charged and pondering the need to “bend over backwards” for cyclists. One forum thread page writes that the minister is “set to be the most popular Transport Minister ever”.
The page goes on to feature complaints from netizens about how cyclists are able to access special privileges, although not citing specific examples. In August 2020, Minister Ong proposed that underused road loans could be converted to cycling, bus lanes, in order to develop more sustainable travel patterns in Singapore.
Adding that he hopes to visit Tuas Lamp Post 1 himself one day, he said that “these are little exceptions to the rule, which do not cause disamenities or pose safety hazards to the public, to brighten up life in Singapore.”
In all, perhaps this marks one of Singapore’s many first steps toward an artistic, local culture that develops vibrantly. After all, even the Sticker Lady, Samantha Low has gotten her chance to shine with the help of Singapore’s non-profit organisations.
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