It's called "doing the Stamford Raffles", and it is mentioned in an ST report today (page B20). It's not a dance step but I'll like to see it become one.
The inspiration for this Singlish idiom is the statue, facing the Singapore River, of the Englishman said to have founded Singapore in 1819. Raffles stands with his arms folded, as he gazes at all before him.
So, when you "do the Stamford Raffles" you are doing nothing, probably just standing around. To qualify, your arms must be folded. Otherwise, you are just "standing on ceremony".
I then thought of possible Raffles jokes. The Internet refreshed my memory, with this small sample here, playing on the so-called founding of Singapore theme:
When Raffles first stepped out of his boat at the river mouth, Hokkiens were already on the island (yeah!). One such man ran past him, announcing the birth of his new son: "Sin tar por, sin tar por (my new son, my new son)." That's how Singapore came to be named by an angmoh. Yeah, right.
How about this one?
When Raffles sailed up the Singapore River for the first time, a Malay woman was bathing in the river, having left her clothes on the river bank. A mischievous Singh boy came along and stole her clothes. The woman started shouting: "Singh kapoh, Singh kapoh (Singh's the thief, Singh's the thief)".
Imagine how hard it must have been for Raffles to hear those words clearly from the deck of his ship, so Singapore came to be so named. Yeah, right again.
Most accounts say "Singapore" came from the Sanskrit term, "Singapura", which means "Lion city". Trouble is no lions were known to inhabit the island. But there were tigers, wild pigs, and reportedly, ghosts.
So, let's thank our lucky stars some myopic guy named Sang Nila Utama thought the animal he spotted, when he first landed (way before Raffles), was a lion.
Otherwise, Singapore might have been:
Harimaupura (Tiger city)
Babipura (Pig city)
Hantupura (Ghost town).
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