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Vikram: I shouldn’t have taken a “dig” at Chen Show Mao
March 16th, 2012 | Author: Editorial : tre
Vikram Nair
In the recent Parliamentary Budget debate, MP Vikram Nair has likened what Worker’s Party (WP) MP Chen Show Mao said to a Nigerian scam. It caused a storm among online netizens with most condemning Vikram’s behaviour in the Parliament.
In a media interview reported by Chinese mainstream media today (16 Mar), the MP from Sembawang GRC said that he shouldn’t have taken a “dig” at Mr Chen during the Parliamentary debate. He admitted that he has “gone too far”.
Vikram said that the tone he used was too sarcastic during the Parliamentary debate. This caused him to be misunderstood and the overall effect wasn’t good. If he was to do it again, he would be more direct.
He explained that even though he was “poking fun” at Mr Chen during the debate, in truth, he was hoping Mr Chen could explain in more detail how Mr Chen’s proposal to improve the measures of government budget could become feasible.
It was also revealed in the interview that Vikram broke 2 expensive Parliament microphones, each costing more than $300, in less than 6 months he was in Parliament. Reason was when he got too excited involving in a Parliamentary debate, he would grab hold of the vertical Parliament microphone and pull it towards him, breaking the microphone.
The microphone is sensitive enough to pick up sounds from 360 degree without the need to speak directly into it. Even since he was warned by the Speaker of Parliament, he is now careful not to touch the microphone when he speaks.
Vikram also revealed that he loves to debate. He was a school debater all the way from ACS to RJC to University of Cambridge.
During the interview, the reporter asked Vikram an interesting question. The reporter has observed that during the Parliamentary session, YPAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck would whisper quietly to him. The reporter wondered if Teo was trying to help Vikram to develop countering arguments refuting WP’s MPs.
Vikram replied, “Not really. He was showing me his notebook telling me that I’m being scolded on the Net”.
.
Background
It started when Mr Chen urged the Government not to look at social spending as a one-way outflow of resources, but an investment in human capital which will yield returns in ‘unlocking’ economic, social and cultural value among Singaporeans [Link].
The next day, Vikram said Mr Chen implied that the PAP Government had not done enough for vulnerable groups, or that it cared less about them. He found this ‘hurtful’.
“I think many of us here have been working year in, year out, helping the vulnerable groups, and it is pretty hurtful coming from Mr Chen because he might have held this belief for a long time, but he came back only quite recently to help in this,” he said.
He decried the vagueness in Mr Chen’s assertion that investing in human capital would yield returns, adding that he is ‘not as smart as Mr Chen, so I must press him for a few more details to understand how this self-funding investment works’.
Likening it to a Nigerian scam e-mail where recipients are urged to transfer funds in return for a pay-off later, he said Mr Chen had promised something ‘even better, because you don’t have to put in any money at all, and you get more than money in return’.
Subsequently, The Online Citizen (TOC) publishes an article written by Ng Ee-Jay, ‘Vikram Nair compares Chen Show Mao’s proposals to a Nigerian scam’. Vikram was offended by this article but for some reasons, wasn’t at the ST report which also mentioned ‘Nigerian scam’.
He then said he hadn’t ruled out taking legal action against TOC, regarding the potentially libelous article about him. He said, “It is extremely deceptive of TOC to attribute lies to me.”
He said the article suggested that he considered investing in the elderly, the disabled, the poor and other needy Singaporeans as being ‘akin to a Nigerian scam’.
TOC then invited Vikram to write in and state his point of view, which TOC would be ‘more than happy to carry in full’ on its website. It said it would then respond if necessary [Link].
After Vikram’s skirmish with TOC, Vikram then changed his tune saying he did not have any legal plans for now. And he hoped not to take legal action but if there was lingering damage he might have to consider it. He said he just wanted to clear his name.
Vikram also said he did not intend to engage in a debate with TOC on its website. This was in response to TOC’s invitation to him to write to TOC
Bloody waste of Taxpayers' S$ !!!
/
Vikram: I shouldn’t have taken a “dig” at Chen Show Mao
March 16th, 2012 | Author: Editorial : tre
Vikram Nair
In the recent Parliamentary Budget debate, MP Vikram Nair has likened what Worker’s Party (WP) MP Chen Show Mao said to a Nigerian scam. It caused a storm among online netizens with most condemning Vikram’s behaviour in the Parliament.
In a media interview reported by Chinese mainstream media today (16 Mar), the MP from Sembawang GRC said that he shouldn’t have taken a “dig” at Mr Chen during the Parliamentary debate. He admitted that he has “gone too far”.
Vikram said that the tone he used was too sarcastic during the Parliamentary debate. This caused him to be misunderstood and the overall effect wasn’t good. If he was to do it again, he would be more direct.
He explained that even though he was “poking fun” at Mr Chen during the debate, in truth, he was hoping Mr Chen could explain in more detail how Mr Chen’s proposal to improve the measures of government budget could become feasible.
It was also revealed in the interview that Vikram broke 2 expensive Parliament microphones, each costing more than $300, in less than 6 months he was in Parliament. Reason was when he got too excited involving in a Parliamentary debate, he would grab hold of the vertical Parliament microphone and pull it towards him, breaking the microphone.
The microphone is sensitive enough to pick up sounds from 360 degree without the need to speak directly into it. Even since he was warned by the Speaker of Parliament, he is now careful not to touch the microphone when he speaks.
Vikram also revealed that he loves to debate. He was a school debater all the way from ACS to RJC to University of Cambridge.
During the interview, the reporter asked Vikram an interesting question. The reporter has observed that during the Parliamentary session, YPAP Chairman Teo Ser Luck would whisper quietly to him. The reporter wondered if Teo was trying to help Vikram to develop countering arguments refuting WP’s MPs.
Vikram replied, “Not really. He was showing me his notebook telling me that I’m being scolded on the Net”.
.
Background
It started when Mr Chen urged the Government not to look at social spending as a one-way outflow of resources, but an investment in human capital which will yield returns in ‘unlocking’ economic, social and cultural value among Singaporeans [Link].
The next day, Vikram said Mr Chen implied that the PAP Government had not done enough for vulnerable groups, or that it cared less about them. He found this ‘hurtful’.
“I think many of us here have been working year in, year out, helping the vulnerable groups, and it is pretty hurtful coming from Mr Chen because he might have held this belief for a long time, but he came back only quite recently to help in this,” he said.
He decried the vagueness in Mr Chen’s assertion that investing in human capital would yield returns, adding that he is ‘not as smart as Mr Chen, so I must press him for a few more details to understand how this self-funding investment works’.
Likening it to a Nigerian scam e-mail where recipients are urged to transfer funds in return for a pay-off later, he said Mr Chen had promised something ‘even better, because you don’t have to put in any money at all, and you get more than money in return’.
Subsequently, The Online Citizen (TOC) publishes an article written by Ng Ee-Jay, ‘Vikram Nair compares Chen Show Mao’s proposals to a Nigerian scam’. Vikram was offended by this article but for some reasons, wasn’t at the ST report which also mentioned ‘Nigerian scam’.
He then said he hadn’t ruled out taking legal action against TOC, regarding the potentially libelous article about him. He said, “It is extremely deceptive of TOC to attribute lies to me.”
He said the article suggested that he considered investing in the elderly, the disabled, the poor and other needy Singaporeans as being ‘akin to a Nigerian scam’.
TOC then invited Vikram to write in and state his point of view, which TOC would be ‘more than happy to carry in full’ on its website. It said it would then respond if necessary [Link].
After Vikram’s skirmish with TOC, Vikram then changed his tune saying he did not have any legal plans for now. And he hoped not to take legal action but if there was lingering damage he might have to consider it. He said he just wanted to clear his name.
Vikram also said he did not intend to engage in a debate with TOC on its website. This was in response to TOC’s invitation to him to write to TOC
