~by: Jewel Philemon~
A TOC reader, Mr Noor Firdaus was so irked by the photo above which was captioned with a highly racist and offensive remark that he wrote in to a few MPs requesting that they ask Mr Neo to take that picture down. Mr Firdaus claims that the picture with the highly offensive caption was posted on the Facebook of a Young PAP member Jason Neo.
Mr Firdaus said that MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC Zaqy Mohamed eventually replied to him saying that he will advise Mr Neo to take that picture down.
Mr Firdaus sent in his communication with Mr Neo and Mr Zaqy with the offensive picture to TOC, requesting that we draw attention to it on our website. He hopes that through this highlighting, people will learn to be more sensitive of the of the people of various ethnicity that live here, and also develop greater tolerance.
“As a political activist Jason should not have posted the picture”, says Mr Firdaus.
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The following is MP Zaqy Mohamad’s response to Mr Noor Firdaus:
Thank you again for keeping us informed. Jason Neo has removed the post which I personally feel is inappropriate, given our respect for multi-racialism and multi-culturalism here.
However, I am informed that the photo posted was made earlier in the year some time in Feb. Jason had joined YP much later in June. We will speak to him about his past posting, but rest assured, that YP does not condone this view or practice. I’d also like to assure you that this view is not prevalent among our members.
As a young person, Jason may not have realised the implications of his past postings once he has joined a political organisation and we hope that he will gain a lesson through this experience.
Thank you
Warmest regards,
Zaqy Mohamad
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Mayor Teo Ser Luck commenting on this highly sensitive caption on Facebook says:
We will have to take action. Such acts must be condemned.”
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Writer, poet and playwright Alfian Sa’at commenting on the insensitive post by the YPAP member:
I believe this kind of captioning has come from an extremist Chinese. Where are the voices of the Chinese moderates? I want to hear from the Chinese moderates. Why are they silent? Why are they not condemning this act?
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National Solidarity Party member Abdul Salim:
I have just make a Police report against Jason Neo Tiong Yap. Was updated by the officers on duty that the Principal of HUDA Kindergarten has also lodge a report early in the afternoon.
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@XaV – 2nd chance? yes, we should. But have you read his apology posting? I find it arrogant and it lack the remorse and sincerity. He didn’t apologised nor even mention the children whom he has accused of being terrorists or the parents of the children or the kindergarten! He seems more interested to protect the PAP and the YPAP.
I wonder what you been smoking when u snapped and upload the photo in your FB,Jason Neo… lawyer summore.. tsk..tsk..
This guy has committed a serious offence, he broke the law! Will be charged?
Is it a conincidence that many lousy people are now in PAP or the other way round, PAP attracts lousy people & hooligans.
He was set off free, why, becos he’s a Chinese! Even our great MM won’t comment anything. What if the person by the name of …BIN… or …BTE… did this! The whole world will know… Even a book will be published…
MP’s lame response is unbelieveable.
Do you notice that MUIS and Yaacob Ibrahim is keeping dead silence. That is their typical response. Don’t break my rice bowl brother. I have mortgages to pay.
There is no responsible leaders among the Muslim community. What can you expect?
The top guys who matter in the eyes of the citizeney are scared even to give their opinion about the denigration of their race and religion. What useless bums!
Here’s 2 cents’ worth from a half-chinese: I hope Jason Neo truly feels remorseful (towards the Islams) and stupid (for ruining his own name). 2 Syllabus ‘Terrorist Trainees’ has not only humiliated the Islams but also cause unrest to the community.
A young man had forgotten to keep his thoughts to himself. I am very much disturbed by his insensitive act, which is a disgrace to the chinese, but think again, his parents or any other parents would want their child to have a 2nd chance in the society.
I hope this reckless young man learns.
Luckily it is one of theirs. Can you imagine if this fellow is say from WP or NSP. You won’t bet on Muslim leaders & Yaacob keeping so quiet.
My child attends an Islamic Pre-School and takes the school bus everyday. How should I feel when someone labels my child a future terrorist?? I am not even looking at this from a religious perspective but as a parent of a young and innocent child in a school bus. Did Jason even think of the children and their parents? Never mind the religious notion but condemning children as future terrorist is enough to agonize any parent, of any religion, race or nationality. What about the school’s management? How do they feel about the impression that they are moulding future terrorists. I hope the school will at least make a police report or start engaging a lawyer.
Obviously many non Muslim do not know what islam is all about.
I personally thought that us as singaporeans who has pledge as a united community regardless of race or religion makes a difference even for those who do not understand Islam. I’m suddenly sadden by
The lack of honorary of the pledge n worse whn it comes frm an MP.
If justice for equality is not done in this instance I think the pledge
Does not hold any integrity n I hope be will be punish. Insyallah
Obviously many non Muslim do not know what islam is all about.
I personally thought that us as singaporeans who has pledge as a united community regardless of race or religion makes a difference even for those who do not understand Islam. I’m suddenly sadden by
The lack of honorary of the pledge n worse whn it comes frm an MP.
If justice for equality is not done in this instance I think the pledge
Does not hold any integrity n I hope be will be punish. Insyallah
An idiot for posting it on Facebook. If he’d done it on tumblr or twitter, using a pseudonym, no one would care. Then he becomes just another faceless bigot.
Also, maybe we should start calling acs students crusaders? Makes about as much sense as this.
The YPAP, like the PAP itelf, prides itself in its stringent recruitment criteria to cattch the ‘best of the crop’. What those criteria are are a closely guarded secret and we must take their word that they are stringent indeed.
Jason Neo must have passed muster to be acceptged as a YPAP member, and we must also accept that he is the creme de la creme that the YPAP could catch.
Most headhunters and HR depts, on the other hand, tend to screen the FB walls of potential candidates to get a bettedr profile. Many a promising candidate have their golden opportunities lost through indiscretions of one kind or another posted on their FB walls.
So, how come the PAP, despite their highly-vaunted selection criteria, miss out on this simple, low-cost(free) and almsot standard screening process already employed by thousands of corporations around the world? They could have easily caught Jason Neo’s racist posting anytime between February (when he allegedly posted it) and June (when he was accepted).
How many other closet racists are still there in the YPAP and the PAP because of this simple oversight?
So long the PAP has this kind of racist member, i believe the malay/muslim will feel uncomfortable with the PAP government especially when this kind of member will soon rise and become a candidate and eventually become an MP.
If PAP government is sincere about multi-racial Singapore, this is the time to show that ISA not only be used against opposition party members but to its member too if they find that its members have potentially breach peace in singapore.
Hey candear.. its not islams.. its Muslims…
How many more such characters with such shallow pygmy mentality are lurking within the PAP ranks. God knows. It’s scary. What is their agenda?
We live in an age where you uncover geniuses in every race and color. In this Internet age, the unfolding brilliance and skills you find in the diverse people of the world is just mind boggling. People like JN belongs to a minuscule group, fortunately, that are out of touch. He is unable to see things clearly. He is definitely not good for politics. He needs to further educate himself. Sad to say he is one product of our education system that emphasizes and tend to cultivate on money-making inclinations rather than spend some time on the humanities and philosophy. Let’s hope our Minister of Education will push forward more vigorously his well-intentioned and important character building programs.
where is the racism…..!! where is the reference!!
Seriously pbuh? Where’s the racism? Can i ask ‘where’s the idiot’ too?
serious!!
you insult a non-muslim in the internet, is it racism against a chinese?
you insult a person who happens to be malay, how is it twisted into an insult against his faith.
that is some venom out there!!
serious!
is it a crime to inquire about a religion!
will it somehow be twisted into a racism charge as well.
if so…..that is some very potent venomous law.
I don’t care whether he’s a Young PAP or not…
That’s A****** must have his balls nail to the wall for this
Elie Weasel once said,
“The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.”
there is never racism or anti-Islam, it is just really (and sadly) a matter of indifference.
The poet is misguided, how is this Chinese extremism?? Did Jason neo wave some china flag at the bus? Jason neo is undoubtedly a racist idiot and should not have a shot at the office, some of the ministers who choose the soft option of turning a blind eye to this issue or attempting to appease the public -though inadequately- by simply proclaiming condemnation are not very worthy themselves.
HOWEVER, i think that regardless your race – be it Malaysia Chinese Indian or others, we would have similar views on this issue and the opinions of these people are more often than not not aligned with us – the commonfolk. So, pertaining to this issue, I hope the muslim community understands that they are not alone in sentiment and rage.
I meant malay, autocorrect sucks
If JN can get away with just a “slap on the wrist” type of punishment the Singapore muslims will understand one thing…justice is not served.
It does not matter what he does now. He must be arrested, charged and jailed. That’s what would have happened to an opposition party or youth member. Justice must be seen to be done.
that is not a racist caption. that is an insult to Islam. this is common in the media.. their agenda is simple, they want us to retaliate and rebel like how they managed to manipulate the muslims in the middle east. nevermind them, allah is the best disposer of affairs. we think and act with wisdom now. dont kill him…yet. ;)
I don’t want to get involved in this,as it doesn’t concerns me, but as a civic minded Singaporean, I refer you to a page in history: namely 1965 riot incident… All foreigners and quitters should stay out of this. All new citizens should know that 1965 is important lession for us.
http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_45_2005-01-06.html
What the poet said doesn’t quite make sense. I am a Chinese and even though I don’t comment anything it doesn’t mean that we agree or don’t bother. It just means that we don’t wish to blow this matter up. What’s done cannot be undone. After all this was posted way before he joined YP. Such remarks like this will only be blown out of proportion when people like him start making such unnecessary comments.
Whats even more disgusting it appears 10 people ‘liked’ the post.
Are they going to be charged aswell … ???
Imagine if we have a few people in Pap who are like this jason neo..gone man. Imagine if Jason en became a MP, Minister & who knows one day become Prime Minister. That’s it….!! This kind of ppl shouldn’t be in politics….how come PaP never check background? any tommy , dicky, hairy can join pap?
js said it from the bottom of his heart and ive seen alot of ppl like him on the internet,most of the chinese never posted thier comments but deep down they are the same. dont get me wrong just ask urself.
and deep down …. you know who you are.
and why some people are taught inferiority complex, and their only defensive mechanism is to wrongly assume the worst of the others to turn everything they say and do into something they can struggle against.
what’s wrong with picture of a bus & words “bus filled with young”? some people like to imagine too much!
Jason Neo and generally for people, we need to careful with our thought, not only with our word. If you can’t control your thought, someday will reveal our true color.
Jason Neo has extremist thought, deliberately made provocative remark. So called a future leader has done this, LOL.
Let’s focus on those per-schoolers, parents, teachers, and whoever has been offended by Jason Neo dangerous & nasty thought. Don’t just be so selfish by pursuing your interest.
So reminder for PAP, and other parties as well, the need of regimental selection process of new members. Otherwise it is make you like a fool.
I can understand why the political leaders are keeping quiet, to prevent the situation from escalating. What would you want MUIS and Yaacob Ibrahim to say? That the chinese have gone overboard and its time to retailiate? Obviously not.
and when i mentioned forgiving him, I am not insinuating that he should be not punished by the law. I am merely stating that the affected should forgive him to show how forgiving their religion is, instead of jumping into the situation and adding fuel into the fire, making the problem escalate.
This is a chinese country what do we expect to do . when the majority of the rulers are from one segment this of cause will happen.This is what is happening all over the world.Try to live with it or ?
@ Nothing Scare, – I guess u better get the whole picture and understand it 1st before u comment anything! “Empty vessels make most noise”…
Speechless…..
@ Dgs, – Don’t assume what the “liked” button means! Some may liked the picture (which I find it disgusting too) and some may like the article which hv been brought forward to the acknowledgment of the public!
The Tudung of Headscarf issue. This headgears for Muslime women have also been regarded as being associated with terrorism. That’s why some employers don ot employ local SIngaporean Muslims who wear the headgear.
Pl clarify and comment
I’m appalled by Zaqy’s response. He’s so quick to adopt ‘not my fault’ attitude, saying that the comments were made before he joined YPAP.
I think the goverment should be given a hard and harsh birthday present to JN something like fine and jail. This will stop other people trying to do the same thing again.
pLS correct.
I think the
Pls. correct,
I propose that the government should give a hard and harsh present to JN for his stupid mistake.(Maybe fine and jail)
With this, it will stop other people to do the same mistake. Just like a drug traffickers.
The contemptuous snothead really ought to be charged with the Sedition Act. It’s not just racist, he’s outright being hateful to a religion that’s obviously not his own. AND to throw that label on little kids with such malice is just plain low.
And to GG above, kindly wake up your idea … the only such employers I could think of were those that no well-regarded women would work for. Like Orchard Towers.
Jason Neo is a frog and he does not represent the majority. Enough said.
When I read that Alfian Sa’at quote, I LOL-ed. Literally laughed out loud. Because it is a parody of the all too familiar and predictable mainstream comment. Out of context, those of you who are flummoxed by Alfian’s comment reacted right. You ARE SUPPOSED to be upset by such a comment: because it is unfair and arrogant. And annoying. Replace “Chinese” with “Muslims” (in local context, please insert the obvious race by association). That the burden is on Malay-Muslim community to demo/denounce/shoutoutoftheirHDBwindows every time that a terror attack by Islamic extremists or some hate-fest cleric hit the headlines. As if the everyday headscarved aunties are as guilty if they don’t (but like, demos in Singapore need permit and all!). Or that a Malay-Muslim man has to raise his hands and go “Eh hello I’m a moderate!” every time he steps into a mosque. And guess what? In the universe of Jason Neo and his kind, they must. Oh of course they must, for those kids he snapped on his iPhone are obviously beta-version bombers trained to be MegaMuslimTerrortrons. The fact that a considerable number of TOC readers/commenters took Alfian’s words at face value (with a straight face topping and a sprinkling of how-dare-he! indignation)… denotes that you’re either thick or blissfully ignorant. For our collective sake (and I’m speaking as concerned TOC-reading Singaporean) I truly hope it’s the latter and that you’re not that particularly “aware”. The condition of “ignorance” as a matter of fact, not as an insult. If you were “aware”, either your socio-politics are a little to the left of Jason or Alfian is just too clever for you.
Now, on the topic of Jason as a YPAP, tell me if you’ve heard of this joke before: One day, an idiot was given an iPhone and a Facebook…
he collective unconscious of the Chinese people in Singapore is dangerously leaning towards intolerance of other races and creed. When LKY made his outburst about Islam being somewhat unmanageable, he was fishing in the deepest parts of his unconscious being. LKY, Jason and such people in the forefront of political life have simply got to be realigned, else they cause the next religious/race conflict in Singapore. The Islamic bodies, MUIS and the Minister for Muslim Affairs are silenced by the thought of reeducating LKY.Their jobs come first as always.