When Tan Boon Lee went up to Dave Park Ash (a mixed race man) and teed off on him, I doubt he foresaw the shitstorm that would be coming for him later. Tan, (then) a senior lecturer at Ngee Ann Poly, brazenly claimed that mixed races couples (particularly of the Chinese and Indian variety) are an affront to the Chinese.
On top of that, he openly embraced being called a racist. Multiple times. On camera. I don’t even need to say how stupid that was, right?
Netizens are facepalming Tan’s stupidity too.
After more than a week ‘investigating’, Ngee Ann Poly’s finally dropped the hammer earlier today.
Tan Boon Lee is fired.
Justice is served right? Not if you ask certain Netizens.
Many are saying his punishment is nothing. Being fired from a cushy job at 60. Big deal. He’s almost at retirement age.
It’s not sitting well with some Netizens that Tan is getting off with just a slight tap on the wrist. They want him to pay, to be brought to justice.
Perhaps we’ll see that yet, as Ngee Ann Poly says that they’re assisting the police with investigations.
…Wait, where have we heard that before? I seem to recall talking about this very same thing!
Whether justice is served or not, the fact of the matter is Tan Boon Lee is not going to be teaching anymore.
For some, that’s enough.
It’s great that Tan Boon Lee is getting the boot…for a start.
Netizens though, aren’t too pleased with Ngee Ann Poly.
Even a former student is ashamed of the school’s dragging their feet on meting out justice. They took 10 days (from 7 to 17 June) to fire the guy…and that’s WITH video proof and the testimony of a former student of Tan’s.
Many are saying this is just Ngee Ann being forced to take action, bowing to the pressure from social media.
One poster, Aldrich Lim, actually brought up a very good point.
Many are of the thought that Ngee Ann Poly would’ve just swept the incident under a rug and pretended all was fine if the public hadn’t risen up and made noise.
Tan presumably had his allies in the Ngee Ann Poly faculty. After all, why would it take 10 DAYS to fire a racist when video of his actions is widely available?
Some Netizens are also questioning whether there was a cover-up in 2017, when Tan was allegedly reported by one of his students.
However, according to Ngee Ann Poly, investigations by their internal team found no record of the report ever been officially recorded. Ok, so perhaps the ex-student didn’t report it officially.
Why not call up other ex-students for verification?
I don’t know…maybe the Poly is doing it right now. It wouldn’t surprise me that they’re dialing one digit per day though…just draaaaaaaaging things out so no more skeletons pop out.
Like the mythical Hydra, racists like Tan are ready to step up when one of them goes down. Cut one head off and another (and another) will soon take its place.
From the comments on the Facebook posts I’ve been reading, there are more than enough closet racists that may be showing up soon.
These three in particular.
One is unapologetically a supporter of Tan, saying that he’s the victim. Yes, Tan is the victim. Not the people he harassed in public. Of course, I checked this Tan Tsui out. Nobody can be this stupid right?
Lo and behold, everything’s blocked from public view. Typical. It’s a troll account…which again brings up my point on why Internet anonymity has to go when it comes to certain matters. Sympathy and support for a racist? That’s one of them.
EG Koh also claims he’s not racist; he’s just against mixed race couples and marriages! Again, his Facebook page seems rather suspect. It’s definitely looking like another troll account.
The third poster, Amy Allyar, also seems to fall into that category. A quick peek at her profile shows that she hasn’t posted anything since 2019. Another possible troll.
It doesn’t take much to see that crap is being stirred up by trolls online to fuel animosity among Singaporeans. All the more reason for us all to come together as a nation and strengthen our racial harmony.
I think Doreen Chua put it best with her comment.
Succinctly said Doreen.