Mr. Kiasu

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Mr. Kiasu (Chinese: 怕输先生) is a popular cartoon and television character in Singapore, created by Johnny Lau.

[edit] Origin

It first gained prominence as the main character in a series of comic books, meant to caricature the unique ways Singaporeans act. It was a massive hit in Singapore, and subsequently spawned a spin-off television programme on Channel 5, Singapore's local English television channel in the year 2001. Chew Chor Meng (Chinese: 周初明) was the Singaporean actor who was chosen to play the character.

Three characters who are always linked with Mr Kiasu are his cousin Mr Kiasee (Chinese: 怕死先生), his girlfriend Ai Swee, played by Miss Singapore Jaimie Teo (Chinese: 爱美), and his boss Sabo Singh, played by Malaysian actor Chacko Vadaketh. Chew played this character in all three seasons of this sitcom which was nominated for best comedy in the 2004 Asian Television Awards. Singapore DJ Daniel Ong played the part of Mr Kiasee in the series.

[edit] Cultural significance

Mr Kiasu was named for his inability to accept being on the losing end of any proposition. Essentially he is the personification of the Singlish concept Kiasu, meaning "extreme fear of losing". Thus, this comic character was created to exemplify how certain Singaporeans act in an attempt to ensure they do not lose out in any respect. A common idiosyncrasy that exemplifies the idea of "kiasu-ism" is the way some Singaporeans will willingly join any queue as long as there is a possibility of a freebie at the end of it.

The popularity of Mr Kiasu in Singapore may have been reduced by the use of "proper" English instead of the typical colloquial English, making it lose some of its local flavour^{[citation needed]}.