don't stop the music

월요일, 4월 18, 2005

ok, so the week started out with us idly surfing the net, trying to make some sense of our lives. then what should we chance upon but that now wondrous excuse for a blog that caused much furore back on our sunny ol' isle. in fact, the sunday times even had an article on it:

From Sunday Times (Apr 17, subscription required), "Scholar under fire for racist blog entries--PSC scholarship holder studying in US removes offending remarks and says sorry; his shocked family here also apologises. PSC investigating issue", by Jeremy Au Yong:

THE Public Service Commission (PSC) is investigating one of its scholarship holders for putting racist remarks on his Internet site.

Maths major Chua Cheng Zhan, 21, has since taken the material off his website and replaced it with a profuse apology. His shocked family has also apologised on his behalf.

Mr Chua, a third-year student at Northwestern University in Illinois, made disparaging remarks about other races on his personal online journal or weblog.

Since then, at least two forums have been discussing his comments and one angry Net user even e-mailed the PSC to complain.

When contacted, the commission would only say that it was investigating the issue.

Much of the flak Mr Chua is receiving seems to stem from three errant posts among the hundreds on his weblog.

He used words like 'repulsive' to describe some races, and talked about their 'irksome features'.

This issue has come just a few weeks after a Nanyang Technological University student sparked debates when he remarked at a public forum that watching a man hold the hand of a woman with a different skin colour 'made his skin crawl'.

Those who know Mr Chua, who has a younger brother and sister, said it was out of character of him. By all accounts, he is an accomplished scholar.

The former Raffles Institution and Hwa Chong Junior College student has a spotless academic record. He scored full distinctions for his A levels and is now maintaining a 3.8 grade-point average at university.

He is also heavily involved in student leadership positions at Northwestern University and has been very active in volunteer work.

So what got into him?

He said: 'I guess I was not myself when I wrote those things. I don't use my own persona when I write on my blog. I realise they were in very poor taste and I deeply regret my actions. I am not like that.'

The weblog, he added, was never meant to be read by anyone but his closest friends. He had locked the site with a password but now admits it may have been too easy to crack.

He added: 'I don't know who cracked it, or who would even want to.'

Somebody did, and spread the word about it on Net forums.

Many Internet users have posted angry messages calling him names. Some have even asked that his scholarship be revoked. One, calling himself thesaint888, said: 'The thought that a racist is using public money frivolously while casting his racial slurs around absolutely makes my blood boil.'

Another, Juliet Chan, actually compiled a dossier of the posts and e-mailed them to the PSC and the media. In her e-mail, she wrote: 'His utter disdain for minority races here in Singapore is worrying and completely unacceptable for a potential civil servant.'

The Sunday Times tried to contact Juliet several times but she did not reply to the e-mail.

Not all Net users, though, are calling for his head.

One, called jane, wrote: 'They (racist comments) certainly weren't meant to perpetuate racial hatred, neither were they a real reflection on what the writer really feels.

'In fact, any sane person reading it would know they were just made in jest, and were meant to be read by people who would know and put his comments in their proper context.'

Mr Chua's friends and family say the comments were completely unlike him.

His father, 51-year-old Larry Chua, managing director of an investment company, said: 'He's a racist? He volunteered for three months, teaching English in Nepal at his own expense. He volunteered to teach English to Vietnamese and Hispanic immigrants in the United States. You can draw your own conclusions.'

Mr Daniel Quek, 22, who attended Hwa Chong with Mr Chua and who is now studying in the University of Illinois, said: 'I never once thought of him as racist. He's always been a nice, cheerful guy.'

Now, Mr Chua and his family just want to put the matter behind them. He said: 'I really regret posting what I did. I admit I did something wrong and I am very, very sorry.'

i believe the exact words used in the posts were:

"the singaporean association here in my school has become an indian association. so gross. and somemore non-singaporean. its just so repulsive! these ugly guys with dark skin n irksome features. ya. i discovered i'm so racist. at the club (under lighting in which everyone is supposed to look good), i still find indians and filipinos (dark ones) so repulsive n such a turn-off. anyway, so now we have this ugly mass as our president. n his indian counterpart who isn't even singaporean is our senator. what is the world coming to? why are indians dominating the singaporeans here?
all these mang ka-li! gross gross. don't come near me!"

now, see here:

"i think an issue which finally dawned on me is that my family is pretty impressive in some senses, like i told my di i realised it. n he was like "duh". hahahaha. putting it in light of sociological analysis (ahem) maybe i was justified to have not noticed it earlier. coz i have always been in like the "best" since pri sch. thru RI, n HCJC. like it juz seemed "normal" that everyone was getting scholarships n everyone was smart. but i suppose to many others, this didn't seem "normal." den my bro got into GEP n got straight As for A levels it just didn't seem out of the ordinary for me. now i think about it, actually it is.
n the followup question is always : is ur sister stressed? i think somehow me n aaron came to e same and sadly to say, if u're pretty far frm comparison u juz dun bother to compare. (like, does proton saga compare itself to a jaguar??) or there is juz little need to compare.
not saying proud or anything. juz a sociological observation.
ha...i love sociology!"

oh dear. erm... yeah, i like sociology too, but is that the attitude we really want from our young scholars? i think not. the posts speak very much for themselves, and reflect that this whole idea of racial tolerance may not be as sound as we may have thought it to be.

and i know this may be old news, but still the very thought of it irks me. as an international student myself, i know how difficult it is to prove oneself in a foreign land, but it is impossible to rest easy knowing that Singaporeans are being represented as a whole by such an spiritually impoverished person. and whoop-de-doo, there are people out there who actually agree with him, which leads me to the question of where our society as we know it is really headed...

(comments courtesy faiza's blog):

yeah you can say that again! shocks me to think that these people are going to be the pillars of our society, if only by the sheer virtue of their academic results when all they have in the left side of their chests is a black, black hole.

not only that, it's embarrassing to have to say that people like these are representing singapore (much as i love our kampung isle) as ambassadors overseas. ironically, racial tolerance and harmony among people of different races and creeds is what we promote, yet our people do not practice it. and better yet, they are sucking up funds that could be put to better use, instead of being wasted on socially inept rote learners like these.

the moral of the story? you may be bright, but that doesn't mean you have a heart.

if i could catch that boy on his own i'd tell him off good and proper, because obviously his parents forgot to teach him some of life's little subtleties.
tanya | 04.15.05 - 9:37 am | #

well said tanya! i am still disgusted and only want to make sure our plan works. the dude is a waste of space.
faz | Homepage | 04.15.05 - 9:57 am | #

OMG. what cheek does this guy have to say such rubbish!?
i hate bastards like these who still judge you based on what colour you are and not on what goodness you have within.

though not as explicit, this reminds me of the time not too long ago when this student went up to dr vivian balakrishnan and said : 'im a conservative at heart, and don't approve of inter racial marriages. people should marry their own kind. what are you views on this?', completely forgetting that dr balakrishnan is of indian and chinese parentage.
loser.
sangeeta | 04.15.05 - 8:05 pm | #

this is absolutely disgusting! i thought singapore was well past the racist phase, but i guess i was wrong.

anyway, there will always be people like that. what they say and think is wrong, and it shows their level.

another point. singapore has always been chinese dominated, and now their domination is being threatened by other races. most of them graciously accept the increase in population among indians and malays, and then there are the mother fuckers who go on the offensive.

anyway, relax. it's not the end of the world.
KetZ | 04.16.05 - 8:26 am | #

lol, indeed, its not the end of the world K but that doesn't mean we're just gonan let this dude rest and to sangee, you're totally right. lol, and that dude was so daft! :D
faz | Homepage | 04.17.05 - 9:26 am | #

Great that someone has finally said it. CZ is my hero !

As for you fucking Islamofascist beheaders. FUCK YOU ! All CZ did was voice his opinion about some stinking Indian scum and you're making so much fucking noise about it ?

What about your fellow Islamofascist bastards who go around beheading everyone who isn't of the same religion as they are, and then go post videos of their "glorious acts" on Ogrish.com ?

FUCK YOU, FAIZA IMRAN. FUCK YOU VERY MUCH

I was never much of a racist until I met you, you piece of stinking shit
Get Rid of the Dirt | 04.17.05 - 9:12 pm | #

Trackback: From a Singapore Angle, "Anatomy of a blogospheric event"

What have we learned? What ought we have done better? What does it portent for the Singapore Blogosphere? While chewing on these questions, I made a list of all the bloggers who posted on the event...
HUICHIEH LOY | Homepage | 04.17.05 - 11:36 pm | #

dear Get Rid Of The Dirt,

thank you for making me laugh today i've never met you before even though you claim to have met me, but then again, i've always been popular to the extent that lots of people know me and i don't know them. but thats ok, i'm touched that you thought to drop me a little comment.

congrats on mastering the use of the word 'fuck' as well as the fact that your grammar is miles better than your good friend CZ. Perhaps you ought to tutor him sometime. i'm sure a scholar as note-worthy as he could do with a good english lesson.

as for fucking me... well, no thanks. no offence, but ignorant, racist fools, such as yourself, were never really my type. i'd much prefer a dude with a brain lodged somewhere in his cranium rather than in his pants. and preferably one who knows what he's talking about. i never said 'all chinese were evil scum and that they should be shot coz they're christians' so don't you fucking drag religion into this. this is about racial tolerance. get it right asshole.

now look what you've done. you've gone and pissed me off. next time, GROTD, how bout using those balls of yours and posting your real name as opposed to some fake pen-name.

take care, get rid of the dirt. don't forget to put yourself outside today for when the garbage man comes to pick up the trash.

luv,
FAIZA IMRAN
faz | Homepage | 04.18.05 - 8:27 am | #

To Mr. Get Rid of the Dirt
Obviously you have not been reading enough. who says terrorism is only committed by Muslims???

Ever heard of the Ku Klux Klan??
Christian terrorists

What about the fuckfaced Americans at Abu Ghraib prison?
Christian terrorists

Heard of the Shiv Sena?
Hindu Terrorists

What about the Terror Against Terror(TNT)?
Jewish Terrorists

Terrorists come in all forms and do all sorts of actions besides beheading.

Get your facts straight if you want to act all badass and shit. Making blanket statements like that just makes you look even stupider. And talking about FASCISTS, LOOK AT YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT! With all fascists warming the seats in parliament, looks like you and your racist friend are going to join them too. How lovely. *weeps tears of joy*

To faz:
LOVE IT!
KetZ | Homepage | 04.18.05 - 9:34 am | #

dear get rid of the dirt,

my, my, we're all growed up now. somebody actually has thought up of a better use for the word that is a synonym for the word 'fornication'! first things first, wash your mouth out with soap.

sigh. once again, more people born without genitals who refuse to step beyond the hull of their underdeveloped craniums and see THE BIG PICTURE. who you idolise is your business, but the way in which you choose to defend your ideals, not to mention your idol, speaks volumes.

a) yes, please go teach your 'friend' cheng zhan some english. oh, and some manners as well. from what we see, his crush probably won't like him very much, given his lack of mental capacity to attain a level higher than socially inept.

b) i'm glad he offered an apology. psc can go deal with him whatever way they wish. although his excuse of 'not knowing' that people would read his blog is incredibly lame to the point of disbelief. but hey, we can't all have our cake and eat it can we? cheng zhan certainly didn't.

c) well, let's see now. who ever said anything about religion? bringing religion into the picture is always the soft option, used by many, but convinces nobody. people are not in any way less human than you because they do not subscribe to a faith that we may not necessarily believe in. remember the maria hertogh riots? there was a lesson there. now learn it.

d) as for you, my dear Get Rid of the Dirt. what an impolite, loaded name you choose to identify yourself by. be like everyone else, declare your name if you choose to be so upfront about her stand. they invented the word 'netiquette' for a reason (albeit it not being, theoretically, a proper word) also, doling out insults is NOT the way to resolve the issue. surely, God forbid, you're not going to send a public declaration to the good people of Singapore expounding upon your wonderful exploits burning down the houses of these so-called muslim terrorists, and telling the world about your adulation for your 'hero' cheng zhan? no of course not, you'd rather sit pretty behind your little computer screen and type abuse to the people who actually do have a valid stand. and by the way, this whole issue of racial harmony and religious tolerance? this is what they teach you in school don't they? i'm sure your teachers in whichever fine institution you came from would be ashamed of your present cowardice and moral degradation.

people who choose such a cowardly way out do not impress, reflect badly upon themselves and show a complete and utter lack of moral character. the fact that you are so vindictive and eager to pass judgment on someone who, according to your skewed logic, has defied all laws of physics by coming to a conclusion that this one cheng zhan character has done something WRONG, makes you no different from any religious extremist out there. as i said in an earlier comment, just because you may be bright, doesn't mean that you have a heart.
tanya | Homepage | 04.18.05 - 12:19 pm | #

dag nab html gets me all the time.

i pray that you will accept that you may support cheng zhan's little campaign wholeheartedly, but the law may not. his defamatory remarks are libel at its finest. congratulations, cheng zhan, you have the makings of a common felon. as for you, Get Rid of the Dirt, i hope you carve your own niche instead of being a brainless groupie.
tanya | Homepage | 04.18.05 - 12:21 pm | #

tsk. very sad.