Facebook screengrab: Chan Chun Sing (L) and Lim Tean (R)
Lim Tean calls out Chan Chun Sing’s “disgraceful glorification of Singlish”
Singapore—While Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing has gotten flak for his frank comments during a closed-door meeting with the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) last week, others, including People’s Voice leader Lim Tean, have called him out for his use of Singlish.
Mr Chan said in a Facebook post that he provided “a frank assessment to the business leaders” and that he does not “mince my words when presenting hard truths and trade-offs.”
In a leaked recording of the meeting, the Trade and Industry Minister was indeed less diplomatic than usual, and can be heard saying such things as “Why did the run happen? You know, run on the supermarket, right? …I damn ashamed. You know why? Xia suay… We embarrass ourselves, disgraceful, we disgrace ourselves… No paper, water also can. So why do we behave so idiotically? I cannot tahan. Then the selfish idiot go and take all the alcohol swab, because got no more clean wipe right?”
But for lawyer and opposition leader Lim Tean, it was the way Mr Chan spoke that he first found fault with, writing a lengthy post on Facebook about speaking “Proper English.”
”Don’t Pray Pray”…… Hope Your Children Speak Proper English! I had a chance to listen to the condensed version of…
Posted by Lim Tean on Monday, February 17, 2020
He called the language Mr Chan used, “a disgraceful glorification of Singlish,” adding, “which has no place in a 1st World Country, where proper English should be taught and spoken. If our children were to speak like him in that audio, it would be the death-knell of the career prospects for many, unless you are an elite.”
The People’s Voice leader also called Mr Chan out for describing Singaporeans as “Idiots”, “Suckers” and “Disgraceful,” saying that many Singaporeans had complained to him about this. “From this incident, Chan Chun Sing shows himself to be cut from the same elitist cloth as his Party colleague Goh Chok Tong, who described those earning less than $500K as “mediocre”. And this from a Party that professes to be – With You, For You, For Singapore!”
The opposition leader ended his post by writing, “So take a look at your own pathetic performance before you demean your own countrymen! And you should tender an unreserved apology for your uncalled for remarks!”
However, Mr Chan has been defended by many for the remarks he made during the closed-door meeting with SCCCI.
On the Facebook page Fabrications About the PAP, one post says that people actually enjoyed listening to Mr Chan’s remarks at that meeting, and championed his use of Singlish as appropriate to the mood and context.
“Maybe you’ve joined others in lamenting why this Minister talk like that. Maybe you’ve cringed at the fact the audience seemed to enjoy his jokes and laughed along with him.
But there are ?? ????? ? ???? why this Beng has got our backs.
Before going into all that, let’s get one thing straight:
?? ??? ??? ? ?????????? ???????. ?? ??? ? ??????–???? ???????? ???? ? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ????????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? ???????? on 9 Feb. The subject was mainly on Singapore’s response to COVID-19. If you have never heard of SCCCI, it’s Singapore’s largest and most influential grouping of towkays.”
The writer pointed out that Mr Chan showed how upset he was with hoarders, and that he only wants to make sure that Singapore has enough masks for the long haul, should the fight against Covid-19 endure for some time. He displayed how knowledgeable he is about the situation and was able to relate to the businessmen in his audience.
For them, Mr Chan was merely, and appropriately, code-switching, which is defined as “the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.”
The writer of the post said, “If these are not things that a Minister for Trade and Industry should be doing for Singaporeans in a time of crisis, I don’t know what is.
??? ?? ?ℎ? ???, ℎ? ??? ????? ?????? ??????ℎ ?ℎ?? ℎ? ℎ?? ?? ??ℎ. ? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ???????ℎ ?? ? ???, ??? ??? ???ℎ ? ?ℎ??? ?????? ????–?????ℎ, ℎ??. #ourbengsteady”
We've enjoyed listening to the leaked audio clip of #ourbengsteady Chan Chun Sing. ??? ??’? ? ????. ??? ??’? ??? ????.Outraged by the exuberant use of Singlish in Chan Chun Sing’s leaked audio clip? Let me tell you why this Beng has got Singaporeans’ backs. By now, if you’ve not heard Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing’s leaked audio clip, you don’t have many friends. Maybe you’ve joined others in lamenting why this Minister talk like that. Maybe you’ve cringed at the fact the audience seemed to enjoy his jokes and laughed along with him. (Whereas you, of course, would never dignify kopitiam humour with even a grunt of acknowledgement. The very idea!)But there are ?? ????? ? ???? why this Beng has got our backs.Before going into all that, let’s get one thing straight: ?? ??? ??? ? ?????????? ???????. ?? ??? ? ??????-???? ???????? ???? ? ??????? ?????? ?? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?? ??? ????????? ??????? ??????? ?? ???????? ??? ???????? on 9 Feb. The subject was mainly on Singapore’s response to COVID-19. If you have never heard of SCCCI, it’s Singapore’s largest and most influential grouping of towkays.Now let’s get down to why Chan Chun Sing has our backs:#? ?? ?? ?? ????? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ???. Angry with people who heaped their shopping trolleys with toilet paper? Mad at those who swept the shelves clean of Indomie? Chan Chun Sing was right there with all of us. And did he call people “idiots”? Not people like you and me, ok. He was referring to hoarders. And why wouldn’t anyone? #? ???? ??? ?????? ? ??? ????? ?????. We don’t know how long the fight against COVID-19 is going to last. We know there is worldwide shortage of surgical masks and strong public demand for masks. As Minister for Trade and Industry, he needed to ensure the national stockpile is able to keep our public hospitals and medical personnel supplied with masks, but at the same time calm the nerves of the public. He explained how Government leaders consciously avoided wearing masks so as not to send the signal that masks are necessary all the time and worsening the demand. He also explained how a very delicate decision was made to take 5 million masks out of the stockpile and distribute 4 per household. Make a wrong move here, and you will lose both the confidence of the public and of the hospital personnel. OK, so maybe the language was very Beng, but it was clear, logical, and with foresight. #? ?? ???? ?????? ????? ??? ?????. He knows the going price for masks. He knows how long Hong Kong’s supply of masks would last for medical personnel. He knows how many million masks one single machine can make in a month. To calculate whether he could safeguard the public hospitals’ mask supply while distributing 5 million to Singapore households, he did the math.#? ?? ????? ??? ???????? ??????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ??? ????????????. He asked them not to let workers go, even if business is badly hit by COVID-19. He asked them to help calm the public and do their part not to allow runs on essential supplies happen again.#? … ??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ????. That laughter? It means he got through to the towkays. If these are not things that a Minister for Trade and Industry should be doing for Singaporeans in a time of crisis, I don’t know what is.??? ?? ?ℎ? ???, ℎ? ??? ????? ?????? ??????ℎ ?ℎ?? ℎ? ℎ?? ?? ??ℎ. ? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ???????ℎ ?? ? ???, ??? ??? ???ℎ ? ?ℎ??? ?????? ????-?????ℎ, ℎ??. #ourbengsteady
Posted by Fabrications About The PAP on Monday, February 17, 2020
—/TISG
