The lynching of Shimun Lai

Below are some of the 114 comments posted in www.temasekimes.wordpress.com in the thread ‘Shimun Lai apologises…’ The commentators are angry, furious and not forgiving her. Her apology apparently did not go down well on those she had offended. This is how serious a snide remark can cause in a multi racial society. Everyone must be extra sensitive in what they are saying, blogging, tweeting or posting in their facebooks. Your good friend could send the message out and it can go viral very quickly.

I am reminded of the US and the KKK and how vicious they were in lynching their victims on racial grounds. I am not sure what kind of punishment should be dealt to Shimun Lai before her offended victims could cool off. Lynching her is out of question. And the case is not really serious enough for the police to prosecute her in court. Neither would it be serious enough to sack her from the polytechnic. She has apologised, her polytechnic has reprimanded her.

She did said something disgusting for sure. Would those demanding for her blood like to visit 3in1kopitiam and take those saying 100 times more disgusting things than Shimun Lai to task as well? There is a time for forgiveness and the viciousness shown can turn ugly and hypocritical when overdone.

Do we want a society where every little offence will be reported to the police and demanding prosecution or hanging? I know of a neighbour complaining about the neighbour’s plants. The neighbour did not want to aggravate the situation and did not complain for all the incense dust that had fallen on their clothings and at their doorstep by the complaining neighbour’s incense sticks hanging at his door. And this makes the complaining neighbour think he is an angel, doing no wrong.

The Shimun Lai episode, not much different from Sun Xu’s case, demonstrated that there will be individuals in the midst that could utter strong words without thinking, especially among the young. But these are isolated cases. Racism has not taken root here and will not be allowed to do so as the majority are sensible and sensitive people. The govt and the law will not allow it to be so.



Viknesh Venga said
March 27, 2012 at 2:40 pm
say sorry for what? we are hoping u will get a serious punishment u sick racists ! lets hope u get expelled and a major fine .. this will send out a message to the rest . there is no place for racism in our society.
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Ravin Ramakrishnan said
March 27, 2012 at 3:32 pm
does she think that a simple apology actually suffices?!?! sth so foul and insensitive is seen as sth so trivial.. if we get angry over that PRC calling us a dog, what about our own locals?!?!
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Vasellia Subhash said
March 27, 2012 at 5:16 pm
She likens us to dogs, expects us to be segregated from society by suggesting that we be isolated in a separate train cabin and the PAP MP expects us to merely move on? She highlighted the fact that her account was locked. She’s only sorry she got caught. It’s very disheartening to be subjects of mockery on repeated occasions. The idea behind this is not an eye for an eye but more of creating a widespread caution to those who instigate racial unrest. Of course, the future will meet more people who test racial fragility but this incident will better equip others who want to stand up against the types of Shimun Lai.
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Yiling said
March 27, 2012 at 5:50 pm
This whole saga is over-exaggerated and everyone is making snide remarks over the mistake she has made as though they’ve never made racist comments before. What she is said is indeed demeaning and she is already facing the consequences for that. But the fact that everyone is adding fuel to fire as though they’ve never made racist remarks before is equally atrocious. This incident serves as a lesson learnt for everyone to not make racist comments especially so on the internet, but that doesn’t mean that it will ease any racist sentiments in them.
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Vasellia Subhash said
March 27, 2012 at 11:38 pm
This is the voice of a community; a community that is part of the four main races in this multicultural island-state. How is the voice of a community an exaggeration to you? Can you not sense the pent-up frustration? It’s collective, really. And, I find a pressing need to clarify this. No one is trying to saint himself by declaring that he has not passed a racist remark before. People make jokes; people mock. It is part of the human psyche to be critical. But, most of us practise responsibility and respect on where and how we express our thoughts/ideas. It is easy to misinterprete her intentions on a social network giant such as Twitter. We judge her based on her statements (a highly enraged one laden with profanities, while at that) It’s inevitable; don’t question.
2.
Alex Wong said
March 27, 2012 at 4:11 pm
https://www.facebook.com/shimunxz?ref=ts
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charan said
March 27, 2012 at 4:15 pm
I doubt if she’s real Singaporean or PRC..!!
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Bernard Wang said
March 27, 2012 at 9:10 pm
How about Malaysian?
There are after all thousands of Malaysian students studying for free in Singapore.
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4.
Geetha said
March 27, 2012 at 4:18 pm
My question would be deriving from the PAP MP’s comment. The person who made such a racial comment is not a child who does not know right from wrong. She is a capable young woman who can qualify to be a PRC in Singapore, who is smart enough to get into a course in our local polytechnic. So to say that she apologizes n we should just let it be is an insult to our intelligence. Would it be a same reaction if an Indian PRC had made an exact comment on our Chinese PRCs? I’m not saying that we have punish this girl. But such incidents are happening too often. We need to make an example for future generations to understand that it is totally unacceptable to demean any race in our country. At the end of the day we need each other, & we are Singaporeans.
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Hari said
March 27, 2012 at 9:04 pm
well according to the MP, we can make remarks and say sorry. Everyone will forgive and move on.
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Roy said
March 27, 2012 at 11:30 pm
well said
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Viknesh G S said
March 28, 2012 at 12:13 am
Exactly.You’ve got to love how there are double standards.Time to leave the country guys.
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SIM said
March 29, 2012 at 6:47 am
Goodbye!
5.
SarasJeeva said
March 27, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Just because the derogatory comment was targeted at the minority race “we should accept it graciously and move on” huh? Wow.. Democracy indeed. It’s really disgusting that a harsher punishment is not being issued to her which will set an example to the rest to think twice before posting a racist remark anywhere. Don’t tell me she’s just going to be counselled cos she’s not a 5 yr old.
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spotlessleopard said
March 27, 2012 at 4:28 pm
All racist should be punished regardless of Nationality….it is appropriate to note that “Classcism” by measure of WEALTH and POWER is however encouraged….the Class divide is widening at an alarming rate.
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7.
Kamal said
March 27, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Wondering If This Was an Indian Girl Talking Bad About Indians Will MP. Lim Tell This Same Think??
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Kamal said
March 27, 2012 at 4:41 pm
*About Other Races in Singapore.
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8.
Kamal said
March 27, 2012 at 4:48 pm
I’m Sorry Let Me Post it another One More Time Because of the typo in my previous comment:
I was Wondering if Only it was an indian Girl who posted Racist Remarks about The Chinese or any other Community Will MP Lim Biow Chuan Say the Same thing..
“we should accept it graciously and all of us should move on.”
I Truthful Hate this Words From You Sir.