I read this interesting and funny letter sent to this highly sensible and smart Principal Private Secretary Chee Hong Tat, who actually dismissed the learning of any dialects as stupid. Let me reproduce the full quote as below. Do read the letter. It is really funny.
“It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin.”
Let’s see. I presume this Mr Chee here has parents and grandparents and great-grandparents that speak dialects? Hell, I presume he himself surely knows some form of dialect? Given that, does he consider himself stupid for learning it? Does he consider his parents and grandparents stupid for using it, and not English or Mandarin?I think he does. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said that the learning of dialects is stupid.
I believe he used the word “stupid” for several reasons.
- Pot calling kettle black, as mentioned above. Another stupid fellow calling another person stupid.
- He believes that there is little economic importance in dialect hence the learning of dialects is stupid. This leads me to thinking that he must be some guy with no hobby because if he has a hobby, and the hobby is economically unproductive, he must be fucking stupid to spend his time on it. Every single thing we learn or do must have economic importance right? There isn’t any place in Singapore for people to pursue intangible things such as INTEREST or PASSION or for the sake of communicating with the older generation right?
- He hates his parents, grandparents and great-parents for speaking dialect and taking the chance to attack them for being stupid enough to speak dialects and for not learning English/Chinese.
- He doesn’t like his boss Lee Kuan Yew. I think Lee Kuan Yew also surely knows how to speak and understand some dialects?
- He couldn’t learn dialect when he was young, and that he was beaten and scolded by his parents for being stupid and this scarred him emotionally for life which led to this astonishing diatribe against all forms of dialect.
I didn’t know that learning dialects will necessarily lead to a decline in Chinese and English. Must it be a either-or issue here? No room for compromise? Since when did he become an authority to speak on how dialects affect the use of languages? I personally learnt to speak dialects when I was young by just listening long enough to my parents’ conversations and I don’t think my Chinese and English was ever affected by it.
Anyway knnbccb. Sorry. I meant like don’t be so arrogant lar.
P.S. People who are very free and think that public servants should do more work can email him at chee_hong_tat@pmo.gov.sg to express your views on his smart-ass remark. Do email in dialect.
42 Comments
July 12, 2009 at 6:59 pm
classic case of taking words out of context. its like when someone says i love you more than anything in the world and u assume that he hates his parents..
you’re either retarded or you’re just picking up any random statement made by any politically related person and stirring up controversies so that people will pay some attention to your blog.
July 5, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I agree that his remark was a bit reckless. Stupid might have been too harsh a word. Also, he made an assumption that everyone could not master languages and dialects at the same time as learning a dialect would be ‘at the expense of English and Mandarin’. Also, dialects are needed for communication between the growing elderly population and the younger generation to foster relationships and in a way, reduce old age reliability on the country.
However, I would agree with him that there are some who cannot juggle both dialects and languages at the same time. Hence, maybe in the government’s point of view, it is better to build up a generation that is strong in languages to help in the growth of Singapore. That way, everyone will be able to stand on the global platform to compete. If Singapore remains promoting dialects, some might not be able to break free from their dialects. Hence, dialects should not be widely publicised. Because this is the way the world is. Competitive. We live in the world it is, not the world we wish. Therefore, in my opinion, it is best if you can master your languages and speak dialects fluently. That way, no one can say anything about you speaking dialect.
Yep, I’ve said my piece.
July 5, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Yeah, and I don’t think he meant that he hated people who spoke dialects.
March 15, 2009 at 12:21 am
actually, lee kuan yew is peranakan; the only reason why he’s learnt to speak dialects is to win over the public during election
March 15, 2009 at 12:42 am
he’s unlike lim chin siong, the colleague that lee kuan yew backstabbed, who was oratorical and knew how to captivate the chinese masses. lee kuan yew even had the cheek to introduce lim chin siong as the future PM to david marshall, when all the time he was plotting behind lim’s back to do a deal with the British and arrest him.
March 14, 2009 at 11:48 am
[...] TVD’s Picks: Use “Stupid” Sure Habis One? – Everyday’s Life in a Snapshot: Civil Servant called his parents and grandparents and his great-grandparents stupid – My sketchbook: Let’s talk about dialects – Chemical Generation Singapore: The Death of [...]
March 11, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Here’s one dialect phrase for Mr Chee Hong
Hor Gou Gan !!!!
March 11, 2009 at 11:30 pm
wah u are indeed like your name. LOL.
March 11, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Here’s one dialect noun for Me Chee Hong
Hor Gou Gan !!!!
March 10, 2009 at 12:10 am
Guys, you still don’t get it? Mr Chee is not required to learn his own dialect to speak to his parents and grandparents. Because he has already sent them to some cheap nursing homes in JB!
March 10, 2009 at 2:16 am
that’s not possible. simply because Mr Chee earns at least 1million a year.
March 10, 2009 at 9:35 am
no. its possible! becoz it does not make economic sense NOT to send them to JB even though he earns a mil a year… just like using dialects over english
March 11, 2009 at 2:17 am
looks like poor Mr Khaw needs to get his much needed pay revision so as to keep his parents in Singapore. Singapore cannot lose face right? having our own minister not being able to afford to keep his parents in singapore. its a national shame!
March 9, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Tis is just too good!
The reality is, people in & around the PAP are all alike. They all after year of brain-wash, are imitating LKY…shooting off without care or concern, bully, show-off, …………(the list goes on..). We need to STOP this! ENOUGH!
March 10, 2009 at 2:15 am
this guy is MM Lee’s own secretary. =) do you wonder why he speaks like him?
March 9, 2009 at 12:30 pm
hmmm.. i am wondering how come cheehong’s article can be allowed to be published without being edited and polished until it is 101% politically correct??
an honest mistake?
haii.. looks like some poor junior civial servant is gonna join in the unemployment stats soon… hong kan liao.
March 9, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Incidentally, I can bet that these are the same kind of people who thinks that learning French or Italian can make themselves seem more high class.
Like, ohhh .. I can speak French and cannot speak dialect.. Dialect is so low class, I can speak French hence I am high class. Duh.
See, I think the whole problem is that, perhaps high ranking Civil Servants have this Reality Distortion(tm) field in their eyes. They draw such huge amounts of salary and stay in their own high ivory towers that they have no idea what’s happening in the world of the lesser mortals. Maybe to them, everyone and their dog can probably take 5 weeks leave and go for a french cooking class right ?
So, call me stupid. But I like speak to speak dialect to my parents and my grand parents and maybe even to my favourite food stall owner at the hawker center.
Oh oops. I forgot. He probably doesn’t know what a hawker center is. There are no French chefs there.
Anyway, please educate me. What does a Principal Private Secretary do ?
March 9, 2009 at 12:37 pm
a principal private secretary primarily carry and massages the privates of their employers in secret.
of course this title is too long and cant fit into a standard namecard. so it was shortened to principal private secretary.
March 10, 2009 at 2:15 am
hmms, then what does permanent secretary do? massage in public and permanently, plus french cooking?
March 10, 2009 at 2:14 am
what’s with the obsession with France and French, other than French cooking?
March 10, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I don’t know .. makes them more high class I presume. Just like that people who have never been/just a couple of months overseas and they come back and speak with an ang mo slang that no one understands.
March 11, 2009 at 2:17 am
is that considered stupid too? LOL.
March 9, 2009 at 12:05 pm
[...] TVD’s Picks: Use “Stupid” Sure Habis One? – Everyday’s Life in a Snapshot: Civil Servant called his parents and grandparents and his great-grandparents stupid – My sketchbook: Let’s talk about [...]
March 9, 2009 at 12:01 pm
He doesn’t like his boss Lee Kuan Yew. I think Lee Kuan Yew also surely knows how to speak and understand some dialects?
But LKY sure don’t teach his children dialects because they are a waste of time. Remember mee siam mai hum?
March 9, 2009 at 11:35 am
[...] TVD’s Picks: Use “Stupid” Sure Habis One? – Everyday’s Life in a Snapshot: Civil Servant called his parents and grandparents and his great-grandparents stupid – My sketchbook: Let’s talk about [...]
March 9, 2009 at 2:49 am
I guess he is not really that smart. I greatly appreciate the dialects that I can understand and I believe language and culture goes hand in hand.
This incident really reflects how shallow the remark is..and the person who said it got no cultural upbringing at all.
I hope not all Singaporeans think like him!
March 9, 2009 at 11:37 am
yes of course. but to Mr Chee, i am pretty sure economics rule his mind. his cultural upbringing is limited to $$$. definitely not, i see many “stupid” people speaking dialects leh.
March 8, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Don’t you think that everything the government advocates is always for some political good!!!?!?! Even the “Speak Good Mandarin (and there’s also English) Campaign” is obviously because it’s supposedly economically useful! If one of the purpose of it was also to create a sense of cultural identity- since our roots are from China, why is there no “Speak thy dialect campaign”!!?@
And obviously, learning of dialect does not interfere with the learning of Mandarin since they are somewhat complementary. It’s just a variation in the intonations—it’s not like learning Greek and Chinese at the same time. Gheez!
March 9, 2009 at 11:34 am
yes, of course. its lee kuan yew’s attempt at social engineering. he likes to play God. remember the graduates marry graduates? I secretly suspect he is a fan of Hitler.
please tell Mr Chee that. to him, dialects are different foreign languages. he principal private secretary leh, how can be wrong?
March 8, 2009 at 8:54 am
Think it is really “Stupid” for him to use the “stupid” word, totally uncalled for and out of place to say the least.
But should we be surprised since these comments are coming from a group of people who looks at normal citizens as “lesser mortals”.
Why on earth do they think they are any better just because some “stupid” (forgive me I am not entitled to use this word since I am only a normal mortal, by the way how come you can use “strikethrough and I cannot?) silly overpaid scholar/MP thinks he is superior due to his overpaid salary.
March 9, 2009 at 11:31 am
you are right. we shouldn’t be surprised. let’s just remember everything and show them whose the stupid ones when it comes to elections. let’s make them unemployed.
no idea why u cannot use strike through leh. to use strike through, just highlight the word and click on the strikethrough function.
remember who pays his over-paid salary. =) imagine you paying someone’s salary only to have that person tell you your stupid. =)
March 8, 2009 at 2:07 am
Hi fellow citizen,
Love your post on the smartass elitist’s comments.
His hubris made me write and I’ve linked your post to my blog.
Thank you.
feedmetothefish
March 9, 2009 at 11:29 am
thanks no problem. the government will be feeding you to the sharks if you start speaking dialects.
March 8, 2009 at 2:04 am
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March 8, 2009 at 12:26 am
It’s sad for a civil servant to give such reckless remarks….. Even language has its lingocide in modern civilization. It reminds me of what my parents say about certain elites ” Study dead books”
I am bilingual and I speak Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese and I am contributing to the economy…
March 8, 2009 at 12:40 am
hi kris, according to mr chee, you are stupid. according to him, its totally not possible. speaking dialects definitely comes at the expense of english and chinese.
LOL.
i guess some people are like ostriches with their heads stuck into the sands. its just sickening that these are pretty expensive ostriches.
March 8, 2009 at 11:17 am
Murdering of languages is a Sin ,,,,,, as it cuts off communication from our parents, grandparents and ancestors
March 9, 2009 at 11:32 am
kris, murdering of languages is not a sin if there’s sufficient economic trade-off. mr chee here will espouse that communicating with parents, grandparents and ancestors have no economic benefit.
March 7, 2009 at 9:50 pm
“This leads me to thinking that he must be some guy with no hobby because if he has a hobby, and the hobby is economically unproductive, he must be fucking stupid to spend his time on it. ”
haha. does any of the ministers strike u as someone who has any hobby or life at all?
does that answer ur question on how chee can make such a stupid statement?
March 7, 2009 at 10:49 pm
actually, i think they have very good lives. they can take 5 weeks of leave to go france for cooking lessons……
March 8, 2009 at 2:37 am
The ministers do have a hobby, it is a sport known as “Screw the peasant”.
Well, as for this smart-mouth fellow, his name already tells me what a “chee hong” he is.
March 9, 2009 at 11:30 am
not something else like chee bye? lol. hmms, apparently 66.6% never think so leh they seem to enjoy the screwing…