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Singaporeans Urged to Act Like Monkeys


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Singaporeans Urged to Act Like Monkeys

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...s&e=11&ncid=757

SINGAPORE - People in strait-laced Singapore were urged Monday to act like monkeys — the Chinese zodiac sign for the coming Lunar year — for the sake of their country.

Singaporeans could foster an economic recovery this year by behaving more like monkeys, Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan said in a Lunar New Year message reported in The Straits Times newspaper.

Chinese communities around the world will herald the start of the Year of the Monkey on Thursday. Chinese believe the monkey is clever, flexible, innovative and confident, but can also be selfish, jealous and vain.

"Be like a monkey. When things happen, you have to be nimble. Take advantage of opportunities, don't be cast down, but rise to the challenge if it does occur," Tan was quoted as saying.

Tan urged Singaporeans not to be daunted by the challenges of helping the city-state recover from its worst economic downturn. The SARS (news - web sites) outbreak, the Iraq (news - web sites) war and slumps in global manufacturing and air travel hit Singapore hard in 2003.

Singapore's economy grew 0.8 percent last year, but unemployment sits at a 17-year high of 5.9 percent.

Last year, in the Year of the Sheep — known in Singapore as the Year of the Goat — Prime Minister Goh Chok Tung issued a similar animal-themed call to arms

when faced with "an imminent war in Iraq."

"In the year of the Goat, we must try to be like the mountain goat, sure-footed and hardy and able to move safely in a rocky environment," Goh said.

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Guest balwinderkaur

hahahah very funny tongue.gif . the speechwriter probably ran out of ideas ....when i read the headlines i thought it required a group of crazy singaporeans to behave like monkeys LITERALLY like swing from tree to tree etc. hahah so its figurative after all. tongue.gif

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Guest balwinderkaur

omg jkaur heheheh mood here is pretty soso....most cheenays working as usual...not much festivities...except for my neighbours...gosh they really know how to enjoy life. but then again i dont really know cuz i spent most of my CNY in one of the many indonesian islands. lucky no abu sayyaf or JI attacks this time tongue.gif but i know one thing...now my fridge is chock full to spilling point with packets and packets of tofu cuz those factories gonna be closed for goodness knows how long:p....my mom made 3 trips to the supermart just to stock up on tofu......heeeheeheee how about you?

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