"British banker with a big mouth gets into trouble, offends the locals and receives death threats - am I surprised? No, I am not surprised as it's the kind of crap we've come to expect from people working in the City. I think it is a bit naive to expect bankers to behave like nuns or primary school teachers - anyone who has ever dealt with that industry will know how it does not tend to attract the nicest, kindest, most polite individuals. The fact that he said something stupid and offensive like that isn't surprising, but I am surprised that he wasn't more careful with social media - who did he think was going to read those comments? What you say in private, amongst friends isn't quite the same as what you broadcast over social media - there is a big difference and one should be a lot more careful."
Jemma, 25
"If you want to live and work in another country, you need to obey their rules, their local customs and just be aware of what the locals expect of you to avoid trouble. This guy was like a bull in a china shop, offending people like that - it was very stupid of him to have done so, especially since he has been living there for 11 years. It is not like he was new to Singapore. If he didn't like Singapore, then he should have chosen to work elsewhere. Yes death threats are a bit extreme, but he had it coming. Really, he is not a teenager, he should know better."
"I can't say I have heard much about this case, but this reminds me of another case where a Swiss national was imprisoned for 10 years in Thailand for vandalizing some posters of the Thai King. Now that's hideously harsh, even if you wanted to make a point, surely 10 years in a Thai prison is way too harsh for a crime like this? Is Singapore like Thailand then, where foreigners are welcome as long as they follow the rules but the moment they step out of line, they are treated very harshly? Isn't Singapore the place where they caned and jailed that American vandal all those years ago as well? It makes me quite nervous about thinking about working in that part of the world - like I can see how vandalism is something I would never do, not even right here in England where I live, but there's a difference between defacing public property and spouting stupid shit online on Facebook. For the whole nation to hound a man out of their country with death threats over the Facebook comment - that's just scary. I feel sorry for his wife and child."
Veronica, 49
"I remember another case in Sudan, where a British expatriate teacher was jailed for under their blasphemy. The offence was to allow her class of 6-year olds to name a teddy bear Mohammed. Whilst her sentence wasn't too long, there were protests involving crowds as big as 10,000 demanding her execution. Again, it was not about the teddy bear or the teacher - she became a focal point of anti-Western hatred, a scapegoat for the anger of the locals. Is the same thing happening in Singapore? It is the locals who are angry, but he isn't actually being charged with any kind of crime for now, over his stupid Facebook comments right? Sure what he said was stupid, but was it a crime? Should he be treated like a criminal? His family is receiving death threats over this - note how similar the two cases are.
Ben, 55
"I've worked in banking for a long time and if you think Anton Casey's statements are offensive, you should have heard some of the shit I've heard over the years - bankers are not nice people. Quite the opposite. Whoever said being 'nice' was a criteria for a career in finance? But I should hope that they are at least clever enough not to say such things in public and land themselves in hot water. You know, there's a part of me that is glad he got into trouble because there have been so many occasions in the past where I have seen idiots in the banking industry behave in an appalling manner and get away with it - and here at least we have one person who is held into account for his actions; so he is paying for the sins of all the other 99% of bankers who get away with appallingly bad behaviour."
 |
| Singaporeans have not accepted Casey's apology. |
"I think he broke a golden rule about expatriate life - never make any enemies, especially not with the locals. When I was working in the Middle East, I socialized mainly with other non-Muslim expats and we had formal and respectful relationships with the locals, but we were aware of the cultural differences between us expats and the locals. As they say, mind the gap - it was a bigger gap than you think because of the surface, you go to a place like Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar and you see all the shopping malls, skyscrapers, nice cars on the roads, rich people, everyone speaking English very well and you could even get the impression that, oh they're just like us in the West. But you only have to scratch away at the veneer and soon you'll realize just how huge the cultural differences are.
If I had anything negative or critical to say about the local culture or the locals, I would make sure I say it to a fellow expatriate - rather than broadcast it over Facebook or Twitter. That's just common sense, really. Does this Anton guy lack basic common sense? It is unreal that someone seemingly clever and successful can make a gaffe like that. I certainly would feel very uneasy about employing someone like that - like if he can make a mistake like that, then it shows he has a very poor sense of judgement. He's a loose cannon who can't be trusted."
"Death threats? Death threats! The guy and his family received death threats. Goodness me, I've been to Singapore and had a great time there - but death threats? Are you serious? For what? For making a dumbass remark about poor people on public transport? Like, is that how Singaporean society deals with people who disagree with them, issue death threats? Whilst I was there in Singapore, I talked freely about the things I liked, the things I didn't like and used social media to share with my friends my feelings and experiences about visiting your beautiful country. I had good experiences as well as bad experiences whilst I was there. If this had happened before my recent visit to Singapore, I would have been so careful not to have said anything on Twitter or Facebook whilst there for I would have been scared of accidentally insulting or offending the locals and receiving death threats as a result of it.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy my time in Singapore but I am just thinking - would Singaporeans then think I am a nasty racist if I didn't like durian or chili crab, or if I criticized the MRT or any other aspect of Orchard Road or my visit to Pulau Ubin? Good grief. I get the impression Singaporeans overreacted in this case because Anton Casey is white and if a local had spouted the same crap, he wouldn't have received death threats like that."
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| Sally didn't like durian - is she a racist? |
"The guy sounds like an asshole - still, I don't think anyone deserves to be harassed and abused like that over social media. As for the death threats, that makes Singapore sound like a really scary place. I don't like the sound of this Anton Casey, but I don't believe that he deserves to be treated like that by anyone, anywhere. He has apologized over the stupid crap he said on Facebook, what more do you want? Like seriously?"
Justin, 41
"Some people think it is fun to poke at a hornets nest and then when they get attacked by a swarm of angry hornets, they act like they are the victim. Okay okay, I know he has received death threats and has gone into hiding, but he asked for it. Surely Singapore is like this really law abiding place where they have such strict laws about everything from littering to chewing gum, right? So how is the police there actually going deal with the person who has made this death threat - surely that person will be investigated and dealt with as well, for that's definitely illegal. Any word on that police investigation about the people who made these death threats - or do they not care?"
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| Surely making a death threat is illegal in Singapore? |
"Singaporeans are a touchy bunch when it comes to anyone criticizing their country, aren't they? We Brits have mastered the art of self-deprecation, we don't need foreigners to make fun of us, we have too much fun laughing at ourselves. May I suggest that this is a result of huge cultural misunderstanding - this guy is a dumb Brit abroad making a cultural gaffe, misjudging the situation and the whole thing has been blown out of proportion? I think of the number of dumb Brits abroad who make cultural gaffes wherever they go from Europe to Asia to America... Luckily they don't all receive death threats when they say or do something culturally insensitive."
Eileen, 33
"Stupid, idiotic, low-EQ banker gets into trouble over social media. Well, I hope we all learn a lesson about spouting bullshit on social media. I just can't feel sorry for him because he got himself into this situation in the first place. But at the end of the day, life is not a popularity contest. As long as he doesn't break the law, I am happy to ignore people like that. It's not worth getting angry over the stupid actions of others! I hope Singaporeans will agree with me."
"I don't think the British would have reacted in this way if a foreign banker in the City had made an equally disparaging remark about poor people using public transport in London. I use public transport and my first reaction is, who cares what this wanker says? It doesn't affect me because I don't allow myself to get insulted by some idiot has to say about people like me who use public transport. Trust me, I have enough people in my life - my boss, my colleagues, my family, my neighbours - to give me crap to deal with in real life. I don't have the time or energy to bother about what some random stranger has to say about people who use public transport, what's the point in getting upset over this?
Excuse me, I have to get going as my wife is going to give me grief if I am late again. See? This is why I have no time for social media. I don't need it. Let's keep it real, spend more time with your friends and family!"
Update, part 7: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/a-very-hollow-victory-for-singaporeans.html
Hi Limpeh,
ReplyDeleteI have always found your blog to be entertaining, helpful and very insightful (I don't comment much but please keep up the good work!) but I think you may be a little off this time and have not sufficiently grasped the offensiveness of AC's actions.
Look at the expression on the face of AC's son (see http://newnation.sg/wp-content/uploads/anton-casey-youtube.jpg). The TNP picture you have on this post has been cropped so that the expression on the son's face is not shown. Those who have lived in the West know that this is the bucktooth, chinky-eye steoreotype look often used to make fun of East Asians. Think back to the late night comedies you were watching in Poland. Those faces painted yellow were offensive, weren't they?
It's quite obvious that the contorted look on AC's son is deliberate. The poor kid could not possibly have done it on his own and it must have been his old man who taught him that. AC was not looking down on the poor in Singapore. He was playing up a racist stereotype. In fact, his video would be construed as being racist by anyone who is familiar with popular culture in the US or UK.
It would be interesting if you could point this out to your friends and ask them what they think.
OK I will deal with the issue of his son's face - his son is 5 and disabled. I have had a lot of experience in this aspect as my own nephew is autistic as well and pulling funny or inappropriate faces is something that he would do because autistic children are just like that I'm afraid. I remember once I was on Skype with my sister and she and I were having a very serious discussion - I was having problems at work and I needed her advice and opinion to deal with a tricky issue, like this was a serious talk. My nephew popped out of nowhere (he's 11 now mind you) and started pulling funny faces at me on the screen to the point where I could not see my sister and he started talking at me, interrupting my sister despite the fact that my sister kept saying to him, "please mummy needs to talk to uncle Alex okay? This is important, uncle Alex and mummy have something important to discuss."
DeleteThat's why I would not read too much into a disabled child's facial expressions - by all means, take offence with whatever Casey said, but the child? No, I don't think it's worth you getting that upset over what the 5 year old disabled child is doing. Was it a mistake for Casey to put that kid in the video? Of course it is, but I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about the young boy's facial expressions.
As some people have already said, if he was such a racist, erm, why would he have a Chinese wife and a half-Chinese child with her?
I'm not defending what he did, I'm just saying I don't want to jump to any conclusions at this stage.
I'm not sure if his son is disabled. I've been unable to find any official statements to that effect. There are some truly horrible ones out there making fun of his son but I suspect they mistook the Chink look (which was meant as an insult) for Down syndrome, being unfamiliar with that sort of insult.
DeleteLet's put it this way. When I tell you (or anyone else) that my nephew is disabled and is autistic, most people's reaction is that they take me at face value. They don't demand to see my nephew's medical records and a letter from a top doctor from a Singaporean hospital before they believe me - like why would I lie about a medical condition like that? In any case, disability in children is not something you broadcast - you just do you best to get on with life and cope the best you can.
Delete"As some people have already said, if he was such a racist, erm, why would he have a Chinese wife and a half-Chinese child with her?" Oh no, Limpeh, not you too! Surely you don't agree with this simplistic sentiment? Life's a lot more complex than that.
DeleteSorry darling, no time to respond in full as I have to prepare for a meeting, may I refer you to: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/british-elephant-in-room.html
DeleteI am unaware of any statement from AC about his son being disabled or having Down syndrome.
DeleteI've volunteered with educationally subnormal children in the US and Singapore. Their parents are usually quite compassionate and empathetic, totally unlike AC. Generally, when you have a disabled person in your family, you would have gone through considerable personal pain which makes you kinder and more understanding towards the poor and people in difficult situations. I very much doubt AC's kid is disabled but I could be wrong. That dude seems to have a big attitude problem.
Let me speak as someone who has 2 disabled persons in my (extended) family: I wouldn't make any assumptions about compassion or try to draw a correlation between the experience of dealing with a disabled family member and one's character - one's character is more a function of one's upbringing and having to deal with a disabled family member may affect us in different ways. You cannot have a one size fits all approach to this issue.
DeleteIn any case, the kid is 5 years old. Even if he does something silly or stupid, please bear in mind that the kid is just 5. Normal or disabled, 5 year olds pull silly faces and do silly things to get our attention; you're getting too worked up over the child, can you just focus on Anton instead?
I wasn't focusing on the kid. As my original comment went, the kid was making a 'gook' face and it was probably his father who put him up to it (AC was also making a deliberate bucktooth, if you look at the picture carefully). The focus was on the racist display made by AC, not the kid. IMO, it was the equivalent of playing a blackface to mock black Americans. I was wondering if your British friends had noticed that. If they hadn't, then what would their reaction be if you pointed it out to them. In the US, race issues are a lot more sensitive than class/wealth issues. AC would have been hounded to no end by the media had this occurred in the US.
DeleteAgain, I say you're reading too much into the facial expressions of a 5 year old kid. Regardless of whether this kid is genuinely disabled or not, the number of Singaporeans who have labelled him "down syndrome", "retarded" and "spastic" has proven that they are willing to attack a 5 year old kid for something like that - it is unreal.
DeleteYou're clearly hell bent on assuming the very worst of AC and I refuse to indulge you in that.
Limpeh, you keep insisting that I am condemning the kid. Nothing can be further from the truth. I feel very sorry for the kid because he has to leave his family and friends in Singapore because of his old man's faux pas. I deplore all hurtful words directed at his kid because, as you have rightfully pointed out, 5 year-olds simply do not and cannot understand these issues. I think many of the words said in anger by Singaporeans are wrong.
DeleteI actually have no beef with AC or his kid. My point all along was that AC made a racist insult (which you dispute) and that if you had pointed out that to your British friends, their reaction might have been stronger. I also wanted to point out that foreigner-local relations are a touchy issue in Singapore, just like how race relations are also a sensitive issue in the US and possibly in the UK. Also, the Brits may be more forgiving of their own just as Singaporeans are more tolerant of maid abuse (which I also absolutely deplore). This is not to say that their reactions are right or wrong. There is no ethical basis for judging their reactions. There is nothing inherently wrong about having strong reactions to an issue. I was trying to point out why the response may vary in different societies.
Best Singaporean comment, from Janice Chan written on Shanmugan FB page:
ReplyDeleteI think it's important not to be xenophobic, elitist comments can come from people born and raised in Singapore as well. Remember way back in 2006, when a student commented on her blog about being of a 'better' social class, in response to Derek Wee's post about being a middle class Singaporean. I think the famous line was look at my 'elite uncaring face'. It caused a furor and there are always angles that people will take to push their agendas across.
This guy's son and wife are Singaporean too. The problem seems to be more of deepening social stratification that hopefully can be addressed and lessened.
Suggestions on 'punishing' by taking away his PR status seems too easy, perhaps the authorities can consider ordering him to do community work/social service. Like what errant celebrities in Hollywood have to do. Perhaps, through helping and serving the poor that he called 'wusses', he can build up his own character, and set a good example for his young son. Rather than teaching him to love Porsches, sentosa coves and what not and to laugh at the poor.
Hmmm. Allow me to respond.
DeleteThis sounds like a very Communist era China response to that. The term used is åŠ³åŠ¨æ”¹é€ Láodòng GÇŽizà o which means "reform through labor," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laogai - what this person has suggested sounds exactly like a Chinese court in 1974 sentencing someone of having the wrong ideology, the wrong principles, the wrong morals to hard labour in order to teach them a lesson. It cannot be compared to what happens in Hollywood - so some stupid celeb is caught breaking the law (eg. drink driving, DUI) but there's little to be gained by jailing them, so they are made to do community service instead to highlight the issue (eg. drink driving is bad kids, don't do it). This makes me think, if you wanna subject Casey to community service over something like this - then are we going to have a thought and moral police, to monitor the internet, so the moment someone says something which falls on the wrong side of morals, something disrespectful to another Singapore, bam - you slap on a Laogai order and force them to perform community service? Sounds like a dystopian future to me.
Is this the kind of country you wanna live in? Where everything you do and say is monitored by the thought police? Where you live in fear of saying something that may be interpreted as offensive?
On the other hand, with these many Laogai order slapped on ordinary Singaporeans for saying mildly offensive shit on social media, you won't need that many cheap foreign workers to do the menial work in Singapore.
I am not justifying anything that Casey did/said, I don't like him - I don't like what he did. But I am, saying that it is virtually impossible to go round and try to reform every single person in the country who has objectionable/questionable morals/values. Short of having a thought police to monitor all of us. 1984 comes to mind.
DeleteWow it really seems like our international reputation is badly tarnished. I hope that when I go overseas in future and mention that I'm Singaporean I won't get dirty looks or something.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, the Brits are just more concerned about the death threats he has received over this and have started making comparisons to other countries which Singapore probably doesn't want to be associated with - eg. Sudan.
DeleteI'm not sure actually about that. I think if he said something of that extent on the streets of New York or London. He might actually get his head kicked in. Pretty sure with your background, you wouldn't be speaking with people with slightly rougher backgrounds. And this rep that Ronald Seah has mentioned? People who are law abiding, passive and say "haha, what a tosser."?
DeleteWe are culturally different. We have been fed stories of colonial past. What do you think the reaction is going to be if a English Brat does this in any other Asian country? Will he even dare? Its a testament to how our non-violent the social conditions are here in Singapore that the act was even conceivable in the first place.
Hahahaha, you say Limpeh is Chao Ah Beng izzit? (Yah lah, guilty as charged.)
DeleteMy friends are from all kinds of backgrounds because of my social life. My professional life means I have meetings with bankers, accountants and lawyers - but as I do gymnastics, my gymnastics club attracts a lot of non-corporate types who do free-running and all kinds of work which are not in the corporate world and I choose to spend my free time in the gymnastics club with them. Heck, I also hang out with porn stars, porn producers and high class prostitutes - that's how wide my social circle is in London. I came to London to experience all that life has to offer.
I think you're going too far to read into the non-violent social conditions blah blah blah - Anton Casey is a bull in a china shop, he is going to say stupid shit regardless of whatever your society dictates. It is the fall out from the gaffe that we're interested in now.
" - would Singaporeans then think I am nasty racist if I didn't like durian or chili crab, or if I criticized the MRT or any other aspect of Orchard Road or my visit to Pulau Ubin?"
ReplyDeleteOf course not?! Siao ah.
If he was really rasist would he have married a Chinese lady? Think you are looking at it too deeply Fox. AC is an a****le for making those stupid remarks but his poor kid does not deserve those death threats - the trolls uage really gone over the line there. Crucify his father of course all you want - he already looks like a complete fool internationally. He is obviously full of himself - getting a pr firm to represent him when he could have apologised and slithered away into oblivion. He would have been yedtersay's news by now!
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't think it has anything to do with racism lah - this is him making fun of poor people, it is a division based on class/wealth rather than skin colour/race/ethnicity/culture. For further reading on this, I refer you to a piece I wrote: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/british-elephant-in-room.html
DeleteJust want to point out the fallacy of this statement "If he was really a racist would he have married a Chinese lady". Yes, he can be a racist even if "he is married to a black, asian etc", or "he has black friends". You can have friends, relatives of different races, ethnic groups, religions etc and still be a bigot. (And before anyone jumps on me to say that AC is not a racist, blah, blah, that is not the point here. I am just pointing out the fallacy of the statement in general, not pertaining to the AC saga in particular.)
DeleteIt's very possible to harbour a negative point of view towards a group of people while being related to them. For example, many Chinese Singaporeans look down on people from PRC even though they are only three or four generations removed from the latter. I mean, even Limpeh has written about how his father dislikes people from China despite being a lifelong Sinophile.
DeleteFox, I think you missed the point.
ReplyDeleteALMOST every one of the comment said 3 things.
1. What Anthony said was stupid.
2. He should have kept it private.
3. Singaporeans are WAY overreacting.
What ever Anthony and his son did, comes back to this 3 points.
It didn't matter it was a stereotype or bucktoothed.
The point they are all saying is.
How will you respond to it? Are you going to be childish, and like FT says, "CALL TEACHER TEACHER", or just laugh about it?
Notice (I'm not even going to use our) what kind of thoughts Singaporean's reactions evoke to them??
Barbaric, compared us to Sudan, to Thailand or middle east.
Makes me think about stephanie's talk on "Not proud to be Singaporean"
How can we be proud of ourselves when all we show is that we are nothing but a bunch of third world barbarians.
You are putting up a strawman. I did not suggest running him out of the country or anything like that.
DeleteImagine a white Wall St banker making fun of Black Americans in NYC in Blackface and posting it on Youtube. I lived in America for many years and can tell you that CNN/ABC/NBC/Fox New would have a field day with him.
Public condemnation of shameful acts is not uncommon in the US. For instance, an obscure pastor in Florida can burn the Quran and people would be up in arms all over the US.
Why do you care what the Brits think about our reaction? Does your response or anyone else's have to be validated by their response? Are they some kind of gods?
DeleteIf your response has to be validated by people in the UK, how are you different from the lynch mob whose reaction is overblown because of their insecurities?
Well said Abel Tan, thank you for your thoughtful comment.
DeleteFox, your comment about what Abel Tan thinks about the Brits' (or anyone else's) reaction sounds really insecure. Singapore needs to maintain a good PR image - it is not some kind of self-sufficient nation that does not trade with the rest of the world. So much of what makes Singapore rich, successful and prosperous depends on Singapore's dealings with the rest of the world (finance, international trade, tourism etc) - and if you start going down this path, either you're so arrogant you don't care if your image is tarnished, or you are indulging in a form of paranoia where every negative comment or criticism is perceived as a personal attack. Either way, it is a very unhealthy attitude.
DeleteWell, it depends. Every society has a touchy area. I suspect that the Brits are culturally blind to this, like every other people, except when it comes to their own sensitive issues. Go put on a blackface in Johannesburg and see how the locals react. Say something about paddies in Liverpool and see what their reaction is like. Suppose Anton Casey had made fun of black people in Pretoria on his FB account. How would your British friends have reacted? I suspect that they would be more horrified and less likely to think of it as an overreaction.
DeleteI'm not saying that we should disregard how others see us but clearly, Abel's concern was how others would see us. I would argue that's precisely what stirred up this hullabaloo. Singaporeans are very thin-skinned when it comes to being looked down on, especially given the legacy of colonialism. In a sense, one could interpret Abel's remarks as being quite thin-skinned.
"How can we be proud of ourselves when all we show is that we are nothing but a bunch of third world barbarians."
DeleteCue face palm! Sorry, but what an utter tosh of an expression - third world barbarians! I guess everyone in the first world is well-behaved and polite, all the while sipping tea with their pinky fingers extended? Arrogant much? Please do not drag middle east, Sudan or Thailand into this sorry saga, and run with the crowd.
Well Anthea, my point is that different people would focus on different aspects of the story because of the way it is presented to them. Thus a Singaporean reading the story in Ang Mo Kio is going to have a very different take on it, compared to a British person in Surrey who has no connection to Singapore.
DeleteIt sounds like a witch-hunt on Anton Casey - no one will be satisfied until the witch is dead.
ReplyDeleteWell Kitty, they will not get satisfaction even if Anton Casey actually did die and his body is found in Bedok reservoir - do you know why? He is a scapegoat for the problems of Singapore - just blame this one big bad nasty Angmoh. Even if you get rid of him (okay, in a less dramatic manner, say he leaves and returns to the UK) - then what? You're still in a country with over 2 million foreigners, there are plenty more expats who are just like Anton Casey and let me remind you, he's not the first badly behaved Angmoh in town.
Delete"In the minds of some Singaporeans, the words “expat” and “arrogant” go hand in hand. And since the rogue-trading days of Nick Leeson in the mid-1990s, Western financial professionals like Casey have played their part in forging this expat stereotype. Swiss national Juerg Buergin, a former UBS executive director, was sentenced in May last year to four months and three weeks in prison for having sex with an underage prostitute in Singapore. In 2011 stockbroker Robert Dahlberg, a New Zealander, receive five months jail after a boozy brawl with a taxi driver." http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/anton-casey-making-life-tough-000147872.html
By focusing on just one expat, Singaporeans are ignoring the wider problem which is far harder to solve.
The boy is obviously disabled, Fox. The more I read about the extreme outrage displayed by Singaporeans, the more I despise their hypocrisy and stupidity. Singaporeans have said worse things about foreigners, even on foreign soil. Can some explain to me why no one can speak ill of Singapore? Reminds me of 1984's Thought Police. Such a rich country, yet so many idiots.
ReplyDeleteActually, in the other photos of his son which you can easily find online, the kid does not look at all like that. In fact, in the original photo of his son on the MRT train, his son looks pretty normal. It's quite obvious that the 'chinky' look is an act.
DeleteTry making fun of West Indians in London in blackface on Youtube. See what kind of reaction you'll get from the man on the street in London.
I did not say that people could not say anything bad about Singapore. Total strawman.
I can't agree more Di - you're totally right.
DeleteHi Limpeh, I come this post from Yahoo Singapore (http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/anton-casey-making-life-tough-000147872.html) which the original post was from http://news.efinancialcareers.com/sg-en/161561/how-anton-casey-is-making-life-tough-for-arrogant-expat-bankers-in-singapore/
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that in the article, the recruiter (expat wealth-management headhunter) seem to believe that Anton will be let go because his clients won’t like the publicity and he will have difficulty to get another job else where because of the samle Wealth Management community.
This is obvious difference from your previous posting that his job is safe with Crossinvest, what is your view on these?
Call me the devil's advocate, but I think it is not that straight forward. Originally, I would have said that he could escape unscathed - not because I like him or am a fan of him or that I would defend what he did (none of the above apply), but because of the nature of the wealth management industry.
DeleteBut then again, Crossinvest Asia is in Singapore and I have to balance that against the nature of Singaporean society. Let me tell you what I read on FB, Tay Hui Ping wrote a piece telling Casey to leave Singapore and immediately, people were leaving comment like, "Respect! Like and Share!!" etc. It's easy to get on the Anton Casey bandwagon now and admittedly, yeah I've been doing just that as I've blogged about nothing else for the last few days (and I did put two pieces on hold, including my latest vlog piece, to dedicate myself to this issue). So I am saying that this was an opportunistic piece by the writer at SG Finance Yahoo to jump on this bandwagon - every writer wants to write a piece that will go viral on social media, Trust me, I have had pieces that were read by over 20,000 in 24 hours and I've spent ages crafting a piece that was read by no more than a few hundred people. We writers have our egos too - we want people to read what we say and sometimes, there is an element of pandering to the public, you write what they wanna read and you will be loved as a writer.
There are many kinds of roles within the wealth management industry - some are client facing, others are not. Casey would probably not be able to do a client facing role in the near future, but there's plenty of other things that he can do say in a back office context. For example, as a marketing person, I am always putting my company's brand name first, if there's anyone to be quoted, it's the CEO, never me. I hide away in the background, you may find me in the small print under the bit where it says, "for more information, please contact the marketing department blah blah blah"
I doubt it'll be 'business as usual' once this blows over - but his career won't be destroyed. Come on, he has managed to get this far in the industry and has worked for big names like HSBC. You don't get this far by being a total idiot - yes he made a mistake, we all make mistakes, but I am sure he would be able to find someone who will give him a chance. I know of plenty of people in the banking industry who are not nice people and would have done/said equally idiotic things like Casey such as making fun of poor people or indulging in a bit of sexism etc. Please remember: this industry is populated by people who are not behaving like nuns or primary school teachers.
So - call me the devil's advocate, but I am not going to agree with Simon Mortlock.
Casey is now public enermy no 1 in Singapore and he is now in self-imposed exist. Most likely he won't return in the near future out of fear and embarassment. His absence is a good reason for CrossInvest to terminate him but I think he will save whatever little that is left of his dignity and resign. His reputation in Singapore is destroyed and it will take a long time for him to find a job here again. Meanwhile he can go work in the Cayman Islands or some obscure tax heaven. His years of experience and knowlegde is something nobody (sinkies included) can take away from him.
DeleteMy personal opinion is that he might choose to spend some time away, out of the limelight, for the sake of his wife and child as things are just getting way too heated in Singapore for his family now. It would be the wise thing to do - for the sake of his wife and child. Who knows, he may stay on in Singapore as an act of defiance, I can't predict what will happen.
DeleteWell, colour me a sceptic on the death threats issue. Are you sure it's not some PR stunt on AC's part? Look, Singaporeans reactions are hardly unique (minus death threats, if they are indeed true). I live in Switzerland, and if some wanker tosser like AC (a foreigner) were to spout some nonsense about his host country, he will be torn apart by the tabloid press. So excuse me if I don't buy the nonsense that if this were to happen in London, no one (the tabloids) will bat an eyelid. Look at the comments to this episode in Guardian....the general sentiment was that that the fool had it coming, and generally they were on the side of the Singaporeans.
ReplyDeleteLook, AC has the freedom to say what he pleases, but by the same token, the freedom of speech is a two way street - you need to be able to take it as well as give it (hornet's nest and all). And it is poor judgement on his part, esp. for someone who has to practise the utmost discretion in his professional life, to mouth off as he did, in a public sphere no less. Whether he is fired or not is inconsequential (and seriously no one's business, but his employers').
I read the reactions in your piece above quickly, and seriously a couple really "take the cake"...oh my, will I get attacked by lynch mob if I diss durians? Sorry, these folks need to widen their horizons. It's like saying since Switzerland banned the building of minaret, all Muslim should fear for their lives. Do they advice their Muslim friends to avoid Switzerland? Oh wait, maybe they do. There you go....that's the internet age for you. With all the information available at their finger tips, most are just happy with scratching the surface, and it's the bad angles of any news that gain the most traction. We are so ready to believe in the worst of humanity, esp. if they are "others".
Finally, check this out: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=661540563889557&set=a.543273219049626.1073741828.537424922967789&type=1&theater
(Now I'm sure some will argue this is in poor taste, and others that is Monty Python-esque. Take your pick.)
Anthea, I think you're missing the point - the story started very local (social media), then it expanded to minor tabloids in Singapore, then it went national in Singapore when ST weighed in on it along with ministers and local celebs, then it went international. It is the evolution of a news story - and the Guardian for example, got interested after it gained a certain momentum and had evolved into an interesting story; so the local reaction to this story has to be seen in the context of how the whole thing has evolved into a bigger debate about Brits abroad, rather than what his comments (v stupid, I'm sure we can all agree) have been.
DeleteSo, exactly how are you disagreeing with me here? And what point am I missing? I said the sensationalist story gets the most traction, and this AC saga is no exception. Remember the PR lady who made idiotic but personal remarks on twitter about South Africa, and the worldwide attention it garnered? You think people were polite in their remarks? The articles it generated e.g. on white privilege? And since going international, have you seen the reactions/comments to the AC story? Guess where the sympathy lies - not with AC that's for sure. There were even unkind remarks about his accent (which is totally irrelevant to the story).
DeleteAs for the commenter who was wondering if he'll get dirty looks if he mentions he's a Singaporean, I say, chill buddy, no body cares, and this episode will blow over, like all the rest.
As an aside, were most of the reactions you quoted in your pieces (on this particular episode) drawn up from shit-stirring websites (sorry for being so unfeminine)? I mean they are hardly representative of Singaporeans are they? I hope not, for these are the same idiots who mouth off misogynistic (and xenophobic) comments, and then claim that Singapore is not a misogynistic place at all, no siree, definitely not now. It's like reading the Daily Mail I suppose, and concluding, yep, that's how all Brits are think.
ReplyDeleteAnthea, as I explained in the piece, " I have spoken to many British friends about it. This is a selection of quotes from conversations I have had with various friends over the last few days, I think some of their reactions might surprise you." This was an unscientific survey of my friends. I know these people in London. I spoke to these people. I asked them for their reaction.
DeleteRead my comments again. I was not referring to your British friends, and I am not talking about your latest post. I was talking about the AC story in general, beginning with your very first post on this AC snafu. That is, did the story not see its first light of day in some sensationalist type (Singaporean) websites? And the reactions I was referring to were those that were posted on these websites. Alles klar I hope!
DeleteSorry, yes I have misread your comment - there have been so many comments coming in thick & fast on my blog for the last few days I am not used to handling this volume of comments (like hello, I am at work...) My point is that if it had not been fueled as such by Singaporeans egging each other on, it wouldn't have evolved as a story.
DeleteAnthea - genau. Alex, as I wrote before, why trawl Sammyboy and friends for the lowest common denominator's opinion? Sure they're ugly, third-world bastards egging each other on. That's just what redneck lynch mobs do. These are, sadly the fools that give the incumbant an excuse to censor the interwebs.
DeletePersonally, I see the so called 'death threat' as hollow threats made by some people who do not know any better way to register their unhappiness. It would be quite silly for Casey and the police to take it seriously knowing the circumstances surround the case. It is no more than an inappropriate but illegal way to express ones anger. Certainly not in Singapore would anyone commit murder for what had happened. Already for decades we are not a people known (at least now) for gratuitous violence or vigilantes acts at the drop of the hat, for goodness sake, we are not called a nanny state for no reason. To equate Singapore with some tribal behaviour in certain countries is an exaggeration and uncalled for. If you recall, there have been other instances locally, although I cannot specific details at the moment, where similar 'death threats' had been made that eventually faded into the background. I believe the police knows from experience how to handle/treat such reports. But let me be clear, I am not condoning such acts for one moment, but there are undeniably crazy enough people around everywhere, perhaps some keyboard ah lian or ah beng, reckless enough to issue such treats. By the way, someone who is serious about it, would not be that stupid as to announce to his potential target of his intention. He would strike when least expected and not lose the initiative by letting the target know beforehand his intention. The objective of such a threat in the context is very simply to frighten and intensify the fear and worry by threatening Casey's obviously vulnerable family members. It's a mind game designed to make Casey and family feel vulnerable and very conscious that they be watched.
DeleteWell said. thanks for your comment.
Deleteyour entire post is assumption driven and holds as much weight as a house of cards. It also falls down just as easily if there is just a single high profile murder or assault, which interestingly, there's been a spate of recently. Or haven't you been reading the newspapers? We are no angels here in Singapore, and tribal behaviour is endemic here, honestly, we're just a pretty-painted third world people with first world leaders and first world trappings. There's mental illness in our community too, no matter how carefully whitewashed and plastered over it's been. Our police would be incompetent to incorrectly ignore a death threat, and criminally negligent to fail to act out of "experience". It only takes one death - which is one too many. Re your very detailed delve into criminal psychology - do you have domain knowledge, pray tell? Or is that straight out of CSI?
DeleteThe point about this post was to demonstrate to you how this story is believed perceived outside Singapore by non-Singaporeans. If you don't like what is being said, then tough - what can you do about the bad PR that is generated about Singapore as a result of this story? You can't have your cake and eat it - you can't drive AC out of Singapore like that without everyone not having their own opinion about the issue. This is a lesson about international PR.
DeleteI agree with Anthea. This wanker is interpreting 'eat shit and die' as 'death threat' to try to get sympathy. It's shamugam's weighing in that's a game changer.
ReplyDeleteLSH - Have you seen a copy of the police report? No, I haven't either - it is confidential. You don't know what threats were made to Anton Casey, you don't know what evidence was submitted to the police - so you're simply jumping to the conclusion that you want to believe without a shred of evidence. I refer you to Gary's comment above as a more credible response to the 'death threats' issue.
DeleteAs for Shanmugam, I am no fan of his - I remember how he weighed in to help Seng Han Thong debacle to help explain to us what the hell Seng was trying to say in his really bad broken English and I was like, yeah right. http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/seng-han-thong-debacle.html Like an elephant, I have a long memory.
can you remove this ridiculous moderating thing. I have to double post every time and it's driving me insane. Gary's comment is no more credible; he wasted some 300 words describing what appears to be his lay opinion of what motivates criminals / the clinically unstable. Sadly the mentally unwell, somewhat inconsiderately do not conform to our expectations of how they ought to behave and what ought to motivate them. I do have some domain knowledge, having studied in and rotated through a secure facility, and have also been on the receiving end.
DeleteNope, I have to moderate my blog, it's my blog and my choice to moderate it. What can I say, you can take the boy out of Singapore, but you can't take Singapore out of the boy. I believe in moderating these comments - I do get a lot of spam as well and there's a very practical reason why I have to moderate this.
Deleteall just looking for an outlet to vent and this casey guy came along. all the PWP & PTC fair raises must have left people feeling powerless so went abit aboard in lynching him. I think there was an article that said that people like casey are the type to be attracted to tax havens like SG.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/jim-armitage-expat-who-mocked-the-poor-in-singapore-is-not-unique-9078717.html
I mean how nice is someone who is using tax havens like SG, cayman,virgin islands actually gonna be. tax evaders. tsk.
of course there will be some nice people & not all are like casey but.....your buddy himself said that bankers are not particularly nice.
Also how many people actually issued death threats to casey and family, cos I think should be less than a dozen. there is a difference between saying "he should just die" & "I will kill him". is this guy's PR firm trying to make him look vulnerable. because sinkies are the ultimate NATO. why do i say that, because I know a few who kpkb about govt but still end up voting for it in elections.
In the end all deserve each other:
1. the guy who complain about all the people in the trains with the woman who said all local men are too immature for her.
2. the sinkies who can only complain but not take any action even as simple as voting for what they want. and the govt thats just.......hopeless.
_________________
you might wanna see that government backed sg kindness movement head asked sinkies to take a look at themselves to be more nice instead of telling those extremists to tone it down. after the nonsense this guy presided over with the singa lion resigning over locals bad attitude.
Oh my, there is a tone of... resignation in your post. I'd like to know what you suggest Singaporeans should do now, how they should react to this episode, what would be the most constructive thing to do right now - so something good could come out of this? Over to you, thanks.
DeleteThere's a latest update on this case. This morning I read that he has been fired by his employer and move to Perth for a time being. He too offered to come back and volunteer on community works. Apparently NTUC made a comment which hoped that Crossionvest will do the same as what they did to Amy Cheong.
ReplyDeletehttp://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/a-very-hollow-victory-for-singaporeans.html
DeleteLimpeh, I have always found your articles to be interesting and insightful. However, with regard to AC, I cant quite say the same. Let me begin by stating categorically that I do agree that Singaporeans have overreacted and that the flak should have just centered on Casey himself, albeit his wife's earlier criticisms of Singaporean men. Building on Anthea's point, I note that around half of the comments in your article talked about the supposed death threats. Like Anthea, I am skeptical as to the existence of such death threats. Granted, the criticisms by the people online were biting. Some of it crossed the line as they targeted his wife and kid. Yes, we Singaporeans could have rose to the occasion and use this as a PR opportunity to show that we dont give a toss about people like AC. However I dont recall seeing anyone saying that he should be killed (at least to my knowledge). The worst was to make public his home address. Of course, that doesnt necessarily translate to the assertion that there are no death threats at all. However, one could safely say that even if there are death threats, they are the outliers. There are extremists everywhere you go. It is highly inaccurate to tar everyone with the same broadbrush and label us as having a subsaharan mentality. This begs the question as to why your friends seem to be focusing on the extreme end of the wide spectrum of negative reaction. Was it being played up by the British tabloids? In another related note, I think the context is highly important here. Someone lamented about the 10- year sentence for vandalizing the portrait of the Thai King. One must note that the Thai King is highly revered by the local population. I am not entirely certain how the British masses view their monarch. However I am certain that it isnt to such a degree as to warrant taxi drivers taking their eyes of the road and hands off the steering wheel to offer a sign of respect to any portrait of the king that they pass by. With regard to Singapore, given that the COE causes the price of a car to be out of reach to most Singaporeans, to the point that public transport is the ONLY other alternative, it naturally brings out strong negative sentiments. Perhaps without understanding this uniquely Singapore context, the British are baffled as to why the degree of hate that people are showing towards AC. I am not saying that this justifies the supposed death threats or the harassing of his family, but the context may make the entire situation to be more understandable to the British public. And of course, Singaporeans did not quite expect bankers to be nice people, we arent that naive. But being mean doesnt necessarily give one the right to display his stupidity either. With that one liner, AC had effectively criticised and made enemies with the majority of Singaporeans. Not very astute for an investment banker.
ReplyDeleteTimo - these death threats were sent to him personally, not made online. His home address (someone got hold of it) was shared on the Singaporean forums and things had been sent to his home address: again, you're basing it entirely on what you've seen online in the forums, when you couldn't possibly have seen what the police were presented as evidence of these death threats. This evidence is confidential police material, it is not information that has been made public so why are you even speculating as to what was or was not said or sent to him? Why are you conveniently choosing to assume that he is lying about what happened when there's clearly no way that you could know - not unless you're going to tell me that you're the investigating officer from the Singapore police force who has personally dealt with this case?
DeleteRecently in the UK, two extremist nutters who targeted a feminist campaigner have been sent to jail for making death threats: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25886026 Now I think many of us are curious to see if those nutters in Singapore who did make the death threats would be jailed for doing so - or if they will be let off the hook with an assumption that they were never going to murder AC anyway. Making a death threat should be a criminal offence and the issue is whether there is justice in Singapore for all or if it is a free for all in a consequence free environment when it comes to someone who is socially unpopular, like AC or his wife. In any case, we're not debating whether AC is a nice person (there's no need to debate that one...) but whether what he has done is a criminal offence and if he still deserves to be treated fairly by the law (such as having a death threat seriously investigated).