SINGAPORE, April 27 — Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) candidate Gigene Wong has issued two public apologies after using a racial slur to describe fellow party member Ariffin Sha during a rally on Saturday night.
According to Channel News Asia (CNA), 59-year-old Wong referred to Ariffin using a Hokkien derogatory term for Indians during a speech delivered in a mix of Mandarin, English and Hokkien at a campaign event at Evergreen Primary School in Sembawang West.
In a Facebook post last night, Wong apologised for using a term that was “offensive towards our Indian community”, adding that she was “not aware of the real meaning behind it”.
“My sincere apologies!” she said.
In a second post this morning, she again expressed regret, saying the remark “disrespected” Ariffin and had offended the Indian community.
“I have been counselled by my party members about the word and now I understand it is offensive,” she said. “My comments were very hurtful and unacceptable. I am fully responsible for them. My original vetted speech did not include the comment I said which happened impromptu. There is no excuse and I am sorry for all the pain and anger that I caused.”
During her speech at the rally, Wong — who addressed the crowd in a mix of Mandarin, English and Hokkien — referred to Ariffin using a derogatory Hokkien term for Indians. She also described the 27-year-old as the party’s “future Pritam Singh”, praising his speaking abilities.
In addition, Dr Wong repeatedly mispronounced Ariffin’s name, referring to him as “elephant”.
She also urged voters in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC to support the SDP team, saying this would help the team avoid losing their election deposits — and that Ariffin would not “get scolded by his mother”.
Both Wong and Ariffin are among the four-member SDP team contesting Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, alongside organising secretary Jufri Salim and theatre director Alec Tok.
