To Be or Not To Be

My student, Zhi Wei, told me this joke when I went to their home to give them tuition. The joke was told to him by his father, Mr. Koh.

Two men and a lady were stranded on an island.

If the two men were Thais, one of the men would say, "I'll kidnap the lady and sell her to you for 1 baht."

If the two men were Dutch, they would say, "Let's have equal share of the lady. Let's go Dutch".

If the two men were from the Middle East, they would say, "Let us bring the lady to Osama bin Laden first and see what he says."

If the two men were Chinese, they would say, "Let's challenge with kung fu. The hero will get the lady."

If the two men were French, they would say, "Let's see who can woo her with the most romantic ideas and tactics.

If the two men were Americans, they would say, "Let's be democratic and see who the lady prefers".

If the two men were Singaporeans, they would probably stare at each other. They wouldn't know what to do. They were still awaiting instructions from the government.

I remember when I first started teaching 12 years ago, my two friends from Penang and I shared a flat. One of them, Tong, who was quite an outspoken teacher, was often exasperated with Singaporeans. She found the men who tried to date her to be absolutely boring. They made poor conversationalists. One day, she blurted out. "Singaporeans are people with few ideas and little imagination. The moment LKY releases German gas, Singaporeans will agree it is very fragrant!" Though Tong was somewhat exaggerating, and (perhaps quite crude) nevertheless there was some truth in what she had observed.

I myself too, found it hard to carry on an interesting conversation with some Singaporeans. In sharp contrast, I could enjoy talking with the man on the street in Canada. Even the toilet cleaners had many ideas what they would like the government to do for them.

It is great and encouraging to see Singaporeans becoming less apathetic now. I enjoy reading their comments on the various issues that affect the livelihood of Singaporeans. However, writers must remember to be constructive in their criticisms so that their ideas will benefit all round. It is even better to put your thoughts into action.

However, of late, to my delight, more and more Singaporeans are beginning to be more in-depth in their analysis. Many are expressing themselves very well in their blogs. We have great writers like Mr. Brown, Mr. Miyagi, Mr. Wang, etc. who will continue to inspire youngsters on the importance of reading and writing. Most important, to instil in readers the ability to laugh at themselves and at things that will even make Ah Meng, the Orang Utan, smile. :-)

Gan Chau