As Singapore PM Goh Chok Tong sees it, you gotta speak the right lingo to get on in the world.

EXCEPT that the popular title character from hit local sitcom, Phua Chu Kang Pte. Ltd., is given to gabbling Singlish - that idiosyncratic mix of English with the odd phrase of Chinese, Malay and even Tamil.

The kind but uncouth contractor played by current entertainment darling Gurmit Singh is sending out the wrong vibes. Hey, kids may think it's cool to say "don't pray, pray [play, play]" when they mean "don't fool around." So cue script change. The series ended its season last month with Phua's younger brother laying it on the line: The ear-picking contractor must learn to speak Proper English (he was setting a bad example for his impressionable young nephew) or the brother would move out of their extended-family home with his wife and child.

Can the cleaned-up series retain its distinctive flavor - and audience? After all, much of the humor derives from culture clashes. Chu Kang's family of "heartlanders" (often characterized as more insular, Chinese-speaking working-class types) usually find themselves at odds with his yuppie brother and his snob of a wife. The show's producers think the show will survive. Phua Chu Kang's success "is not solely dependent on the use of Singlish," says a spokesperson, though the contractor's patois was in keeping with his character.

Some viewers wonder what the fuss is all about. Singapore's Singlish/English debate has missed the mark, says one academic. Schools have to maintain the highest language standards, but the needs of a shopkeeper in a public housing estate are different. In fact, a trader speaking standard English might have trouble being understood by some of his customers. Yet people with global dealings (the professionals whom officials think of as "cosmopolitans") invariably have the formal language skills.

So why drag the show into the government's drive for better English? Poet Alfian Sa'at reckons the approach reflects a "colonial mentality" - American slang is accepted but not homegrown expressions. In other words, it's okay to chill out, but not relak (relax). Can't be too chin chai (sloppy), you know.

Count on Phua being at remedial English classes next season, lah.