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https://www.kinitv.com/video/24ebcc40-287b-4c1c-92b8-269a02892b2e Was watching an extract of a speech from the Shangri-La Dialogue By Malaysia's Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu. He has been widely criticised by many for his poor command of English on geopolitical issues. I listened to the entire dialogue as it is and though broken at times it was easily understood and the gist of the message was not lost. He used simple English instead of bombastic words. English may not be a country first language. Are politicians expected to speak a certain level of English? I would certainly be more concerned about getting the main facts right than working hard to be a grammar nazi. English is lingua franca, widely spoken in many countries. When we go overseas to countries whose native language isn't English we speak to them in English expecting them to understand. Looking at the shift of major power in the world today should we be shocked if the lingua franca one day becomes Mandarin? Fair enough to assume the rise of China will be accompanied by the rise of Mandarin? Where will that leave the Americans? Who are widely known to perceive the world as "It's okay everybody speaks English anyway." Just interested to hear more opinions. Here's his message for those unable to view the video: So what did Mohamad speak about? Christchurch terror attack “accident” in New Zealand The video began with Mohamad touching on the Christchurch terror attack in March 2019. He condemned terrorism and praised the response of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to the attack. Mohamad said: “So, we understand that terrorist is no border, and no ideology, and no religion. So we have to fight with them in soft way and hard way. But I am very appreciate the role of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, how she faced with the accident in New Zealand. We appreciate him, that’s the way the world leader should behave when that thing happen in their country. So I salute the Prime Minister of New Zealand.” Mohamad then addressed the sources of terror funding, calling them the “father” and “mother” of terrorists. Elaborating on how terrorists have access to advanced weaponry and funding, Mohamad said: “These terrorists, who’s the father and mother? Because they have a lot of money, they have very sophisticated weapons. If they’re an NGO, I think they cannot afford to have that modern weapon.” Mohamad then referenced the presence of terrorists groups in Idlib, Syria, adding: “And now in Idlib, they even have rocket launcher. So who’s the father and mother? We must our intelligence must share and expose who the mother and father, then we can reduce their activity throughout the world.” China’s regional activity: “The China coast guard is bigger than Malaysia warship” Subsequently, Mohamad talked about the behaviour of China in the region and stressed the need for diplomacy, given that “the China coast guard is bigger than Malaysia warship”. Mohamad highlighted: “We know China is a border with us, China is near to us. So, any they changing of the policy will affect us. That’s why we — I know… sometimes they send their coast guard. The China coast guard is bigger than Malaysia warship. So how can we begin to chase them? So we cannot fight with them. But we will always talk to them, defend diplomacy, respect sovereignty…” Mohamad then referenced the opening speech of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on May 31, who stated that a clash between America and China will see many nations affected. “… and if they (China) send a warship there, then America will also challenge them. So, when the elephant fight, the grass will suffer. When elephant laugh, the grass will suffer. That’s mentioned by Prime Minister Lee last night. So we must active defend diplomacy, that we must get together, many time, this not the first time, second time or third time, many time to dialogue, because we want to keep the peace neutrality zone in this area, especially in South China Sea.” Mohamad concluded his speech by criticising the behaviour of large countries for not sticking to their rhetoric of respecting the sovereignty of other countries, as laid down by international treaties: “Big powers, they come and they give speech, they say we respect sovereignty, we respect UNCLOS, we respect COC (Code of Conduct), but their behaviour is different. That is we, the small country, especially ASEAN, we must unite together to face this problem. Thank you very much.”

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/deat...0530-2nexi.html The video news mention "Japan have more issue with DSG due to hot weather and lotsa start stop driving"!! sound like Singapore too as major City driving. Volkswagen executive vice-president Ulrich Hackenberg said this month that the China recall related to a problem with Chinese-built DSGs. He said DSGs in Australia were made in Europe. But the company had not revealed where the faulty Japanese DSGs were made. Japan cant be getting chinese made DSG too yeah?

<<Story>> I notice that most retail outlets and small eateries are filled with foreign customer service (Pinoys, China...especially). I was at Turf City a couple of days back and was hunting for the Steamboat Restuarant. Maybe they had relocated and I was searching in vain. Went into Giant Supermarket and was trying to ask for confirmation about the "Missing" Hotpot. Encountered this chinese lady customer service who was playing her handphone while standing at one location of the mart:- Me :- Can you please tell me if the Steamboat Restuarant is still around? (In english) She :- Can you speak chinese? (In mandarin) Me:- No, I dont know chinese. (In mandarin) Apparently, she is one china chineses foreign talents in SG. It left me thinking, instead of apologising for not able to understand our common language, she could just blatantly "demand" others to speak "her" language. WTF customer service is that? FRUIT FOR THOUGHTS:_ Why not GIANT employ our local aunties and uncles ? I dont mind speaking hokkien, teochew, cantonese to them when seeking their service; as compared to being asked to speak chinese by all these #!%*!$%*%#!^ Thanks for viewing and comments.

In case you missed this..... Enjoy!!!

Bud eye orso donch umderstank wat hee is shaying on der proglam. Ownshelf canock speech ploperi steel wan two shay udders. Priest ..... Link

I realise youngsters nowadays (from Pri to tertiary) do speak with an angmo slang for english and seems that they are struggling very hard to speak their own mother tongue. ie mandrian. Is it because parents nowadays speak english at home and resulting their children becoming mono-lingual ? Occasionally, I could see youngster/school student struggling hard to converse in simple mandrian. ie placing order for mixed rice. BUT.. I dont see our malay and indian youngsters struggle to speak both english and their mother tongue well.

How come some people never live overseas for any extended period of time but they can speak like got potatoes in their mouth? How and where to learn this amazing skill? I want to speak like Sean Connery

A colleague once commented only one of his nephews is able to converse fluently in english, mandarin and hokkien; this boy has been living with grandparents since birth. The rest speaks only speaks english and simply goes "er er ah ah" when grandma speaks to them. Will dialect be lost with the future generations? --------------------------------------------- Article: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../415920/1/.html Chinese S'poreans should focus on learning Mandarin well, says MM Lee By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 17 March 2009 2114 hrs SINGAPORE: The trend of Chinese dialects dying out in Singapore is irreversible, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who urged Singaporeans to focus more energy on learning Mandarin instead. Speaking at the 30th anniversary of the Speak Mandarin Campaign on Tuesday, Mr Lee said the key challenge is no longer about Mandarin versus dialects, but about getting more Chinese Singaporeans to speak Mandarin to their children. Mastering both English and Mandarin is not an easy task for most children, including the minister mentor's grandchildren. He said among the seven of them, only one prefers to use Mandarin, whereas the rest often answer in English when he asks them questions in Mandarin. Mr Lee urged parents to help their children master the language at home. "If both (parents) can speak Mandarin, don't speak to your child in English, or one in English and one in Chinese. Speak to them in Mandarin, leave their English alone

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NIW8WfqoJUA

Interesting speech. Our leaders should take a cue from Obama on how to speak to the public. Personally found it a master class in presentation.