Cherian George
Reading The Online Citizen’s sensational report on what a PAP MP said about Malay and Indian MRT drivers and then watching the video itself, I wondered how the website’s reporters might have covered Barack Obama’s landmark speech after winning the Democratic Party nomination in 2008.
TOC might have said something like this:
Barack Obama has told Americans that “our sights were set too high” and that “this country was too divided; too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose”.
If you think this pessimistic prognosis from a president famous for giving people hope sounds suspect, you're right. Obama did say the words above, but they are taken slightly out of context. He actually said, “They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided; too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose.”
Omitting to mention that the speaker you’re quoting is quoting someone else can be a little misleading. That didn’t stop TOC, whose report on a TV forum is headlined, “MP Seng Han Thong: SMRT’s unpreparedness also due to Malay and Indian staffs English language inefficiency”.
TOC’s reporter goes on to say, “He said that because some staffs are “Malay(s), they are Indians, they cannot converse in English good, well enough”.”
In the 13-odd hours since the article went up, more than 200 readers have posted comments, practically all of them outraged by the MP's remarks as reported by TOC.
But what Seng actually said was, “And I notice that the PR mentioned that some of the staff, because they are Malay they are Indian, they cannot converse in English good, well enough, so that also we can learn from. I think we accept broken English.”
Seen in context, Seng was quoting the comment as part of a larger point he was making, that SMRT should have proper SOPs in place, and that in an emergency the drivers’ standard of English is no excuse for silence.
As an MP (and NTUC leader representing workers), Seng can certainly be faulted for not distancing himself explicitly from the view he was citing.
His slip could have been due to political naivety rather than racism. Surely, he should know better. But so should the editors of what, by default, is Singapore’s leading citizen journalism website. There is enough genuine racism in the country; TOC doesn’t help by crying wolf.
TOC did the right thing by highlighting this gaffe. But it would have lost nothing by reporting it accurately. It could have said something like:
PAP MP Seng Han Thong quoted a view, which he attributed to SMRT's PR officer, that Malay and Indian drivers' poor English was to blame for SMRT's poor response to the emergency. He did not contradict this view.
The facts are bad enough. They didn't need to be misrepresented. … More >
December 22nd, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Very well said…it's hitting the nail nice and square on the head!
December 22nd, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Well said. The TOC aims to provide a counterpoint to the perceived bias of mainstream media, but have not displayed any real balance in their own reporting.
The real concern here is not that it was a malicious remark, but that it suggested an honest ignorance of and prejudice towards other races. Worryingly, this came from a supposed representative of all Singaporeans.
Granted, he was trying to represent someone else's viewpoint. However, in an attempt to piece together what he thought someone else said, he reached for the simple generalisation that people of minority ethnicities were more likely to have lower standards of English.
It is the Freudian slip that he is being pilloried for, not his general point.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:04 am
I watched the telecast. Seng seems nervous on TV. All along, he's more comfortable with Chinese rather than English. So, all those are mitigating factors towards his silly blunder.
To me, this is really not any issue at all. Seng obviously didn't mean what TOC is portraying him to mean. Seng's blunder is just a case of jitters.
Obviously, TOC is playing up this silly non-issue for political agenda. Only silly brash people will fall for such a naive trick. Unfortunately, there are loads of silly people around who has little critical thinking left to think for themselves.
December 23rd, 2011 at 3:15 am
Mr Cherian George, I am afraid you are committing the same sin you accuse TOC of, journalistic dishonesty – the SMRT has clarified that they did not refer to any ethnic group when they said poor English command was one cause of the communication breakdown. Yet you defended Mr Seng by saying that he was merely quoting the SMRT. Truth is,(if SMRT is to be believed) Mr Seng misquoted the PR, assuming either that all the drivers involved were Indians and Malays, or that only the Indian and Malay drivers had a problem with poor English. Either way, I believe the accusation of existing bias is valid. But for me, even more worrisome, is your brushing his gaffe aside as political naivety. For that makes me wonder if you believe an outward show of respect towards the other communities is all that Singaporeans need to develop, because that would be showing political savvy, and that well-hidden racism should never be cause for concern.
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:28 am
Yes, TOC may have sought to milk the saga for what it was worth but I don't think the facts were misrepresented, merely angled to make SHT appear more guilty than he truly was (parroting SMRT's PR vs his own view). In any case, isn't the onus on TOC's readers to read beyond the headlines?
Furthermore, investigations have shown that SMRT said nothing race-related, so how did SHT arrive at such a conclusion? If we are to judge TOC or other media outlets, let's judge them on whether they clear up the matter, lest the anger of a certain segment of Singapore's populace continues to fester.
We can accept genuine racism in our country, as an unavoidable facet of the human condition. What we can't accept is the PAP letting such racists into their party and parliament, and allowing this pro-Chinese ideology to grow unchecked.
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:38 am
Hey Cherian, maybe you should not refer to bloggers at TOC as reporters
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:39 am
MP Seng may have misquoted but in doing so, he gives us a clear picture of his prejudices.
I also note he is anxious to deflect blame to Malays, Indians, SMRT VPs & PR. In that, he is obviously well versed in world class PAP skills.
We need to know who else shares our Lord LKY's views on ethnic minorities and venomous religions.
In future, we should all email Lee Hsien Loong, that like Lim Wee Kiak, such people and prejudices are offensive and unacceptable.
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:59 am
I agree with commenter Noorunnisa.
I am surprised how this whole gaffe is spun as the MP merely repeated what a SMRT spokesman!
Crucially, it turns out the MP omitted one race (which incidentally is the race he belongs to) from the original statement by SMRT and this omission is precisely what has lead to the remark assuming racial overtones.
December 23rd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Had the MP been Eurasian, and had he quoted SMRT correctly (Malay, Indian and Chinese staff…), will he not be in trouble?
December 23rd, 2011 at 2:39 pm
TOC is partisan reportage, just like yours is, and mainstream media. They are not meant to be balanced.
I don't think they committed any major errors – they're just being partisan.
December 24th, 2011 at 1:17 am
TOC is just gunning for more eyeballs. If not, they'll be swatting flies. Trust me, TOC will do anything for eyeballs. Think "News of the World". It's the same trick. Understandably,it's for their survival.
December 24th, 2011 at 1:52 am
Ever since the elections, and time before that, the mainstream media has chosen to give negative slants and angles to the opposition teams. We had only a few other voices to turn to, for what Dr G perceives as "balanced reporting". And TOC gave that to us. True honest bold explanations of the main issues. And how many countless times have the mainstream media also jumped at petty issues against the opposition, because of their political naivete (maybe), or language barriers? I don't see journalists running and slamming these media. So why a TOC bashing now?
All they did, is spell out what all Singaporeans felt aghast at: that a politician could say such racist remarks in a public forum. Did ST make a mistake? Maybe. But if an opposition figure did the same, consider the amount of bashing he/she will get from mainstream media.
December 24th, 2011 at 10:05 am
May TOC accepts the criticism in good spirit and continue to improve to be the people's media. However I disagree about Mr Seng's naivety for I believe his words came from the underlying impressions he has towards the Indians and Malays. Like how the title shouts "There's enough real racism in Singapore " period.
December 24th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Untrue. By stating that quote without clarifying that it was a racist statement, he had bought into the argument and was trying to convince more viewers with it. This is how racial stereotypes are born.
To draw an extreme parallel, if there was a health and safety scare in a food source, and the PR mentioned that the reason is due to a certain race is dirty and full of diseases. Should a MP then announce such misguided information and then claim that it's because we have accepted a lack of proper hygiene in our practices?
A racist statement will remain racist if one does nothing to address it, let alone build your argument on it.