Mr. Ariffin claimed that Dr. Wong had apologized to him both in personal and in public.
” Gigene told me that she did not believe the word was offensive. She was angry as soon as she learned it, he said.
She assumed that Hokkien speakers used the term to refer to Indians as balanced, but it was a false one.
She genuinely did not know, but as the influencer, Ms. Devika ( Panicker ) once said so succinctly, this ignorance is a byproduct of privilege, he continued.
Dr. Wong and Dr. Tambyah likewise took to the stage to offer condolences.
Dr. Wong said,” I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve said, the problems and the anger that I have caused,” adding that she had undergone a “difficult and important teaching practice.”
I humbly ask for your apologies on this error and wish to have another chance to make up. The SDP has often promoted equality and inclusion.
” I gleefully drew a significant lesson from this, and I will do my best to carry those principles into my daily life.”
The 10 SDP applicants who were there then took to the stage and bowed.