Everything Also Complain

From ‘Dr Tony Tan disappointed by jeers’, 17 Aug 2011, article by Ng Jing Yng, Today

Dr Tony Tan said he was deeply disappointed by the jeers he had received at the nomination centre, earlier today. He said he hoped Singaporeans would listen to all four presidential candidates. The supporters of rival candidate, Mr Tan Jee Say, had jeered at Dr Tony Tan. Mr Tan Jee Say later said his supporters were not right to do that.

Dr Tony Tan was speaking to reporters at Koufu foodcourt at Toa Payoh Central, this afternoon, where he kick-started his presidential campaign. He launched a video and some collectables including a cap and fridge magnet with his signature spectacles logo. He said the logo represents farsightedness.

…And although Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had again endorsed him, yesterday, Dr Tan stressed that he was running as an independent candidate.

Four eyes on the prize

A pair of spectacles is the kind of icon that goes perfectly well with the old boot and vintage car tokens from the original Monopoly board game, which is pretty apt for a presidential candidate who is as ‘vintage’ as one can possibly get. He could just as well use a mop of white hair as a second choice logo. I managed to pick out a rare photo from 1979 which shows Tony Tan with actual BLACK HAIR, although the legendary glasses, as iconic as Gandhi’s tunic or Stalin’s moustache, hasn’t changed one bit over more than 30 years.

Tony Tan with footballer Quah Kim Song

TT had every right to be disappointed with the heckling abuse he received whilst on stage. Such rowdy, shameful display doesn’t speak well of the electorate, behaving like hired goons from the back alleys of Geylang who make a throng of goths at a death metal band concert look like a church congregation in comparison. If you shift this whole lot into the heart of the London looting scene, they would feel right at home. With the controversies surrounding his son’s deferment from NS and whatever grievances this man has caused in his decades of service, this booing is a stern test of TT’s mettle in the face of sweeping criticism. Tan Jee Say’s damage control was timely, although this ruckus does put somewhat of a damper on the prestige of the proceedings. This is the presidential elections, not a bad getai performance. At least give a man a chance to speak for God’s sake. It’s basic manners, really.

Despite the intensity of the hurling, TT’s composure in the face of such loutish defiance was remarkable, though you could almost imagine someone tossing a half finished beer can at him and knocking off his signature glasses like a bully taking a cheap swipe at the school nerd while he’s presenting his science project in class. Or perhaps this act of crude protest was an experiment in voter psychology, engineered by an invisible hand to draw viewers to the clip, to create sympathy for the victim on stage by putting Jee Say’s supporters in the same category of defiled humanoids as the ogres of Mordor. Well if there’s any consolation (not that TT needs any), the late ex-president Ong Teng Cheong was himself booed as MP by Worker’s Party supporters in Anson back in 1984 (Disgusted by the boo boys, 19 Oct 1984, ST Forum), and he went on to become one of the most prominent public servants in Singapore.  Jeering is not even a reliable indicator of public sentiment because of its contagious tendency to rile people by sheer instinct without them even thinking about what they’re doing. It’s like getting caught up in a Kallang Wave, except that the latter looks far more civilised and good natured than the roughhouse antics of the Tan Jee Say fan club.

Filed under: 2011, Campaigns/Elections, Dialects, Foul language, Politicians Tagged: | Campaigns/Elections, Foul language, Hokkien, Politicians, tan see jay, tony tan