my Engrish good, lah!

When the trishaw uncle was being abused by the 3 caucasian men on youtube I had to side a bit with the Uncle on how idiot those visitors were. Though, I had to place some wondering about a country that makes their elders work so late into their golden years with no real welfare or social net and yet the politicians make $2 million dollar salaries with a country bank account in the billions; but that is another ranting.

However, when I read how a former boyband member Arroy Shen made fun of how horribly the Singaporean people speak English, I really can not say anything except "DAMN RIGHT THEY DO!" I mean, not ALL Singaporeans speak horrible English, but I would say that a fair percentage of them do. Though perhaps it is a simple case of if they sit back and think to themselves "I must speak proper English" then, with much mental dexterity, they can string together a "yes, I can come to your place on Tuesday to clean" but if they just relax it comes out in a more "can can clean Tuesday" and that is it. So many times I have gone to a Subway outlet to order a sandwich and had to play around with "dosted?" in my head before finally coming to the conclusion that he was asking if I wanted it "toasted", or how I hear about someones 'brudda' that is older than them and realize that they are talking about their 'brother'.

I think the good thing about the English language that the Singaporean (as well as all other people on the planet) enjoy is how malible and understandable it is. I have been trying to learn Mandarin and when I pronounce a word and I don't hit the exact pronunciation just right (even though it sounds in my head exactly like they are saying it) they freak out and make me repeat it again and again. It is almost like they have no word that is close to what I am saying and if it is not perfect then I have to keep practicing. However, when they say "pregran" or "dosted" or "brudda" and I correct them with "PREGnant" or "TOASTed" or "broTHER" they wave their hand and go "my English good, lah! Stop being so Ang Moh!", at which point I calmly have to remind myself that I am the visitor and they are the people living here and how many times I have heard people tell immigrants to Canada that "you are in Canada now, speak English!" and this is their way of saying "You are in Singapore now, speak SINGLISH!"

What gets me is that the two people bowed down to the public pressure and actually apologized for their comments. Ok, obviously they are trying to live off the popularity of the people, and if the people hate you, then you make no money. Just wish that they would have stuck to their words and did not apologize. Come on people, when it comes to sticking to your words, can can?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYuIg7Tnc7g (for those that speak the language, no translations sorry)

Sorry, my English isn't good either
By Liew Hanqing

February 09, 2008

TWO of the Taiwanese who made fun of Singaporean English on a TV programme have apologised.

Tne New Paper, 5 Feb
In an entry on his blog on Tuesday, former boyband member Arroy Shen apologised for remarks he made on the 28 Jan episode of the variety programme Mr Con and Ms Csi, about the way Singaporeans speak English.

Addressing Singaporeans in general, Arroy wrote in Mandarin: 'I may have gone overboard with my comments and offended many people.

'My English isn't good, and I will continue working hard to improve.

'I have been blunt and rude - I'm really sorry.'

He ended the entry by wishing everybody a happy Chinese New Year.

Xu Wei, an English teacher who was featured on the same episode, apologised on her blog the next day.

She wrote: 'I do apologise... if that unconsciously-spoken bad joke really irritated you.

'I meant to make fun of my own bad hearing... But I think on account of the length of the programme, they did some editing of what I said and the context was lost. Please forgive my well-meant slip of tongue.'

The apologies came in the wake of an onslaught of angry messages left by Singapore netizens on video-sharing site YouTube and on both the blogs.

Arroy had demonstrated how he thought Singaporeans pronounced words like 'sorry' and 'tissue paper'.

Xu Wei described an encounter with a Singapore immigration officer who asked her if she was pregnant.

She claimed she did not understand the officer because he had kept asking 'pegnan? pegnan?'

Their comments were met with roaring laughter from the show's hosts and other guests.

After a segment of the variety programme was uploaded on YouTube last week, it got more than 25,000 views and 900 comments.

Many netizens called for a formal apology from CTi TV, the Taiwanese cable network which produces the show, as well as the individuals.

Some seem to have graciously accepted the online apologies.

Wrote netizen yuanyuan on Arroy's blog: 'I respect your courage for apologising, and I accept your apology - Happy Chinese New Year.'

Added Pearlc: 'You are a good man who is trying to make up for something which I think is honestly not your fault.

'But it is really awful of the other presenters, especially that so-called English teacher, to comment on Singaporean English when their pronunciation is not as perfect as they think it is.'

And some netizens are still upset.

Wrote Sam: 'These comments affect a country's image. We probably won't be satisfied until we get a public apology from the show, and all who participated in the mockery.'

your paying millions for THIS?!?!?!?!

I guess this is why I am not a politician or a business man. The whole business world of growing this and shrinking that and all just boggles my little mind. I mean, here is the article from The Straits Times saying that Singapore needs to grow to 5.5 million people. According to wikipedia, the population of Singapore in 2007 was 4.6 million, so that means that Singapore needs to grow an extra 900,000 to 1 million people.

I agree with the ministers logic and theory. I mean, what better way to increase economy and have more money flowing around than to have more people (Especially rich expat/millionaires) living in Singapore spending money on necessities like power, health care, mobile phones, food, CPF investments. All fantastic ideas on how to boost the economy and raise Singapore to high heights of the economic power of the world and be noticed.

Only question I have is, where are you going to house these extra million people that you want to bring in through birth or emigration? At the moment I am amazed that when an HDB flat by the gov't goes up for sale there are usually only 800 units for sale and minutes after the bidding for these places open there are already 5,000 names wanting the place. Now whether that means that there are 5000 people at the age of 30 still living at home with their parents that can not afford the resale flats and have to rely on the gov't subsidy of a $95,000 flat for just walls, floors and ceiling; or whether that means that there are at least 5000 people out there in resale flats already that want to sell their flat at a super high price ($200,000), bank the money, move into the cheaper newer flat ($85,000), fill it with appliances ($15,000) and then put their name into the bidding for a new flat and start the cycle all over again (Old flat sold = $200,000, new flat bought with appliances = $90,000, Profit = $110,000). Over in North America we call this 'house flipping' and it is a very good business if you can work it just right though sort of short changes the middle guy by the house flippers taking advantage of the subsidy and gov't generosity.

I guess this might be one thing that the ministers really dont have to consider. I mean, with a million dollar salary from their part time job as policitians and then their real salary from their full time job, not like they have to worry about space. I am sure that when they go home, sit in their spacious million dollar houses, and walk the quiet neighbourhood of the rich they figure that the whole of Singapore is like this and all are living in granduer and wealth. Figure this is the one downside (of possibly many) of Singapore politics that I am so curious as to why Singaporeans dont do anything about, or at least the opposition parties use as a platform during their very brief few days of election time every 4 years. Why have a country run by the rich for the rich when there are so many poor (or at least struggling) in Singapore. I mean, chances are they dont think of themselves as poor, but if you have 4 generations living in the same house and your grandmother is working at the local McDs or coffee shop to make ends meet, you are below the poverty line; if you are a foreign worker and have 10 people living in a 2 room flat then you are poor; if you are living cheque to cheque hoping that no one falls sick because the hospital bills themselves (even though you have minor cheap insurance) would take your entire live savings, you are poor.

Why doesnt the opposition use the platfrom "citizens of Singapore running for office to make a country for the citizens of Singapore...not for the businesses of Singapore" A country run by the people, of the people, for the people...not a gov't of corporations, for corporations, of corporations.

In the end, no matter what, I am dying to find out where this Minister plans on housing this new million that he wants Singapore to grow by, or is it a case of not his problem. He is in charge of raising the economy and money of Singapore, let the housing minister deal with where he is going to put them all. Do the ministers in Singapore actual talk together for a common goal and aim or are they just looking at 'How do I increase my side of the gov't?' and not care about the rest?

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/326498/1/.html


Singapore must build up critical mass of labour to compete well
By Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 02 February 2008 1945 hrs

Singapore needs to build up a critical mass of people in the workforce so that the country can continue to compete for good investments and good jobs.

Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Labour Chief, Lim Swee Say, said this is why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.

Mr Lim was one of four ministers who engaged some 900 participants at the plenary session of a conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies on Friday.

Singapore is the only economy in the world with unemployment rate of 1.7 percent yet it is able to grow its economy at 7.9 percent.

And participants at the conference were told that Singapore managed to do this because of a strong workforce.

Mr Lim added: "The point here is this: every economy, if you want to keep growing faster than the rest of the world, have to build a look ahead. Where are the bottlenecks? How we can break the bottleneck and solve that bottleneck before it chokes our growth? Therefore (it) comes back to manpower. I am very sure that for us to continue to compete for good investments, for good jobs, we must have good manpower in sufficient number."

He was replying to a question on why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.

Also giving their take on this were three other Cabinet Ministers who explained how this number will affect their respective ministries.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that in attracting such numbers, demand for healthcare services will also go up.

And he has managed to catch a glimpse of what it would be like to cater to such demand.

Mr Khaw says: "Tan Tock Seng Hospital, there was a day, for don't know what reason, January 14, was 98 percent (full) and it's almost like Hotel 81 occupancy rate. The last decade, the entry of foreign population, expats and so on (have resulted in) very sharp growth, very good for the economy."

And also good for Singapore is attracting new residents to ensure that there's enough young people in the labour force.

George Yeo, Foreign Affairs Minister, said: "Is it possible that we may need that many people if we do not want to age too much or if we need suddenly to tap upon new sources of growth. We check all types of constraints - shorelines for the ports, runways for Changi, water resources, car park space, road space - so our department tests all the limits. If we push that, how far can we go, before we become non-linear and the cost becomes too much to bear? As far as we can, do not put artificial constraints on ourselves so that we will have maximum flexibility to grow, and the opportunities to grow will come to us."

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister, said with more people in Singapore a balance needs to be found to maintain the environment.

He added: "The environment is an important issue. Clearly providing the necessary resources will become an important issue. But at the same time going forward, I think there will be issues of tradeoffs and compromises because resources are limited. The environment that we have build in the past 14 years painstakingly...has been noticed by international community. (This) is not something that we should give away easily."

It was a lively and candid one and a half hours of discussion with active participation from the audience, who asked questions which range from good governance to what lies ahead for Singapore.

In fact, the session was extended to cater to more questions from the floor.

Questions posed also include the issue of dual citizenship and what the leaders wish to see in 2030. - CNA/ch

and the DUH! award goes to...

Came across this article on the net today. Apparently 67% of Canadians in a relationship say that a white lie is acceptable though 31% of men and 42% of women say that trust and honesty matter most in a relationship.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080201/white_lies_AM_080201/20080201?hub=Canada

Something tells me that the 67% that say white lies are acceptable are those that are in a relationship right now, whereas those 31%/42% of people that value honesty the most are those that are not in a relationship yet and still have that 'PollyAnna' view that a relationship is a giving and sharing commitment between two people. Of course, they do clarify and say that honesty and trust with the big things ("did you sleep with my sister?" "where were you out last night til 3am and came home smelling of booze and drugs?" "how come the bank account is empty? we had nearly $25,000 in there yesterday. Where did it go?") are all very important questions to be open and honest about. However, the little things like "Do these pants make me look fat?" or "Do you think my high school friend is hot?" really need a white lie to cover your butt. After all, white lies are not deceitful lies to keep things hidden, but more a way of reassuring a partners poor self esteem about certain issues, those that are fishing for compliments.

I used to have the total 100% rule of answering all questions honestly. If you asked me a question you had better be ready for the honest answer. If you asked if you are fat, and you are gaining the weight, be prepared for the 'oh yeah, you are' answer. However, after being in a relationship and now marriage for a year, I have come to realize that we dont ask questions for honesty, we ask them for reassurance in our own personal appearance. I have even made it clear to my wife that I really don't want the honest answer. If it comes up about sexual partners, I want to be told that I am the best she ever hadl; I want to know that I am the smartest boyfriend she has had; I want to hear that I am the sexiest man she knows. We both know all those answers are outright lies and untrue, but hearing them makes me feel so much better. Just as when she asks if she looks fat and I say "no honey, you look gorgeous" we both know it is a lie, but we both appreciate the self esteem boost.

Apparently for an online poll these are the results:

Are white lies an acceptable part of a relationship?
Yes 4505 votes (60 %)
No 3006 votes (40 %)

Total Votes: 7511