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A-go-go Uncle moves the crowd
Dancing security guard in Tampines says he does it for the exercise
June 18, 2009
DIRECTING TRAFFIC: MrZaini gets in the groove as he signals vehicles to give way to pedestrians. TNP PICTURES: JONATHAN CHOO
HE was caught dancing on the job - but no one's complaining.
Security officer Zaini Hassim, 64, does not merely want to guard, he wants to gelek (dance in Malay).
For him, dancing is exercise. The bonus is that he gets to put a smile on people's faces while directing traffic at a shopping centre in Tampines.
We are not naming the mall at the request of the shopping centre's management.
When The New Paper saw him in action yesterday afternoon, he was signalling vehicles to give way to pedestrians, occasionally stopping to greet the people around him - with a huge grin and a funky groove.
'It was quite weird,' said Madam Rohayani Suani, 28, a service administrative officer who was there shopping with her baby and her mother.
'At first, I thought there was something wrong with him. I'd prefer to have security guards signalling at me to cross the road normally, rather than cooing to my baby and dancing around like that.
'But I think he's just being friendly.'
Mr Zaini explained that he dances while directing the traffic as part of his daily exercise routine.
'I'm at work mostly and there's no time to exercise. When I dance while directing traffic, I get to exercise,' he explained in a mixture of Malay and English.
He said he would feel odd just standing around.
Madam Mariyanee, 51, a service crew from a food outlet near the carpark entrance where Mr Zaini does his gig, said she is always tickled by his antics.
Lively
'He's a happy-go-lucky man. Each time he walks past my shop when he changes shifts, he greets me and asks me if I've eaten.
'His dancing makes the area more lively. It'd be better if there were more security guards like him around.'
Mr Zaini said he has noticed some passers-by stopping in their tracks to gawk at him him or take photos.
'Some people laugh at me and comment that an old man like me shouldn't be dancing. People can say anything they want but I dance not to show off, but to exercise.
'Besides, most of them (pedestrians) like to see me dance. I bring a smile to their faces.'
Mr Zaini himself is unsure of how to describe the dance routine he's been doing since he started working at the shopping centre six months ago.
But he said pedestrians have given his moves various names, such as 'dangdut' or hip hop.
He has also been dubbed the 'A-go-go Uncle' by sales assistant Jenny Ng, 61, who works at a shop selling barbecued meat next to the carpark entrance.
Madam Ng said: 'Mr Zaini is a very good security guard. He enjoys his work and is not lazy.
'When he's on duty, he likes to dance around while directing traffic and greeting pedestrians. But he never lets that interrupt his work.
'I hope to see more security guards in Singapore like him (Mr Zaini). He makes the people around him feel happy.'
Ervina Mohd Jamil, newsroom intern
A-go-go Uncle moves the crowd
Dancing security guard in Tampines says he does it for the exercise
June 18, 2009
DIRECTING TRAFFIC: MrZaini gets in the groove as he signals vehicles to give way to pedestrians. TNP PICTURES: JONATHAN CHOO
HE was caught dancing on the job - but no one's complaining.
Security officer Zaini Hassim, 64, does not merely want to guard, he wants to gelek (dance in Malay).
For him, dancing is exercise. The bonus is that he gets to put a smile on people's faces while directing traffic at a shopping centre in Tampines.
We are not naming the mall at the request of the shopping centre's management.
When The New Paper saw him in action yesterday afternoon, he was signalling vehicles to give way to pedestrians, occasionally stopping to greet the people around him - with a huge grin and a funky groove.
'It was quite weird,' said Madam Rohayani Suani, 28, a service administrative officer who was there shopping with her baby and her mother.
'At first, I thought there was something wrong with him. I'd prefer to have security guards signalling at me to cross the road normally, rather than cooing to my baby and dancing around like that.
'But I think he's just being friendly.'
Mr Zaini explained that he dances while directing the traffic as part of his daily exercise routine.
'I'm at work mostly and there's no time to exercise. When I dance while directing traffic, I get to exercise,' he explained in a mixture of Malay and English.
He said he would feel odd just standing around.
Madam Mariyanee, 51, a service crew from a food outlet near the carpark entrance where Mr Zaini does his gig, said she is always tickled by his antics.
Lively
'He's a happy-go-lucky man. Each time he walks past my shop when he changes shifts, he greets me and asks me if I've eaten.
'His dancing makes the area more lively. It'd be better if there were more security guards like him around.'
Mr Zaini said he has noticed some passers-by stopping in their tracks to gawk at him him or take photos.
'Some people laugh at me and comment that an old man like me shouldn't be dancing. People can say anything they want but I dance not to show off, but to exercise.
'Besides, most of them (pedestrians) like to see me dance. I bring a smile to their faces.'
Mr Zaini himself is unsure of how to describe the dance routine he's been doing since he started working at the shopping centre six months ago.
But he said pedestrians have given his moves various names, such as 'dangdut' or hip hop.
He has also been dubbed the 'A-go-go Uncle' by sales assistant Jenny Ng, 61, who works at a shop selling barbecued meat next to the carpark entrance.
Madam Ng said: 'Mr Zaini is a very good security guard. He enjoys his work and is not lazy.
'When he's on duty, he likes to dance around while directing traffic and greeting pedestrians. But he never lets that interrupt his work.
'I hope to see more security guards in Singapore like him (Mr Zaini). He makes the people around him feel happy.'
Ervina Mohd Jamil, newsroom intern
