Chiam See Tong (Temporarily Persevere)

After writing about the lang ding dang man, I am now inspired to write about my favourite opposition leader, Chiam See Tong. Coincidentally, his name in Hokkien means "Chiam see - temporarily, tong - persevere)! Since it is Singapore, I have included words in English, Hokkien, Mandarin, Cantonese, Teochew, Malay and Tamil to make it a poem with a truly Singaporean flavour. For my overseas readers, Chiam See Tong is one of the longest serving opposition leader. He is now 71 years of age and has five more years to serve.

CHIAM SEE TONG

Chiam See Tong,
Tak pai teh gong, (Always pretend)
Pun lai si kiang lang, (Actually a clever person)
ker shi ai cho humble lang, (But wants to be a humble person)
PAP $80 million ang chai tau, (PAP $80 million carrot)
Peh seh sui kah kau. (The people calculate carefully)
Lui bo chai tiao chim (But money cannot kiss)
Ah Chiam gau take lang eh sim. (Ah Chiam wins the heart of the people)
Chiam See Tong kah oon, (Chiam See Tong is more stable)
Koh ee beh si pun. (Depend on him, won't lose out)
Upgrading jit lui pun mian chut, (Upgrading, one cent no need to come out)
PAP, ingin, xiu xiu tiok ai chut! (PAP, definitely, a little, must come out)
Lang kong kiang lang chiak gong lang, (People say clever people eat up stupid people)
Gong lang chiak Ti Kong, (Stupid people eat up God)
Nandrei, Chiam See Tong, (Thank you, Chiam See Tong)
Lu si ko ai tua leng gong. (You are a lovable big fool)
Ah Chiam jin zhi tong (Ah Chiam is understanding and tactful)
PAP pak beh toh, (PAP cannot knock you off)
Ah Chiam chin chia ho, (Ah chiam is very good)
Ah Chiam jin tai hong, (Ah Chiam is very generous)
Gong gong chiak Ti Kong! (Stupid, stupid, but eat up God)*

Gan Chau


* In Hokkien , we say stupid people eat up God (in Mandarin it is sha ren yiu sha fu)
it means foolish or less clever people seem to get all the blessings at the end, maybe
because of their purity and faith, or God has a particularly soft spot for the weak and helpless.)