Don’t resort to threats and verbal abuse when giving feedback: Sun Xueling

SINGAPORE – There is no need to resort to threats and verbal abuse when giving feedback about grievances, said MP for Punggol West Sun Xueling, referring to an e-mail sent by a resident on May 28.

She had shared the e-mail, which contained racist and sexist overtones, in a Facebook post on Saturday, in which the sender complained about three issues.

These are the presence of heavy vehicles in the vicinity of Punggol Way and Sumang Walk, maintenance issues at Block 261B Punggol Way, as well as problems with how a road in the area was designed.

The sender’s personal information was blanked out.

The e-mail, which included vulgarities, had also been sent to Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim, as well as carbon-copied to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, among several other government agencies and figures.

In her Facebook post, Ms Sun also included a follow-up e-mail sent by Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council on June 1, after a contractor was deployed to look into the complaint about maintenance.

In response to the June 1 e-mail, the sender asked if the town council’s property officer had visited the site to check on the repair works, adding: “Please do something or get yourself replaced very very soon.”

On her Facebook page, Ms Sun said she hoped for civility when people try to get a point across. She also outlined the steps that the town council had already embarked on upon receiving the complaints.

She told The Straits Times on Sunday: “It is my job as an MP to follow up on feedback from residents and to strive to deliver after gathering inputs from the government agencies.”

Ms Sun, who is Minister of State for Home Affairs, and Social and Family Development, added: “The e-mail I shared... calls truck drivers names, is racist in tone, and verbally abuses a town council property officer who is just doing his job.”

She added that while she understood the different challenges people faced, she hoped that society can be gracious and treat one another with respect.

“Front-liners and customer-facing officers are fellow Singaporeans trying to do their jobs.”

Cue. (2023, June 4). Don’t resort to threats and verbal abuse when giving feedback: Sun Xueling. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/don-t-resort-to-threats-and-verbal-abuse-when-giving-feedback-sun-xueling