‘Courtesy Costs Nothing but Buys Everything’

Courtesy is for free,

Courtesy is for you and me,

It makes for gracious living and harmony,
Giving a friendly smile helping out where we can,
Trying hard to be polite all the time …..

The above verse is taken from the most popular Singapore Courtesy Campaign
evergreen song entitled ‘ Make Courtesy Our Way of Life’ . In this era, whenever a

person initiates a conversation or action regardless of age, race and religion, one of the
most important things to pay attention to is discretion. The question that will always
cross in the minds of society is ‘Why should every human being practice this courtesy
in themselves? Is it worth it if we are polite and courteous even to foreigners? What
exactly is a courtesy? Courtesy means a gentle and polite behaviour in dealing with
people in our day-to-day life. It is the core element and beauty of good personality. Why is
courtesy important in our life? The reason is when you are courteous, people have a good
impression of you and respect automatically follow, instead of hatred. To become
courteous, it is much necessary to be modest, decent in his or her talking to and
behaving with others. when you are courteous, people have a good impression of you,
appreciated and respect automatically follows, instead of hatred.

A courteous person is known by everyone and happy to be a friend or part of the

family. In this case, if a courteous person is in trouble or involve in self -accident, people
who know them will certainly rush to help. This moderate action can be used as an
example for children now and in the future. But unfortunately, courteous people in this
modern age are very difficult to find and are disappearing day by day. This is said to be
so because society is too busy with their jobs, ill standoffish activities, influenced by
western style and themselves. the number of people we meet today, tomorrow and every
day is usually not friendly, no manners and selfish. Maybe there are also quite few polite
people and maybe they maintain a humble and low-profile style. Courtesy creates good
environment of living with peace and harmony. In this case, various parties can play a role
in re -cultivating the spirit of civility in them.
 As the culmination of my first point, families especially parents play an important
role in creating courteous values and training their children to be courteous people. In
order to address the various social problems that exist, parents need to always care and
monitor their children, at the same time, increase commitment to build a harmonious family,
cultivate positive values so that their children become productive and healthy citizens in
all aspects, both mentally and physically. In this context, parents can spend time with their
children and teach them new things but still within the polite topic. For example, parents
can educate their children to help people who are in trouble such as falling off a bicycle,
losing things and helping the elderly. This cannot only make their children a polite person
but at the same time, they teach them how to help and respect people no matter where they
are. It is evident here that the parents have main role to make their children and society
courteous a n d well behaved by communicating and building an excellent example of
good behaviour and courtesy in children.

Furthermore, there is no denying that teachers also play a vital role in creating a
civilised society in this world. Teacher is an educator and a role model for students at
school to be followed because besides parents, teacher is also a reflection of the attitude of
the students. And in this case, courtesy should be made a priority when in school. The
main purpose of this matter is designed to attract students to learn about this courtesy
practice in depth. Teachers can also provide gifts and without hesitation, the students
themselves will not miss this opportunity. Next, the school can implied the courtesy’s
lesson in class such as Malay Language, English Language and Islamic Education. In this
way,the students can learn new knowledge about t h e goodness and importance of being
a courteous person and be able to apply it in themselves. Teachers clearly play a vital role
in making these students a courteous person for the benefit o f themselves and the future.
 Next, society also plays a very important role in improving the practice of courtesy in
this country. Before the culture of our society continues to decline, we must be aware
and re-practice the values of courtesy. if w e observed the problems or social symptoms
that have occurred today, are closely related to the value of life in a community, family
and individual. In addition, the practice of courtesy can influence the formation of racial
unity in a society. This courtesy can create good relations between members of the
community. This can be shown if all members or levels of society practice courtesy when
communicating, surely no one will get hurt. In addition, the practice of courtesy can create
a situation that encourages the community to understand and respect each other.
Therefore, this practice will indirectly make the bond of brotherhood or friendship between
communities become united. Undoubtedly, society c a n also affect a person t o be
courteous.

To sum up all the points, every human being in this world plays an important role in
being a courteous person. As the saying goes, ‘courtesy costs nothing but pays huge in
return’. We must work together and practice this value in daily life. Courteous practice is
our culture. To all the people around the world, let’s work together to practice courtesy in
our life to make sure the impact will benefit to us and make the world a better place to live.

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