Brian Tan Cheow Eng: I have never made the statement that Singaporeans are ‘weak and lazy’

Beleaguered Director of Quality at Fairmont Hotel and Resorts Brian Tan Cheow Eng has issued a reluctant apology to those who were ‘affected’ by the insensitive remarks he made about Singaporeans being ‘weak and lazy’, but he continues to insist that they were ‘taken out of context’.

In an apology posted as a comment on The Temasek Times today, Mr Brian Tan wrote he have worked with many ‘capable, strong, hardworking and honest Singaporeans’ and Singaporeans are able to excel in any field everywhere they go because they are naturally competitive and committed to excellence.

He added that it is important that Singaporeans always remain this way and his initial comment which sparked an outcry stem from a desire to ensure that Singaporeans ‘always remain capable, competitive and committed to success.’:

“I state for the record that I have never made the statement that Singaporeans are weak and lazy. If one reads my posts on the issue, my point was simply that protectionism may give rise to weak and lazy employees. Such attitudes are undesirable, not only to Singapore’s development but also to prospective employers.”

Mr Brian Tan then offered his ‘sincerest apologies’ to those who were ‘affected’ by his comments and in the hope that it will bring a close to the chapter:

“In any event, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to all who were affected by the comments that I have made, whether because my postings were taken out of context or otherwise.”

We reproduce Mr Brian Tan’s ‘weak and lazy’ comments here for readers to judge for themselves:

[Source: Facebook]

Read Mr Brian Tan’s apology in full here

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Singaporeans are ‘weak and lazy’, says Fairmont Hotel Director Brian Tan Cheow Eng

APOLOGY by Brian Tan Cheow Eng, Director of Quality at Fairmont Hotel and Resorts

My fellow Singaporeans,

It is regrettable that the recent postings on the Temasek Review (“TR”) facebook page have given rise to much controversy. I begin by stating that each and every one of those postings represent my personal views and opinions, and do not in any way represent the thoughts, intentions or views of my employer.

I am a born and bred Singaporean. In the course of my career, I have worked with many capable, strong, hardworking and honest Singaporeans. To my mind, Singaporeans are able to excel in any field they choose and succeed everywhere they go, if they put their minds to it. One of the primary reasons for this is because Singaporeans are naturally competitive and committed to excellence.

And it is important to me that Singaporeans always remain this way.

Many economists believe that competition is essential for the progress of society. While protectionistic measures may be attractive in the short term, in the long term, the lack of competition will inevitably lead to progress being stunted. Singapore is successful because its people have always been willing to compete and take on the best in the international arena, on a level playing field.

That said, I acknowledge the point made that an uncontrolled influx of low wage foreign workers, though helping to drive growth, has led to a suppression of wages for the local work force. This is definitely not desirable, and the government has to play a vital role to reverse this.

My comments ultimately stem from a desire to ensure that we always remain capable, competitive and committed to success. This was my point in a post that I had made on the TR facebook page on 24 March 2012, prior to the first article posted on the TemasekTimes website. Unfortunately, the article failed to refer to this post.

I state for the record that I have never made the statement that Singaporeans are weak and lazy. If one reads my posts on the issue, my point was simply that protectionism may give rise to weak and lazy employees. Such attitudes are undesirable, not only to Singapore’s development but also to prospective employers.

In any event, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to all who were affected by the comments that I have made, whether because my postings were taken out of context or otherwise.

Please be assured that I only want the very best for Singapore and for my fellow Singaporeans.

With this, I hope to bring a close to this chapter.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Tan Cheow Eng

Director of Quality, Fairmont Hotel and Resorts (Singapore)

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Fairmont client complains of ‘drop’ in service standards with more ‘FTs’ working there as call for boycott continues

The ongoing controversy surrounding insensitive remarks made by Brian Tan Cheow Eng, the Director of Quality at Fairmont Hotel and Resorts look set to cause more damage to the international hotel chain as angry clients lodged complaints about the ‘drop’ in its service standards online.

In a discussion thread on Facebook about a Swiss lawyer’s comments on Singaporeans not being ‘entitled to jobs in their own country’, Mr Tan argued that it is not the job of the government to protect the jobs of Singaporeans and bemoaned the poor quality of Singapore workers:

“If you do that in the private sector, no company would want to move here just to hire WEAK and LAZY Singaporeans.”

Fairmont has indicated on its Facebook that it will ‘investigate’ the matter and stressed that its position is ‘different’ from Mr Tan. However, this still does not stop disappointed clients from lampooning it.

One former client of Fairmont Hotel Robin Koh claimed that its service standards have dropped with more foreigners on its payroll:

“I have dined at many of Fairmont Hotel’s outlets but find their service standard dropped ever since they have more FTs working there. In the days when most of the staff were Singaporeans or Malaysians, the service was more sincere and refine. I have since stopped patronising their outlets.”

[Source: Fairmont’s Facebook]

Meanwhile, netizens continue to call for a boycott of Fairmont till Mr Tan apologizes to Singaporeans for hurting their feelings.

Samuel Lee wrote:

“My company is boycotting fairmont! we are going elsewhere for events! we are not spending good singapore dollars in a hotel with high ranking employee that thinks singaporeans are weak & lazy!”

Jerrie Low added:

“I’m gonna convince my friends to boycott fairmont hotel or else fire Brian Tan.”

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Fairmont Hotel and Resorts will investigate a complaint lodged by a netizen Mark Seah on its Facebook page about the derogatory comments made by its Director of Quality Brian Tan Cheow Eng on Singaporeans being ‘weak and lazy’.

In a discussion thread on Facebook about a Swiss lawyer’s comments on Singaporeans not being ‘entitled to jobs in their own country’, Mr Tan argued that it is not the job of the government to protect the jobs of Singaporeans and bemoaned the poor quality of Singapore workers:

“If you do that in the private sector, no company would want to move here just to hire WEAK and LAZY Singaporeans.”

Mr Tan added that foreigners do a lot of jobs that ‘Singaporeans don’t want to do’ and asked Singaporeans to stop behaving like ‘babies’:

“Foreigners do a lot of jobs that Singaporeans don’t want to do. What’s the harm in that? In fact, some industries will collapse without foreigners….If we Singaporeans think we are so good, then don’t be afraid to compete for jobs with the best talent in the world. Come on, stop behaving like babies waiting to be spoon fed all the time!”

In a reply posted on Facebook, Fairmont Hotel clarified that it does not support Mr Brian Tan’s position:

“Thank you for your concern and for bringing this to our attention. This is not a position that Fairmont Hotels & Resorts supports, and we have been looking into this issue.”

[Source: Fairmont’s Facebook]

Mr Tan has since clarified that his comments were ‘taken out of context’, but stopped short of retracting them and issuing a public apology to Singaporeans.

Meanwhile, angry netizens continue to call for a boycott of Fairmont Hotel and Resorts till action is taken against Mr Brian Tan.

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Brian Tan Cheow Eng now says: I ‘love’ Singaporeans

After sparking a massive public backlash with his infamous remarks on Singaporeans being ‘weak and lazy’, Director of Quality at Fairmont Hotel and Resorts Brian Tan Cheow Eng now make a stunning U-turn and says he ‘loves’ Singaporeans.

n a discussion thread on Facebook about a Swiss lawyer’s comments on Singaporeans not being ‘entitled to jobs in their own country’, Mr Tan argued that it is not the job of the government to protect the jobs of Singaporeans and bemoaned the poor quality of Singapore workers:

“If you do that in the private sector, no company would want to move here just to hire WEAK and LAZY Singaporeans.”

Mr Tan added that foreigners do a lot of jobs that ‘Singaporeans don’t want to do’ and asked Singaporeans to stop behaving like ‘babies’:

“Foreigners do a lot of jobs that Singaporeans don’t want to do. What’s the harm in that? In fact, some industries will collapse without foreigners….If we Singaporeans think we are so good, then don’t be afraid to compete for jobs with the best talent in the world. Come on, stop behaving like babies waiting to be spoon fed all the time!”

His comments riled many netizens, prompting them to write in to Fairmont Hotel to complain about Mr Tan.

In an interview with a local Chinese tabloid today, Mr Tan sounded more conciliatory. He insists that his comments were ‘taken out of context’:

“We all know that the majority of Singaporeans are hardworking and honest and therefore we do not need to be afraid of competition from foreigners.”

However, Mr Tan emphasized that we have to treat every worker equally, regardless of where they come from. He ended the interview by proclaiming his ‘love’ for fellow Singaporeans:

“I am born in Singapore and spend a large part of my life here. I love Singapore and Singaporeans.”

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Angry netizens are calling for a boycott of hotel chain Fairmont Hotel and Resorts after its Director of Quality Brian Tan Cheow Eng made multiple derogatory remarks on Singaporean workers on Facebook!

In a discussion thread on Facebook about a Swiss lawyer’s comments on Singaporeans not being ‘entitled to jobs in their own country’, Mr Tan argued that it is not the job of the government to protect the jobs of Singaporeans and bemoaned the poor quality of Singapore workers:

“If you do that in the private sector, no company would want to move here just to hire WEAK and LAZY Singaporeans.”

Mr Tan added that foreigners do a lot of jobs that ‘Singaporeans don’t want to do’ and asked Singaporeans to stop behaving like ‘babies’:

“Foreigners do a lot of jobs that Singaporeans don’t want to do. What’s the harm in that? In fact, some industries will collapse without foreigners….If we Singaporeans think we are so good, then don’t be afraid to compete for jobs with the best talent in the world. Come on, stop behaving like babies waiting to be spoon fed all the time!”

Though he later clarified that his comments were ‘taken out of context’, the damage is already done as netizens rally to make their displeasure felt.

Tony Wee was one of the first to call for a boycott of Fairmont Hotel:

“Quality at Fairmount hotel and resort has just been struck off my list with immediate effect. Thanks to Brian Tan. I may be an insignificant customer but i believe everything has to start somewhere.”

Alan Tan added:

“more hotel on the blacklist…boycotted…owners and shareholders of Fairmont, you all can thank Mr Brian ‘traitor’ Tan for 1 less customer…i may be only 1 but every one makes up for a whole lot of lost businesses and I’m sure going to spread the word to my friends and relatives to do the same.”

One irate netizen Ken Ong has switched to another hotel:

“My directors were suppose to stay in Fairmont Hotel in Singapore. I have already cancelled the stay and switch to another hotel.”

Concerned netizens can offer their ‘feedback’ to Fairmont Hotel here.

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