Thursday, April 5, 2012

Words In Play

In his first public comment on the canine proliferation in Singapore, PM Lee's advice is to maintain a certain balance and not get worked up every time someone misspeaks."

At first glance the word seems to be taken directly out of the Orwellian lexicon of Newspeak, the fictional language in George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four", a deliberately impoverished language promoted by the state. Closely based on English, it has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar. This suits the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim is to make any alternative thinking impossible by removing any word or possible construct which describes the ideas of freedom, rebellion and so on. One character in the book, Syme, says admiringly of the shrinking volume of the new dictionary: "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words."

The Merriam dictionary actually defines it as:
1: to speak (as a word) incorrectly
2: to express (oneself) imperfectly or incorrectly

MG "keechiu" Chan Chun Sing's own take on the same PRC scholar utterance preaches, "We must never justify the comment by responding to it in a manner that validates the comment." Now that could easily be misconstrued as cocking a snook at Baey Yam Keng's infamous repartee, "I think first of all, these are behaviours (sic) that this gentleman has picked up. We need to reflect upon ourselves, are we the way they described?" Did MG Chan mis-speak, or was it Baey, self -acclaimed somebody at a top PR company, who mis-spoke? Frankly, we don't give a hoot what these pups are yapping about, all that bothers us is that if they don't say what they mean, how can they ever mean what they say?

Yesterday PM Lee was reminded of what he told Lianhe Zaobao in April 2011, that he would not use by-elections to bring in losing candidates who contested in the GE, "as elections were a serious matter". Asked if he still held the same view, he said "I have to see what exactly I told Zaobao, the circumstances then. It would depend on the situation." Whether he mis-speak or mis-spoke, one thing's for certain, plenty of guys will be getting worked up.

21 comments:

  1. "We must never justify the comment by responding to it in a manner that validates the comment."

    Hmm... hence condescension and obfuscation and "in your face"?

    ReplyDelete
  2. A four minute speech on values from the climactic scene of the movie "The Great Dictator"

    If only our Minister of Education is able to inspire us with such a speech when he talks about values.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IvPIWzQcUY

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  3. Prata tactics in play here. Somehow I don't think 'pleading the fifth' can be used in Singapore.

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  4. As a "dog", aren't we all now, you can easily put these two puppies in your pocket.

    Miss-spoke, miss-speak, it's definitely intolerable to call your hosts "dogs".

    He may feel fine to be called a dog, but my pride is hurt real bad and so is my pocket via the public coffers.

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  5. Weird...we have a PM who rather talk down or put down the citizens who is paying for his upkeep and his family upkeep...

    I am simply dumbfounded.

    Did Sun Xu pay a single cent to the PM and the country who "assisted" him to get ahead in life?

    Think the PM thinks he is living in koo koo land or la la land liao...

    Crazy PAP gov't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sunxu's well connected parents may have given some good assistance in suzhou -- that's how we lost hundred millions of taxpayers money.

      Delete
  6. Just a bunch of useless political gangsters who empty-talk, spending so much money on defense. Yet when a foreign student called us dogs, they defend the student.

    Why should we still keep these people in power and for so terribly long time?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Two words - Dunning-Kruger effect.

    PAP guilty as charged.

    ReplyDelete
  8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Ies-0amxm70

    Disturbing trends? Is this a doublethink? Do you think perhaps our PM is secretly happy about it? After all, how do you tame a group of foreigners and get everybody to fall in line? You let out a group of stompers and thoughts policemen in the public who thinks they are doing great policing jobs. And all these while, totally sidestepping the debate & real cause of issue -- stop and evaluate their immigration policy.

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  9. diversity is not divisive ! PM and MIW, please get this point very clear !

    Its important to agree to disagree in order progress.

    Its important to put singaporeans back to our rightful place, that is to acknowledge that we are hard working and conforming people, give back our dignity.

    Stop over glorifying the foreigners. I agree that they can help us in one way or another but they are not the main driving force of our economy.

    U mean by importing masses of foreigners will solve our aging problem, u mean they do not grow old ? My question is what happen when they also grow old? Importing even more ? Till our little red dot is no more ? We will probably sink !

    Please, we pay so much for these talent, please do your job !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Please, we pay so much for these talent, please do your job !"

      You are pathetic.
      No wonder foreigners laugh at Singaporeans.
      And the elite-politicians pay themselves such a high salary.

      If you think PM Lee not earning his salary.
      Vote Opposition.
      Organize your family and friends to Vote Opposition.
      What a pathetic wuss!

      Delete
  10. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/5/reutersworld/20120405151305&sec=reutersworld

    Singapore PM warns against stereotyping foreigners..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think LuLu from the noose will be out of job soon...

      Delete
    2. "We shouldn't because of one incident make that into an issue, that all immigrants are like that, or that all Singaporeans should feel like that toward non-Singaporeans," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview on state-owned Channel NewsAsia. And we thought Baey Yam Keng was bad.

      Delete
    3. Nothing new what...defending the foreigners instead of singaporeans. Our politicians are still suffering from post-colonialist hangovers. He plays the good cop for FTs and Tharman plays the bad cop -- ask sinkies to respect/take up blue-collar jobs.

      Delete
  11. Looks like our PAP PM still haven't learnt his lesson despite his desperate apology to hook voters before the last GE.

    Wouldn't his word of advice be most appropriate for his father especially when he issued that arrogant verbal threat to the Aljunied voters ?

    If he had given some thought to the fact that whatever he says may be used as ammunition against him, at least some of us wouldn't have wondered now why a clown like him can be our PM in the first place ?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tattler, you are using the wrong dictionary. He's using Loongman English Dictionary.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yo! Prime Millionaire!
    Do you read sign language.
    See my finger?
    What does it say?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Once again, directed at us who are causing rifts between new-old singaporeans vs foreigners.

    "Self-centered-cum-NIMBY-attitude of Singaporeans will thwart real progress.
    There is no mis-speak or mis-spoke or mis-quote. Loud and clear.

    Just because we speak out, we disagree to agree, we are labeled "self-centered" or "whiny" or "spreading rifts". Thanks but no thanks. Why don't you take that to your self-serving Ministries and Policy Makers to reflect? The pushback and unhappiness are indicatives for deeper reflections and actions. Asking us to 'suck up and buck the trends' are no longer going to work.

    But hey, PM shouldn't take our words for it, after all we are just "minority" whiners. He should just charge ahead with HG BE and let the happy voters give him the thumbs up referendum.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The words were said liked
    a loony tune.
    No wonder many are perturbed.

    ReplyDelete