PAP MP Seng Han Thong apologizes for remarks on Malays and Indians


inSing.com, 22 Dec 2011
Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Seng Han Thong's comments on a recent television programme have raised eyebrows and angered many in the online community.
He was a guest on Channel NewsAsia's 'BlogTV' talk show to discuss the recent SMRT train disruptions.
The MP seemed to suggest that part of the reason for the SMRT communication fiasco might lie with some SMRT staff members not being properly trained to handle such crises.
But the controversy is due to this comment from the MP: "I notice that, the PR mention that some of the staff, because some of them are Malays, they are Indians, they can't converse in English well enough."
Many online users have commented that the above statement smacks of racism
Seng has since apologized via his Facebook page on Thursday morning.
"I made a regrettable mistake in my language, which may be misconstrued as me saying that people speak bad English because of their ethnicity. I sincerely apologize to all Singaporeans, who have been offended by this error. Singaporeans of all ethnicities and backgrounds speak varying standards of English. My own Chinese-educated background gives me a special empathy for the non-English-speaking sections of our society. We should all be tolerant of people of different standards of linguistic ability," said Seng. Full story

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Sorry for ‘regrettable mistake’: Seng Han Thong - Yahoo! Singapore News