Minister-Without-Portfolio and NTUC Chief, Mr Lim Swee Say, was quoted by Channel NewsAsia as having said:
“If you’re the best today, strive to be better. If you’re better today, strive to be ‘betterer’ and if you’re ‘betterer’ today, strive to be ‘betterest’ so that over time, Singapore’s service standards can just keep getting better, ‘betterer’ and ‘betterest’.”
Below is a response from one of TOC’s fans, Kayln Asahi, on our Facebook page:
Beyond all the rants about linguistic abilities, what I took away from his statement is that no matter how hard we try we will never be good enough. Because even when you are the best, you can still do better. No matter how much you have achieved, you can achieve more. If a parent or boss keeps saying that to you, how will you feel? – Never good enough. And that is a very stressful, pressured and unhealthy environment to be in.
With ministers sprouting brainless thoughts like these and the MSM publishing all these sh**, what kind of culture are they building here? There’s every economic indication that we are doing well here but there’s no heart matter in Singapore. We will never be anywhere near being the World’s Happiest Countries. How can we be happy when most regular folks are trying our darn hardest to do our jobs well and live with rising costs yet members of the government keep dropping statements like as if not enough is done. It’s never enough.
Look, if we are already the best, we strive to maintain that standard and keep that position. That in itself is already a tall task. Telling people to strive to be better than best, how more greedy can they get?
What are your thoughts on this?
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This deaf frog and his Pro Alien Party are trying to achieve better, better-er, better-est. Meanwhile, Sinkapooreans are getting bitter, bitter-er, bitter-est.
Sorry to disappoint but he can’t be from ACS. His motto is “The better-est is yet to be.”
Why are you all complaining? If you don’t work harder, how will the GDP increase? How will the MPs earn more millions? Hmm? How?
our dear (slave) Labour Chief should instead come up with plans to make ordinary folks rich richer, richest.
do better & more also no pay increase, what’s the point? really no rational…
if really want service standards to improve start with our major essential service providers, banks, transport, power & telco loh. their service standards getting better-er? or only know how to increase price when people say they still can improve?
Not the best at being happy?
Don’t worry. Gahmen will start a 10 million dollar happiness movement. And our Labour Chief will say, “if you’re the happiest today, strive to be happier. If you’re happier today, strive to be happierer etc.”
Simple as that! we shouldn’t expect to be happy lah. Not the betterest how to have candy?? What’s more, even if we’re the bestest betterest best, we still can be better! never any candy for us one lah.
As usual, I have two words for LSS;
“SHUT UP!!!”
Look, if you are paid $1 mil, try to be better. Aim for $2 mil.
After that? Try to be betterer, aim for at least $3 mil.
And that’s good? You need to be betterest. At least $4 mil.
And dont stop at betterest, get at least betterestest. Not even $5 mil yet.
You people have no sense of perception.
@idjit 6 July 2010
Aye, so at better-er-er-est, one gets the UH-1H (i.e. helicopter)?
Seriously, which leader doesn’t know that the way forward is always to do things better. Even a 5-year-old knows what he knows. Now, drawing $2.6m salary + can’t articulate what everyone knows + doesn’t do what is preached = absolutely no credibility.
Guys, Give him abit of credit, he took so much time (from the last) and effort to come up with the pun.
I wonder which school he graduated from??? I definitely won’t put my grandchildren there!
Does Oxford dict have this word he used called “betterest”?
I no no wan. I sec 2 passed only 1 subject. the rest all failed.
u know meh? so smart ah?
singapore unique lah, while people already have enough tension having to compete on a regional & global basis.
our garment is kind enough to bring competition right onto your doorstep (you may even say right into your house) and make it easier for your competitors to compete with you here.
what a way to take care of you so that you will never have to feel complacent and you will constantly feel the spur is being stuck onto you.
i also like to feel that the same kind of spur is being stuck onto them so that they are not deprived of the same wonderful treatment that we may be getting.
hip hip hooray. hip hip hooray.
Now new words emerged like bad, badder and badest, good, gooder and goodest, stupid, stupider and stupidest etc. Almost limitless.
LSS, can u do us S’poreans a big favor? Pls just leave us as we are.
We’ll be most happy and it will be betterest if you just SHUT THE F**K UP!
In view of LSS comments on the much-overworked, over-stretched singaporeans’ productivity. How abt we use the same equation to measure our great “leeaders” to be “better, betterer, betterest?!”
yardstick – GDP growth against inflation
Give this guy some credit. He is as good if not better than Mark Lee the Singapore “Funny” man. Even without his current job he can work as a comedian in our local shows. I don’t respect any one who has nothing better to do than make up stupid superlatives where none were needed to get his message across. Pretty demeaning and unbecoming of someone who should know better, or maybe he does not understand the mindset of Singaporeans who speaks English as a first language.
Maybe he wants to say singapore labour force will get cheap, cheaper, cheapest, while their pockets get fat, fatter, fattest..
I believe the Education Minister has to say something about the comments. It is neither English nor Singlish. What the hell it is only the Sway fellow can tell.
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As for me, as long as I do not understand what the utterence is, I could not care less.
pay him millions just to cook up all these kind of moronic and meaningless statements..
totally loss of words to describe him..really..
LSS is copying Ris Low lah… ;-)
LSS is bringing superlative up to another level. So must give credit to him for being creative!
So he is not satisfied just being the stupidest minister. So he wants to be stupidester then stupidestest and so on….
“Mr Lim Swee Say studied at the Catholic High School and the National Junior College. He was awarded a Singapore Armed Forces (UK) Scholarship in 1973 and studied Electronics, Computer and Systems Engineering at Loughborough University of Technology in the United Kingdom. He graduated with a First Class Honours degree in 1976 and was admitted to the honorary degree of Doctor of Technology in 2006. He attended the Stanford Sloan Programme at Stanford University and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Management in 1991.”
No offence to the schools he graduated from. This kind of product emerges.
@LSS is copying Ris Low lah… ;-)
He’s twice as crummy and not even half as sexy. Don’t believe me? Take a look at that froggy mutt.
this is by far,the ‘worstest’ of the worst NTUC top honchos although he is the ‘mostest’ paid among union peers all over the world.
when you are paid like him,how can you have the moral authorithy to tell already poorly paid workers to be ‘CHEAPER’.
I guess this country is getting to be the FOXCOM of the future.
better, ‘betterer’ and ‘betterest’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmg2S3Jf62Q&#t=1m9s
remember the productivity song “… good, better, best, never let it rest…”
it had obviously not reached our union leader’s ears.
or perhaps it did, and lls was just playing the deaf frog as usual.
i am sure he knows that there is no such words as betterer and betterest.
But he chose to use it because he was talking down to his audience thinking that they can only understand this kind of talk.
This is insulting. Don’t talk down to us as if we are some stupid idiots. Mr Lim, you are the one who is a utter fool to think so. Your place in politics is determined by the very people you talk down to.
Goodbye and good riddance when the next GE comes around.
Grace, well said….”remember the productivity song “… good, better, best, never let it rest…”. and that’s the correct use of superlatives in good English. Does not our government encourage the use of proper English?
But when it’s said…… “If you’re the best today, strive to be better. If you’re better today, strive to be ‘betterer’ and if you’re ‘betterer’ today, strive to be ‘betterest’ so that over time, Singapore’s service standards can just keep getting better, ‘betterer’ and ‘betterest’.”
“If you’re the best, today, strive to be better.” Since best is superlative to better, and taken to it’s logical conclusion, it must mean going backwards to an inferior state if we strive from “best” to “better”. No wonder we are in such a mess these days.
Now “betterer” and “batterest” where did these come from? I need to go find a good dictionary that explain these new words.
The sky is the limit Fly higher than sky will be in space and out of this world.
But you may be the best in the universe but no one in this world will know you
This idiotic nerd cum trying idiot has poor command of both Chinese and English, a simple way to express is using the chinese proverd 精益求精 jīng yì qiú jīng (saying) improving and wanting to improve even more! So simple yet more effective, efficient and proficient!
I really can not understand and envision how this idiotic nerd can command million-dollar of annual remuneration from the state coffer without being “BETTER, CHEAPER AND FASTER”!
What type/kind of meritocratic system this “Uniquely Singapore” cum “Your Singapore” has?
It really puzzles, mystify, confuses, baffles, eludes, bewilders, perplexs, mislead, fools me!
What has the deaf frog done now!!!…[Insert: Screaming Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland]….It is mangling the Queen’s English….off with its HEAD!!!
These scholars are intelligent (I’m being kind) but not wise. Words of wisdom always tell us to be happy with what we have.
Look around us, there are always road works and alterations to everything. What’s the point of changing something for the convenience of tomorrow when tomorrow comes to enjoy the convenience, they want to change for tomorrow again. The signage `Sorry for the inconvenience’ is perpetual. This to me, is plain stupidity. Just like when you pay $70,000 for a car to give you convenience and comfort but you queue half-agonising-hour for FREE $20 petrol.
I know I will offend many people by saying this but Singaporeans are a stupid lot. So are the leaders that they chose. The blind leading the blind.
I also got catchphrase: “Change the dirty white underwear at next GE.”
When you are rich and powerful, any word no matter how incredulous and overbearing will sound sweet to your own ears. Especially if you have practiced well the quaint art of condescension. Ever heard of the art of being self effacing Minister?
amazing english. time for a refresher in language, & attitude, mr lim
Grace, 7 July 2010
quote:
remember the productivity song “… good, better, best, never let it rest…”
i think employers think only dun let employees rest, squeeze every last drop?…
If like that said, than I too know how to say.
If you eat enough don’t say you are full, If you are rich don’t say you are rich, and if you are poor, please say I am very very poor….!
I don’t know if the english is good or boot.
Better and Betterer and Betterest. Next thing you know, LSS is going to eat butter. Then butterer and then butterest. That means eat more butter and the last being eat lots and lots of butter….
MNC’s are doing you all in, folks !!!
read all about it…especially the comments….
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/why-isnt-investment-higher/
All I can say is Lim Swee Say = Idiot!
If the PAP can only muster leaders like him and Vivian Balakrishnan (people will die as a result of bar top dancing), then Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a dream team is rotten to the core.
KS
Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a dream team is rotten to the core.
…………….
on the contray my fellow peeps…
leekuanyew needs STUPID ministers beneath him..or else how can leekuanyew justified to the whole wide world..without him in charged..singapoor sured HABESH!!!
Let all (new and old)PR and foreign worker vote in next election then the result will be overwhelming
million dollar salary not good enough sashay lim?
still wan that 8.8%?
put your foot where your mouth is before you say sgreans are never good enough.
in fact i never found you good enough as well.
you you going to leave?
or are you just going to stay there and shoot your mouth off again??
no wait,you can’t coz thats where your foot is.
yes the more we work hard, the more money you can get from us. sick government