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Opinion | Are Singaporeans becoming too entitled and feeding into their inner ‘Karen’?
- Comedian Ronny Chieng hit a raw nerve among Singapore’s netizens by calling out the country’s smug attitudes and narrow world view
- The city state’s global success does not excuse Singaporeans from having empathy or playing well with others, writes Serene Goh
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Any time global rankings on cost of living, desirable passports, ageing well or education standards make the rounds online, Singapore invariably lands in the top 10. The latest edition of an annual UN-sponsored report found Singapore to be Asia’s happiest country for the second year in a row.
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These flattering numbers feed the brand reputation of the country: things work, everyone works, now get back to work.
But they only show what we can do, not who we are.
So it is with predictable ire that Redditors responded to Malaysia-born, Singapore-raised comedian Ronny Chieng’s March 21 post on Instagram: “This is apropos of nothing, but it’s a mistake to listen to any Singaporean about current affairs other than Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
“They are just a country of small island Karens with main character syndrome who literally think they have all the answers despite having zero perspective on the world.
“Great chilli crab, though.”
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We like the chilli crab bit, but the rest rankles.
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