Photo: Jesslyn Tan's offensive Facebook post was uploaded on SG Share on March 18
In case you've been hibernating over the past week, you'd have seen the Facebook post by Miss Singapore Universe finalist Jesslyn Tan, mocking a helper at the Ye Shanghai Teochew Porridge Muay stall Mr. Koh Hee Huat. "Holey moley. Sibei trendy worxxz," the post said, accompanied by a photo of Mr. Koh sleeping in the MRT, wearing a t-shirt with a hole in it.
A Facebook friend Cindy Tan later posted a scathing comment on the photo, "He's my dad. Not everyone is as lucky as you making money off looks."
What followed was an internet storm that has quickly become common in Singapore, the same response that surrounded Briton Anton Casey's insensitive Facebook posts last year.
When things didn't die down even when Jesslyn Tan removed the photo and apologised, Minister of Parliament Indranee Rajah picked it up and wrote a lengthy post on Facebook defending Mr. Koh, whom she's known for years.
In the post, MP Indranee talked about Mr. Koh's work at the Bukit Merah View hawker stall, describing how everytime she saw him (and it was usually each time she was there on a Friday night) he was on his feet from evening to 3am in the morning.
She also revealed how "genuinely bewildered" Mr Koh had been, being singled out like this and on such an issue. He was reported to have said his t-shirts have holes because he wears them for work. At work, the t-shirts get snagged on metal fixtures, causing them to tear. "It's just part and parcel of his work environment, in the same way that people who wears overalls may get grease stains or outdoor workers get dust on their uniforms," MP Indranee explained.
But the MP's biggest takeaway from her chat with Mr. Koh was that he was feeling a deep loss of face and hurt. It was embarrassing for him to be asked by his customers about the incident and though he contemplated quitting his job, he still turned up for work in the few days that followed the incident. "Many may not realise this, but it takes courage to do this — to turn up and carry on when suddenly, through no doing of your own, you are the subject of national discussion, and every eye is on you."
MP Indranee also encouraged citizens to drop by the stall for Teochew muay, and give Mr. Koh a word of encouragement. "If anyone merits a boost, it is this quiet, hardworking, unassuming man," she said. "He may not be sibei trendy, but he is definitely 'sibei ho'."
Read the post in full here.
Photo: MP Indranee Rajah and Mr. Koh Hee Huat as his workplace
Photo: Jesslyn Tan's offensive Facebook post was uploaded on SG Share on March 18
In case you've been hibernating over the past week, you'd have seen the Facebook post by Miss Singapore Universe finalist Jesslyn Tan, mocking a helper at the Ye Shanghai Teochew Porridge Muay stall Mr. Koh Hee Huat. "Holey moley. Sibei trendy worxxz," the post said, accompanied by a photo of Mr. Koh sleeping in the MRT, wearing a t-shirt with a hole in it.
A Facebook friend Cindy Tan later posted a scathing comment on the photo, "He's my dad. Not everyone is as lucky as you making money off looks."
What followed was an internet storm that has quickly become common in Singapore, the same response that surrounded Briton Anton Casey's insensitive Facebook posts last year.
When things didn't die down even when Jesslyn Tan removed the photo and apologised, Minister of Parliament Indranee Rajah picked it up and wrote a lengthy post on Facebook defending Mr. Koh, whom she's known for years.
In the post, MP Indranee talked about Mr. Koh's work at the Bukit Merah View hawker stall, describing how everytime she saw him (and it was usually each time she was there on a Friday night) he was on his feet from evening to 3am in the morning.
She also revealed how "genuinely bewildered" Mr Koh had been, being singled out like this and on such an issue. He was reported to have said his t-shirts have holes because he wears them for work. At work, the t-shirts get snagged on metal fixtures, causing them to tear. "It's just part and parcel of his work environment, in the same way that people who wears overalls may get grease stains or outdoor workers get dust on their uniforms," MP Indranee explained.
But the MP's biggest takeaway from her chat with Mr. Koh was that he was feeling a deep loss of face and hurt. It was embarrassing for him to be asked by his customers about the incident and though he contemplated quitting his job, he still turned up for work in the few days that followed the incident. "Many may not realise this, but it takes courage to do this — to turn up and carry on when suddenly, through no doing of your own, you are the subject of national discussion, and every eye is on you."
MP Indranee also encouraged citizens to drop by the stall for Teochew muay, and give Mr. Koh a word of encouragement. "If anyone merits a boost, it is this quiet, hardworking, unassuming man," she said. "He may not be sibei trendy, but he is definitely 'sibei ho'."
Read the post in full here.
Photo: MP Indranee Rajah and Mr. Koh Hee Huat as his workplace