We Now Know How Some Stickers Were Pasted So High in Tuas Lamp Post 1

On 7 January this year, our then-Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung made a quite shocking announcement: residents would be able to paste stickers on a particular lamp post in Tuas South Boulevard.

In a country like Singapore, where vandalism is practically treason, residents found it quite liberating.

But it turns out that cyclists have been doing this for quite some time.

A Famous Pit Stop

As Mr Ong explained:

“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.”

Yes, one of the goals of many cyclists here, in addition to avoiding lorries on the road, is to reach “Lamp Post 1”, a lamp post situated along Tuas South Boulevard.

The lamp post has now become a landmark of sorts, as it’s possibly the most flamboyant lamp post in Singapore with a colourful array of stickers all along its post.

While the stickers are frequently removed by contractors in charge of the lamp post’s maintenance, the empty spots are quickly filled in with even more stickers from cyclists.

There’s one thing about this blemished lamp post that has always baffled residents, however: some of the stickers have reportedly been pasted 10m high.

So, how the heck do the cyclists slap those stickers so high up?

Mystery Solved

Thanks to a picture from a group of cyclists, we now know the answer.

Yesterday (3 May), ROADS.sg uploaded a picture of a group of cyclists pasting a sticker high up on the lamp post.

One of the cyclists appears to have climbed atop a water-filled barrier in order to paste the sticker, while three of her friends helped to steady the barrier.

There were some stickers even higher than where the cyclist had pasted the stickers, however, meaning this mystery has only been partially solved. 

Started in 2014

According to Mothership, the practice started in 2014 when 60 cyclists from the Love Cycling Singapore group travelled to Tuas and christened the lamp with a “Pedal Until Shiok” sticker.

The sticker was later removed by the authorities, but another group of cyclists found another lamp post in the area to take its place.

While all stickers were removed last December, Mr Ong’s welcome announcement meant cyclists can continue with this sacred ritual for now.

He even (as promised in his Facebook post on 7 January) made a visit to this famous lamp post nearly three months later on 3 April. He even contributed his own funky sticker of Darth Vader riding a bicycle.

As for how some of the stickers were slapped so high on the post… we may never have an answer.

Feature Image: Facebook (Ong Ye Kung)