Andy Lau line in Singapore parliament sparks debate over minister’s ‘frustration’
Singapore's Manpower Minister Tan See Leng sparked debate by using a Cantonese movie quote to rebuke an opposition member in parliament. This rare use of dialect in public discourse has drawn criticism, with some viewing it as dismissive, while others see it as a reflection of the ruling party's frustration with persistent opposition questioning.
The incident occurred during a debate on the manpower ministry’s budget, when Progress Singapore Party’s Leong Mun Wai requested more data on the displacement of local PMET (professional, managerial, executive, or technical) jobs by foreign workers. Tan responded by quoting a line from the movie Blood Brothers after disclosing that Singapore citizens made up 63 per cent of the growth in the number of residents with PMET jobs from 2014 to 2024, and urging Leong to avoid creating an "us-versus-them" mentality regarding foreign workers, a topic Leong's party has repeatedly raised in parliament.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Singapore's Manpower Minister Tan See Leng sparked debate by using a Cantonese movie quote to rebuke an opposition member in parliament. This rare use of dialect in public discourse has drawn criticism, with some viewing it as dismissive, while others see it as a reflection of the ruling party's frustration with persistent opposition questioning.
The incident occurred during a debate on the manpower ministry’s budget, when Progress Singapore Party’s Leong Mun Wai requested more data on the displacement of local PMET (professional, managerial, executive, or technical) jobs by foreign workers. Tan responded by quoting a line from the movie Blood Brothers after disclosing that Singapore citizens made up 63 per cent of the growth in the number of residents with PMET jobs from 2014 to 2024, and urging Leong to avoid creating an "us-versus-them" mentality regarding foreign workers, a topic Leong's party has repeatedly raised in parliament.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
