Monday, July 29, 2013

Bad Example

Fresh after the retelling of Lim Swee Say swiping half a box of toothpicks from a Din Tai Fung Chinese restaurant - because he could - and depriving other paying customers of their entitlement, we are regaled by another anointed favourite with a narration of his own ungracious demeanor:
"We found him at the hot dog stand - patiently putting ketchup, onions, condiments, et cetera, et cetera onto the three hotdogs! I expected him to bring the three "naked" hot dogs to us. The officer failed the hot dog test. No more future trips with us."

The poor staffer was not rewarded by Philip Yeo for attention to detail - supposedly the teaching point of Lim Swee Say's toothpick heist - but penalised for not playing the obsequious errant boy role to perfection. Those who have worked under the abusive tyrant recognise the trait. Worse, they actually learn from him.

The president of a GLC decided to introduce us, his marketing team, to the EDB counterparts at the fancy Raffles City boardroom. EDB bigshot walks in.
GLC President: "Hello, Tan, ho say boh! Long time no get business from your side!"
EDB Director:  "What the f**k do you f**king mean? Since f**king when are we supposed to f**king generate business for your f**king operation? What the f**k do you think you are f**king paid for?"
GLC President: "Don't be like that, leh!"

All of us, the GLC and EDB minions, didn't know where to hang our heads. Later, we learnt from the EDB secretary the expletive laden director was a "nice guy", always going to lunch with his staff. We don't know whether he hoards toothpicks.

Everybody has a horror story about "PY". Just ask Member of Parliament Chng Hee Kok, who was told to resign  because he dared to voice disagreement about the shame-the-bond-breaker tirade. Then MP, Tan Cheng Bock was incensed: the EDB chairman was getting "too big for his boots". Ngiam Tong Dow had choice words for such characters: "There is also a particular brand of Singapore elite arrogance creeping in. Some civil servants behave like they have a mandate from the emperor. We think we are little Lee Kuan Yews."

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Swee Say claims, "I learnt from him some very important values: never say die, always dare to be different, always want to make a difference." Mavericks are not always viewed in positive light - McCain sure made a heck of a difference with his choice of a running mate in Palin. A maverick is an unbranded range animal, especially a stray calf that has become separated from its mother, a name coined after Samuel A. Maverick (1803-70), a Texas rancher who did not brand his cattle. After all these years, they still can't tell the difference between good and bad values.

17 comments:

  1. "After all these years, they still can't tell the difference between good and bad values."

    Reading too many books written by old men living in ivory towers will make you out of touch.

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  2. Call this trickle down arrogance - from LKY downwards. Every prick fancies himself a little LKY. This PY guy is the prime example, full of himself, always boasting. Could be due to his puny size. A menace not to be tolerated.

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    Replies
    1. You mean PY the dwarf ? and with the biggest foul mouth ?
      Actually PY will make a great drinking kaki for LKY.
      This dwarf can serve as table top for LKY to park his mug of tiger while addressing his audience.
      Of course some of you will suggest this PY guy will go on to give the oldman an oral as well.

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    2. This PY can't even speak clearly. I saw a TV programme once where they had to insert subtitle in English (and he was speaking in English, or Singlish, or Manglish?).

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  3. Amused Singaporean7/29/2013 9:58 AM

    Well look on PY's good side. At least he didn't make everyone stand on their knees so they would not be taller than him.

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  4. You can't please them all. The safest thing to do is just to lick a** and toe the line. Isn't this the mentality that is prevalent in those iron rice bowl organisations?

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  5. He should be let loose into the private corporate business world.

    It would allow him to test his theories & ideas to the hilt... without the resources available in the cozy quasi government environment.

    He could be another world famous businessman... what a waste to be restrained in la la land.

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  6. He is not stupid as to treat his staffs badly or else he will kena sabo by them. Wonder if lky also kena f**k by him? or the other way round? lol.

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  7. These characters are possible because you have an authoritarian regiome with tyrants, and all tyrant need good eunuchs, who get things done by threat locally. When overseas, they throw taxpayers money at the MNCs. This particular bunch channel Goh keng swee (another swee), not lky. In many ways it was far worse. When their patron went senile, out went the babies, except ding tai feng's favourite VIP. This one managed to backstab the new temasek chairman and engineered a coup in that snake den called NTUC, so he managed to spread his serpentine pee all over before he could be thrown out with his fellow eunuchs. History is full of two-headed eunuchs who straddle 2 dynasties.

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  8. dont know what you are trying to say

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  9. Why is PY so short?
    So you can put your glass of beer on his head while he gives you a blowjob.

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  10. 'never say die, always dare to be different, always want to make a difference.'
    Talk big.How about going out to the real private sector to do some actual work?
    Look at LBH, from NOL to Govt-do-nothing Minister till retirement. No private company came knocking in till he landed the big one, another Govt related TH even though many believe he knows nuts about funds management

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    Replies
    1. Ya lor. Want to be different move out. What difference can you make if you die die still there with your iron rice bowl. Learn this from the little Napoleon, you his number one errand boy? Boy, fetch me some toothpicks!

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    2. The remarkable thing is not nobody came for him, its that despite being a chiat liao bee like most of his peers, he still had a good and rich life, beyond top managers in MNCs across Asia. It shows you this system will do anything to uphold its image of "top talent" - pretend they are greatest, pay them highest, and hope no one notices that the emperors are naked.

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    3. Top talent? PY will not last a week as a factory manager in Batam or China. He would have been killed and his factory burnt given his foul mouth and overweening pride.

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  11. 'never say die, always dare to be different, always want to make a difference.'

    That's what our Opposition parties are doing.
    GE 2016!
    All the way Singapore!
    Time to clean out the pigsty.

    ReplyDelete