Baey Yam Keng defends NUS PRC scholar Sun Xu: His comment about dogs ‘might mean something else’

Instead of standing on the side of Singaporeans and speaking up for them when they are bullied by foreigners like what his party comrade Tay Hui Ping did, PAP MP for Tampines Baey Yam Keng continues to defend NUS PRC scholar Sun Xu in whatever ways possible.

Mr Baey has posted a transcript of his phone interview with an English tabloid on his Facebook to defend his stance after coming under heavy fire from netizens for his earlier remarks asking Singaporeans to ‘reflect’ upon themselves.

A final year student in Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore, Sun sparked a massive outcry among Singaporeans with his offensive remarks on there “being more dogs than humans in Singapore” on his microblog ‘Weibo’ last Saturday:

In the same thread, Sun used the term “瘪三” to describe Singapore uncles, which is a derogatory word typically used in Shanghai to describe the underclass bums in the society. It means a person who is a tramp, bum, good-for-nothing fella, beggar, drifter, loafer, outcast, vagrant, destitute and worthless person.

When told by a fellow netizen not to be too fussy, he replied:

“Bunch of 挫逼. My temper these days is already a lot better.”

“挫逼” is a derogatory word commonly used in mainland China for cursing people, an equivalent of the Hokkien phrase ‘CCB’ used as a vulgarity in Singapore. However Mr Baey does not think otherwise and cast doubts on the ability of Singaporeans to understand slangs commonly used in mainland China.

“….he didn’t specifically mention Singaporeans, he just said “in Singapore”. He didn’t mention Singaporeans per se; it could have been an unpleasant experience which he had,” Mr Baey said in his phone interview, trying desperately hard to exonerate Sun Xu from blame.

He added that the vulgarities used by Sun Xu on Singaporeans are merely ‘colloquial’:

“….the slang and the things he used is very Shanghainese. I think it’s quite colloquial, likewise I think there are some young-speak which I don’t understand. “

Mr Baey even tried to obfuscate Sun’s infamous remark on the ‘dogs’ to suggest that he might mean something else:

“Even his comment about the dogs – it might not literally mean that, it might mean something else, even though it is definitely not something positive.”

As Mr Baey did not explain further, it is not known what other meaning the term ‘dog’ can be.

Mr Baey ended the interview calling on Singaporeans again to reflect upon themselves:

“We should take this opportunity to reflect upon ourselves, but we should (also) be confident of ourselves. Even though some of us are like that, majority of Singaporeans are gracious, there are good people in Singapore.”

Soo Zi Yi shot back almost immediately:

“Even Though Some of US Are Like That”, are you implying that SOME OF US SINGAPOREANS in SINGAPORE are DOGS?

When we last check, Mr Baey is a Member of Parliament for the Republic of Singapore, not the People’s Republic of China. Perhaps, the government should consider starting free language classes for all Singaporeans to learn the ‘slangs’ of mainland China to prevent such ‘misunderstandings’ from arising again in the future.

Related articles:

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Tay Ping Hui scolds NUS PRC scholar Sun Xun: “You are an impertinent ingrate!”

Alex Tan lodged police report against NUS PRC scholar Sun Xu for alleged threat

NUS PRC scholar Sun Xu hurls vulgarities at Singaporeans

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‘More dogs than humans in Singapore’ – NUS PRC student’s comments spark outcry