The SDP's Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Gigene Wong speaking next to party chief Chee Soon Juan at a rally in Sembawang on April 27.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan apologised to Singaporeans on April 27, after the party’s Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC candidate Gigene Wong used a racial slur on her teammate Ariffin Sha.
At the start of the party’s rally at the field next to Sun Plaza in Sembawang, Dr Chee said: “There are no ifs, no ands, no buts. The term that Gigene used was offensive and hurtful. And we are deeply sorry that she used it.”
He added that Dr Wong had expressed deep remorse, and the party had also given her a “stern warning and expressed in no uncertain terms that the SDP does not tolerate such behaviour”.
At the party’s rally on April 26, Dr Wong, speaking in Mandarin, Hokkien and English, had referred to Ariffin as “keling kia”, a derogatory term historically used to demean people of Indian descent.
She also mispronounced his name several times, calling him “elephant” instead of “Ariffin”.
Her remarks and faux pas at the rally at Evergreen Primary School caused an uproar on social media over the weekend, leading her to issue two public apologies on Facebook.
In his first remarks since the episode, Ariffin, a legal executive, said he was shocked and at a loss for words when Dr Wong appallingly used the “k-word”.
He said he had sent a clip of the speech to a friend who could understand Hokkien to check if it might have been a “misquote” but it was not.
Many people, including his mother, had messaged him after watching the rally, he added.
“The honest truth is that such remarks are not new. And no, it is not casual racism, because there’s nothing casual about racism,” he said.
“I can accept that there was no malice (by Dr Wong), but intention is irrelevant when it comes to such matters… Honestly, it stings like hell, especially from someone close to you. What happened yesterday has no place in Singapore, let alone a rally stage,” added Ariffin, who is also the founder of alternative news site Wake Up Singapore.
Dr Chee had explained that Dr Wong – a former businesswoman and now a full-time caregiver – did not know of the racially offensive term’s negative connotation.
“This is, however, no excuse, and we want to express how deeply sorry we are, and we recognise the pain this episode has caused,” he added, saying sorry especially to those from the Indian community.
Addressing the crowd after Dr Chee, Dr Wong described the episode as a “difficult and necessary learning experience”, adding that the offensive phrase was not in the original speech she had prepared.
“Although I honestly was not aware of the term and (how derogatory it is), this does not change the fact that using it was extremely disrespectful and harmful.
“I have been counselled by my party colleagues, and I’m deeply sorry for what I have said, and the pain and the anger that has caused. I humbly seek your forgiveness on this matter, and hope to be given another chance to make amends,” said Dr Wong.
She said she had also apologised privately to Ariffin.
Acknowledging this, Ariffin said his teammate was under the impression that “it was a neutral term that Hokkien speakers use to refer to Indians”.
But he added that he was not going to justify her behaviour or make any excuses for her. “I just want to state that there is no room for racism in Singapore, intentional or otherwise,” he said.
He also thanked Dr Chee, SDP chairman Paul Tambyah and the party’s communications team for allowing him to address the issue directly, adding that he was glad they did not ask him to “laugh it off or shrug it off”.
Taking the stage at the end of this segment, Professor Tambyah said the bottom line was that a mistake had been made but that responsibility had been taken.
“These are the values of the SDP, we do not throw anyone under the bus. When we make a mistake, we admit it, we admit we’re wrong and we take the consequences,” he added.
All SDP candidates at the rally then went onstage – including Dr Chee, Prof Tambyah and Dr Wong – and bowed in apology. - The Nation/ANN
