Latest update from Straits Times.
Wee Siew Kim apologises for remarks 26 Oct
2006
MP WEE Siew Kim has said sorry for remarks he and his 18-year-old
daughter, Shu Min, made about Singaporeans who worry about
jobs.
In a statement issued to The Straits Times last night, he
apologised for the comments he made in an earlier interview on his
daughter's criticism of another blogger, Mr Derek Wee, 35, on her
Internet journal.
'We both apologise to the people whom we have offended, and
especially Mr Derek Wee,' the MP said.
Miss Wee, a Raffles Junior College (RJC) student, had last week
called Mr Derek Wee 'old' and 'undermotivated' after he wrote in
his blog that the Government should try to be more understanding of
Singaporeans' employment woes.
Many on the Internet slammed her for her remarks. She subsequently
shut down her blog and was later counselled by her tutor at
RJC.
In an interview with The Straits Times published on Tuesday, her
father tried to smooth things over by acknowledging that she had
used insensitive language.
However, he said he stood by his daughter's 'basic point', saying
well-educated Singaporeans such as Mr Derek Wee should 'get on with
the challenges in life' rather than complain to the Government
about them. 'I think if you cut through the insensitivity of the
language, her basic point is reasonable,' he had said.
'Some people cannot take the brutal truth and that sort of
language, so she ought to learn from it,' he added.
The MP's comments drew further criticism, especially online.
Yesterday, in his apology, he said: 'I should not have said what I
did about people's inability to take the brutal truth and strong
language.'
The dad is as bright as the daughter.
