Wah lau eh! Limpeh ki liao hor yi ke si ah! This ji siao “Sibeh Ah Beng” come back to New Mandala and talk cock again. This time, talk about his experience selling DVD in Johor Bahru in Malaysia. Ehhhhh…. brother…… Singaporeans go JB buy DVD very old school already leh. Those kind of things happen at least 10 years ago you know. Now a days everybody sit at home watch Starhub, watch Mio TV, or watch streaming online show, so convenient. Where got people still got time to go JB buy DVD?!?!?! At most we still go JB to eat seafood or go to the newly opened Johor premium outlets to shop around, but sorry ah, DVD really already out of fashion. Now minimum standard Blu-Ray hor.
Limpeh teach you lah. Now want to go shopping hor, minimum standard is Bangkok lah. With airplane tickets so cheap, the price of going to Bangkok can be the same price as taking a bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur! Zoom, zoom, very fast take airplane can reach already!
If you don’t believe that Bangkok is the new Johor Bahru, take a look at these videos. It is from the super uber popular show in Singapore now called “The Noose”, a weekly parody news show. I swear 99% of Singaporeans think Thais are like that! If you don’t laugh until your balls explode, I don’t know what to say.
Episodes are available here, here and here.
To all Thai nationals, Singaporeans are truly sorry if these videos upset you. We warmly welcome any videos that parody and stereotype us.
Limpeh, also known as Elvin Ong, is a candidate for the Masters of Philosophy in Politics (Comparative Government) at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Sibeh Ah Beng // Feb 16, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Aiyo, I not ji siao one, total objection. I dun know what you mean by selling, I not sell much dat part of reason for writing here. Advertisement to old ang moh lah who wan Singapore-Johor like was when Chicken Rice War and Army Daze came out on colour VCD lah. Now got genuine fake Army Daze DVD leh.
Total objection again. 99% of Singaporeans dun think Thais like that lah. Maybe only you in the 1% with your Coxford friend lah. 99% of Singaporeans dun have time to think mah. Got job lah, not paiseh student one. Also Coxford graduate dun swear lah. Damn suspect hor.
Walan I put u in the noose. Bowl u over like dis one http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzaw8gDwLQ1r88u00o1_400.gif hoooo
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2 An audience // Feb 17, 2012 at 1:52 am
It’s kind of fun to see what outsiders think or look at Thais or Thailand. I admit that we are Thais not perfact in many ways – majority Thai people can not speak or write English, majority people are poor and not educated. I think this is the result of the phrase that some old Thai elites like to say to Thai people “we should be proud of being Thai and speaking Thai”.
I agree the reflection from the show. I think Thai government should be serious and focus more on education. (Ying Luck has an experience from being criticized about her English). Thai government have talked about how to improve the Thai kids’ education but they give laptops to the students instead (for playing a game or for educational perpose!?!?). I see many kids are addicted to the online games instead of using computer for school works.
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3 Limpeh // Feb 17, 2012 at 4:02 am
Relac bro! Hahaha…. I’m just sharing interesting videos with New Mandala readers nia lah. You dun think the videos very funny meh?
Eh next time I go back Singapore you want to come out and lim kopi a not. Tell me next time we meet in Tampines lor. No problem one.
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4 Nattavud Pimpa // Feb 17, 2012 at 7:03 am
I love this parody! really funny and true. I felt like I have seen this before in the 1980s in American show.
Oh I just realise that the New Mandala also features ‘entertainment’ in this blog.
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5 sammy // Feb 17, 2012 at 9:14 pm
They do the same thing in every nation in the world where the language of inevitability (not to be confused with superiority; but there’s no faster way to guarantee inferiority than to get your victims confused about their own best interests) is fiercely resisted by those who ‘protect’ their little pockets of control from the inevitable big – bad – world.
The Westphalian illusion of the ‘sovereign nation-state’ may be dead or dying, but the exploitation will rage on. You’ll be in a better position if you’re not ‘protected’ from it by an illusionary patriotic bubble. I had parents that once ‘protected’ me from Reality, this way. Boy did I struggle to deal with inevitability, when it hit. I was armed only with Fantasy. I barely coped, in Reality. It’s time people stopped looking to their lords for spiritual and moral guidance; and started tending to their own best interests. Including the lords, who have always had overlords. But sovereigns come in different shapes and sizes.
Alternatively, non-English speakers can continue to believe the slaves of other plantations have a motive to harm or hurt you; when they would probably just want to play, trade and engage. If someone doesn’t want you to be able to communicate with the world, it should ring alarm bells.
But vassals are notoriously gullible in every nation. In particular, those in the Land of the Free who are terrified of those in the Religion of Peace. Freedom and Peace mixed together created 3 million orphans recenty. It’s a great cocktail, that one – but the hangover is a killer. This is what it sounds like:
Boom.
Boom. BOOM.
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6 Marcus // Feb 17, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Thank you for your contribution. Indeed, the first video does capture the Thai-style pronunciation of the English language quite well. However, I wonder whether this post is a noteworthy contribution to an academic debate, such as failed education policy in Thailand e.g., or just to make us laugh. The former would be an interesting point, the latter does not fit imho into this forum though.
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7 Shan // Feb 18, 2012 at 5:01 am
While I do cherish the academic nature of this blog, it is great to see there’s space for a comedy approach, too (intra-Asian, even!).
Nicely done
Thanks for the links, Limpeh.
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8 Markus // Feb 18, 2012 at 6:46 pm
I would have to agree that these silly Singlish posts are becoming a bit too frequent..
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9 A Noo NY Mouse // Feb 18, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Not bad. The level of English in Thailand is indeed atrocious (to the point that Yingluck said to Hillary Clinton “it is always a pressure for us here in Thailand to welcome…”)
Another good point is the long-winded polite speech completely lacking substance, which often seems to be on a level of a 5-year-old.
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10 Tan L. // Feb 19, 2012 at 1:37 am
While I can appreciate the humour/satire of the last 2 blog posts on Singapore, it’s somewhat frustrating that New Mandala hasn’t had many rigorous contributions concerning the very important recent socio-political issues in Singapore, especially in the past month, which has been labelled a “scandal-hit January”. All of this information below has been circulating in the Singaporean mass media and online for some time now:
1.Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau investigating the heads of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Central Narcotics Bureau for allegedly being involved with a female IT executive
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120125-323860.html
2. Former top school principal, a scholar and several senior civil servants embroiled in investigations into a prostitution ring allegedly dealing in Korean girls:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/80-people-being-investigated-in-online-vice-probe–report.html
3. Leading opposition member and current MP expelled and left the country
amidst allegations of having had affairs with 3 women:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1183169/1/.html
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/poreans-yaw-vanishing-act-leaving-country-not-101715242.html
Hopefully someone at New Mandala or one of its guest writers will be able to discuss some of these issues at length and perhaps give insights into what is certainly an unprecedented period in Singaporean history.
Best Regards,
-Tan L.
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11 Ron Torrence // Feb 19, 2012 at 11:01 am
As I noticed, and my wife was quick to point out to me, those videos do not show the Thai style of pronunciation, it is the Singaporean version of Thai style(and even more hilarious), such as Thais would say pawn not porn, for example. They never pronounce a r sound at the end of a consonant. My wife still struggles with that , even after 22 years, and having trained her in the teaching of phonics.
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12 jonfernquest // Feb 20, 2012 at 2:57 pm
The only thing the clips seem to prove is the lame state of comedy in Singapore.
Much more impressive would be a bit of self-parody in which Singporeans made fun of and laughed at themselves.
For example, 1. at their incomprehensible variety of English or 2. state persecution of the investigative reporter that revealed the horrors of capital punishment in Singapore to the world, or 3. general hypersensitivity to criticism such as the gag order on EU politicians barring them from making any comments while they were visiting Singapore, but at the same time sponsoring much academic work and publication that criticizes their Southeast Asian neighbors (great but hypocritical), or 4. the hurried attempts to to become best in the world in everything from advanced genetics to Southeast Asian studies by hiring famous westerners at inflated salaries.
A wealth of self-parody opportunities exist, it seems, but the reaction would much more likely be one of anger and censorship than in mai ben rai Thailand.
But thank you Limpeh for sharing. Great to get get wider perspective
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13 Andrew Johnson // Feb 20, 2012 at 5:04 pm
I’ve got to agree with some parts of comments 10 and 11, above – these clips tell us more about Singapore than they do about Thailand, and the tension surrounding ethnicity that exists between Singapore and its neighbors (and Singaporeans and their migrant workers). Yes, the accent isn’t a particularly “Thai” one – only in the lengthening and application of a falling tone at the end of many words rings slightly true.
But the “funny foreign/Asian accent” routine has had a history in other places, too, a history that’s tied up with Orientalism and racism (see the Japanese caricatures in the old “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or the same in newer shows in Northern or Eastern Europe – e.g. Finland and Hungary’s “Noriko Show,” etc). One even sees it on Thai TV, when comedians adopt a “Burmese” accent. It would make a good study to see the Singaporean representations of Thailand (and Thai representations of Burma or Cambodia, etc., etc) in the light of an intra-Orient Orientalism.
Has anyone done this?
Finally, re: comment 11 and “inflated salaries.” As a foreigner working in a Singpaorean university, I gotta argue with you there – my RENT is inflated, not my salary…
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14 Andrew Walker // Feb 20, 2012 at 7:49 pm
I agree that Pornsak Sukhumvit is not such a good parody of Thai ways. When it comes to simply hilarious parody of hi-so affectation, Woody is surely the master! AW
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