"Chope" a Singapore way of reserving seats or my place

"Chope", the local word has landed in the Wiki dictionary, a self help world wide lexicon. To the local it means reserved, and usually with a pad of tissues. Why tissue ? Well ,it is not legal tender for "choping", no law of the land will award you if somebody refuses to recognise the reserved tissue, and if one if too far away, the tissue can be stolen and the loss is minimal. In the fast paced society of Singapore ,when lunch time is only 1 hours, including refreshing oneself, and in a crowd much like New York, the local have evolved to do all three, buying in one location, reserving a seat within sights, and being understood by the locals. For foreign born, it became an amusements to see tissues pads all over the foodstall. Normally, in a company of two of more, the tissues issues becomes irrelevant. Noticed that someone is sitting ,waiting on the table with not a food in sight ?This is call ,`You buy for me`. Truly a singapore word that is going international, check out wiki. It is an Singaporean as the famous local drink `Singapore Sling`, which need a post for the origin of the local drink in the time of the British Raj, and when Brittania rules the sea, and when the sun never set on the British Empire.
A local give us his view on `Choping` or the Art of Reservation, Singapore version.

Letter from Chong Lee Ming

I refer to Mr Rick Lim’s "The Chope-ing Vigilante" (Feb 25).

While I agree that "chope-ing" is not courteous, it is overkill to equate it to spitting indiscriminately.

Most would have noticed that "chope-ing" using packets of tissue paper or umbrellas is predominately done by small groups of two to three ladies in hawkers centres during lunch. Bigger groups normally leave one person behind to guard the seats. Why? Perhaps "chope-ing" seats gives the fairer sex the sense of security that after buying their food, they have a place at which to consume it. On the other hand, maybe men still have some traits of the hunter in them, and so are less worried about having to look around for an empty seat after buying their food.

Who knows, one might manage to find a seat beside a beautiful lady.

Secondly, ladies may have a greater need for companionship. Hence, they would prefer to enjoy their lunch together with their friends and colleagues. Without "chope-ing" seats, the group would most likely end up having to eat separately. Men, on the other hand, are generally more task-oriented and hence may not mind consuming their lunch quickly by themselves.

In fact, "chope-ing" might enable the seats to be used more efficiently. If two persons "chope" seats, spent 15 minutes to queue for food and 15 minutes to consume it, they only occupy the seats for 30 minutes. However, if someone guards the seats while the others go to buy the food, and leave together after both have consumed their food, they might occupy the seats for 45 minutes.

I think it is in this spirit that most gentlemen respect, or at least tolerate "chope-ing" by the ladies.

Mr Lim’s view that "chope-ing" hurts the image of Singaporeans seems an exaggeration. Most tourists would have avoided a crowded hawker center during peak hours, just like Singaporeans on holiday in Tokyo would have avoided taking trains during peak hours. Expatriates would probably have been educated on local customs by their local colleagues.

In any event, the draw of hawker centres is that it provides cheap but good food. Hence it is quite acceptable that one needs to put up with some inconveniences when eating in hawker centres. Alternatively, one can always eat in places where "chope-ing" is not necessary.