Ok correct me if I'm wrong but today was a revelation for me in terms of our country's love for acronyms.
I was reading an article on Singapore when I came across the name Sellapan Ramanathan, mentioned in a current affairs article.. Now as a fellow Singaporean, what does that name mean to you?
I was slightly stunned and curious. I thought "Since when did it change/ Who is this feller that the article was referring to?
Sellapan Ramananthan. Who is he?
Well, I'm ashamed to say this but that's our return-unopposed-but-supposedly-elected President of Singapore, S R Nathan.
Perhaps it's the norm for Indian/Tamil names to be shortened as such, I don't know, could someone enlighten me please? But for many of my friends, including some in NUS, nobody knew who I was talking about when I went on MSN and started asking around.
I think it's a sad day indeed and speak volumes about politics in Singapore and how apathetic my generation is, when most of us don't even know the full name of our very own (supposedly beloved, accordig to the media) President.
Another ridiculous acronym I came across, lovingly labelled by our own civil service, was APPLES. Now I don't know about you, but I like to think that a document as important as your own passport should not be cheapened and shortened to a fruit in a market, no matter what they say about an apple a day and the doctor and all that.
I could go on and on about our country's silly love for acronyms. But I'll leave it here for now. *roll eyes*
No comments:
Post a Comment