This article was first published on lukeyishandsome.com
She goes by the name Catherine Tan, and her Facebook page (which has been taken down) got quite infamous recently, mostly because it seems like she's on a crusade against the Malay community. Her story? A Malay family allegedly try to force her to marry their IMH-diagnosed son. She claims that she has since suffered unjust treatment and harassment from members of the community because of this incident, which prompted her to go public with these 'harassment' stories.
Her posts have gotten Singapore so riled up that even SMRT Ltd Feedback posted about her. Here's her first post on April 28th this year:
EVERYONE OUT TO GET HER? At least that's what she claims.
Confused? Here's a little backstory for you, posted as a comment on The Middle Ground after the recent Paris attack, where a Muslim woman claimed she was harassed in Singapore:
PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED BUT STILL KIND: At least according to her.
Since the rejected request for marriage, she claims that Malays have been constantly bullying her. From NTUC to Raffles to Takashimaya, it seems that these "Malays" have tracked her with brutal efficiency to make her life harder, as her other Facebook posts exhibit. Armed constantly with her cameraphone in hand, she has been filming all these incidents down as 'proof' that Malay people have an agenda against her. Paranoia at its best. "This took place this morning at NTUC Finest at Marine Parade. The manager confirmed contractor was instructed to avoid shoppers, not run into them. I have been harassed and assaulted past 3 years because I refused to marry an IMH Muslim man, my ex-neighbour from Marine Terrace and for running to my MPs, Fatima Lateef & Goh Chok Tong for help. My agency did not support my licence renewal for 2015 because of a few incidents in the office during which I was harrassed by some Malays. I am a Christian. Show some respect for my religion. Stop forcing me to marry a Muslim."
This took place at Zara, Ion Orchard, Singapore. I was queuing to try on some clothes when a Muslim sales assistant insisted on me jumping out of the queue to let him pass when he could have crossed by the back of the queue. I told him to go by the back. When I reached the top of the queue, he threatened me that I had used "inhuman language" to talk to him. His colleague here even turned violent but was held back by his manager. I had been hit in the head (CCTV evidence), non-Chinese SBS bus-drivers slammed the bus door at me and had been assaulted more than 30 times the past three years for running to my Members of Parliament, Fatimah Lateef & Goh Chok Thong for help. I had refused to marry my ex-neighbour, a mentally unstable Muslim man from Blk 19, Marine Terrace. I am not getting any protection from the police because the Muslim neighbour on the other side is a retired police officer.
Just now a Malay cleaner in orange top at the foodcourt in Parkway Parade was lying in wait for me. When he saw me coming, he emerged and intentionally brushed past me to cause distress. I have been physically assaulted more than ten times the past three years after I sought the help of my MPs, Fatimah Lateef and Goh Chok Tong because my ex-Malay neighbour from Blk 19, Marine Terrace insisted on forcing me to marry her mentally unstable son.
Racist, delusional or troll?
While most netizens haven't been too kind to her, an interesting question to ask would be this: What's her motivation? Does she really believe that the Malay community is out to get her since an incident that happened four years ago? Or does she has a personal agenda against the Malays, cooking up scenarios in an attempt to stir hatred? Is she merely trolling the internet to provoke a response, and laugh behind the screen looking at the people getting riled up over her?
Looking at her posts, I think she's not that different from the IMH dude that she hates so much. Just look at this police report letter, where she claims that a Malay man attempted to hit her. If you read the report closely, you would notice that the Malay man only attempted to hit her AFTER she kicked him twice. Meaning that it was not an unprovoked incident:
She clearly has an axe to grind with the Malay race, looking at how she constantly searches for incidents to confirm her belief (confirmation bias, anyone?). Also, she's probably enjoying all the attention that she's getting now, hence the reason why she's been constantly posting. Probably to provoke a response to confirm her beliefs.
The best way to deal with her? Definitely not through her Facebook profile. Pick up your phone and call IMH if you must (since randomly kicking people isn't a very sane thing to do), but ignoring her is also highly recommended. Press 'close' when you see her profile and refrain from commenting/sharing, because it's only adding fuel to the fire. Arguing with people like her is like shouting at a wall to move.
Text: Luke Phang
Photos: Facebook screengrab
This article was first published on lukeyishandsome.com
She goes by the name Catherine Tan, and her Facebook page (which has been taken down) got quite infamous recently, mostly because it seems like she's on a crusade against the Malay community. Her story? A Malay family allegedly try to force her to marry their IMH-diagnosed son. She claims that she has since suffered unjust treatment and harassment from members of the community because of this incident, which prompted her to go public with these 'harassment' stories.
Her posts have gotten Singapore so riled up that even SMRT Ltd Feedback posted about her. Here's her first post on April 28th this year:
EVERYONE OUT TO GET HER? At least that's what she claims.
Confused? Here's a little backstory for you, posted as a comment on The Middle Ground after the recent Paris attack, where a Muslim woman claimed she was harassed in Singapore:
PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED BUT STILL KIND: At least according to her.
Since the rejected request for marriage, she claims that Malays have been constantly bullying her. From NTUC to Raffles to Takashimaya, it seems that these "Malays" have tracked her with brutal efficiency to make her life harder, as her other Facebook posts exhibit. Armed constantly with her cameraphone in hand, she has been filming all these incidents down as 'proof' that Malay people have an agenda against her. Paranoia at its best. "This took place this morning at NTUC Finest at Marine Parade. The manager confirmed contractor was instructed to avoid shoppers, not run into them. I have been harassed and assaulted past 3 years because I refused to marry an IMH Muslim man, my ex-neighbour from Marine Terrace and for running to my MPs, Fatima Lateef & Goh Chok Tong for help. My agency did not support my licence renewal for 2015 because of a few incidents in the office during which I was harrassed by some Malays. I am a Christian. Show some respect for my religion. Stop forcing me to marry a Muslim."
This took place at Zara, Ion Orchard, Singapore. I was queuing to try on some clothes when a Muslim sales assistant insisted on me jumping out of the queue to let him pass when he could have crossed by the back of the queue. I told him to go by the back. When I reached the top of the queue, he threatened me that I had used "inhuman language" to talk to him. His colleague here even turned violent but was held back by his manager. I had been hit in the head (CCTV evidence), non-Chinese SBS bus-drivers slammed the bus door at me and had been assaulted more than 30 times the past three years for running to my Members of Parliament, Fatimah Lateef & Goh Chok Thong for help. I had refused to marry my ex-neighbour, a mentally unstable Muslim man from Blk 19, Marine Terrace. I am not getting any protection from the police because the Muslim neighbour on the other side is a retired police officer.
Just now a Malay cleaner in orange top at the foodcourt in Parkway Parade was lying in wait for me. When he saw me coming, he emerged and intentionally brushed past me to cause distress. I have been physically assaulted more than ten times the past three years after I sought the help of my MPs, Fatimah Lateef and Goh Chok Tong because my ex-Malay neighbour from Blk 19, Marine Terrace insisted on forcing me to marry her mentally unstable son.
Racist, delusional or troll?
While most netizens haven't been too kind to her, an interesting question to ask would be this: What's her motivation? Does she really believe that the Malay community is out to get her since an incident that happened four years ago? Or does she has a personal agenda against the Malays, cooking up scenarios in an attempt to stir hatred? Is she merely trolling the internet to provoke a response, and laugh behind the screen looking at the people getting riled up over her?
Looking at her posts, I think she's not that different from the IMH dude that she hates so much. Just look at this police report letter, where she claims that a Malay man attempted to hit her. If you read the report closely, you would notice that the Malay man only attempted to hit her AFTER she kicked him twice. Meaning that it was not an unprovoked incident:
She clearly has an axe to grind with the Malay race, looking at how she constantly searches for incidents to confirm her belief (confirmation bias, anyone?). Also, she's probably enjoying all the attention that she's getting now, hence the reason why she's been constantly posting. Probably to provoke a response to confirm her beliefs.
The best way to deal with her? Definitely not through her Facebook profile. Pick up your phone and call IMH if you must (since randomly kicking people isn't a very sane thing to do), but ignoring her is also highly recommended. Press 'close' when you see her profile and refrain from commenting/sharing, because it's only adding fuel to the fire. Arguing with people like her is like shouting at a wall to move.
Text: Luke Phang
Photos: Facebook screengrab