Following our 4-word saddest story: SAF edition, several Mothership.sg readers have requested for a civil service version.

So here goes:

1:

Sorry, you're just not.

2:

Never mind the million and one things on your plate at the moment. The PQ is more important, even if it doesn't get answered at the next sitting.

But the sadder thing that comes out of a PQ, is this:

3:

So much for having to make policies easily understandable and palatable. Hara-Kiri is almost a 4-word story.

4:

One sad reality of the public service - they are not out to make lives harder for Singaporeans. But somehow policies seem to be very, very bitter pills to swallow.

5:

The Internet is dark and full of horrors. Keyboard warriors are abound to give their take on how their way is the only way to run the country successfully. If all else fails, they'd just say something rude about your mother.

6:

This is nothing but a pipe dream especially when:

7:

For your clearance/approval/agreement/blessings, please. Pretty please.

8:How many people are even fully awake at 9:00am in the morning?

9:

What's worse than going to multiple unproductive meetings? Taking minutes of said meetings, of course.

10:

As a public servant, going home is a privilege, not an entitlement.

11:

This is sad because there was no way you can 'communicate' away an unpopular policy - like aiming for 6.9 million people in Singapore.

12:

This often happens when your supervisors are too afraid to make any decisions on their own. Like going to the toilet.

13:

Should you quit or just cruise through the rest of your life?

14:

You think keyboard warriors are scary? Wait till you deal with them on the phone. Shouting seems to be their default mode of communications. They will mellow considerably when you tell them the calls are recorded for 'training purposes' though.

15:

Oh the delicious amount of paperwork that goes into a tender. Warms your heart doesn't it? Dealing with your procurement department is such a pleasant experience too.

16:

Oh lovely, more paperwork and more dealings with your procurement colleagues. Lovely.

17:

Working in the public/civil service reduced to four sad words - Processing FYNA emails daily.

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