Here's something that Alex Tan Zhixiang (currently the Admin of States Times Review and living in Sydney) doesn't want the average moderate Singaporean to know.
In July 2012, Alex sent a vulgarity-filled email entitled "An angry Singaporean commuter's complaint against SBS" to then Minster for Transport Lui Tuck Yew and various government agencies. It wasn't long before the email started to make its rounds on the various social media and online forums.
The shocking part is NOT the fact that he sent a complaint to the Minister (As LKY succinctly put it, "Singaporeans are champion grumblers".) but that Alex Tan, an "aspiring" politician then (He was a Candidate in GE 2011 for the Ang Mo Kio GRC under the Reform Party) would send such a email that was filled to the brim with a certain four-letter expletive.
Image: SG Club Forums
Now let's just put aside the fact that there were many things in the email that didn't make much sense. (Like the part where he whines about how he couldn't exit the bus via the front as the EZ-Link machine only showed "Entry" - which was how it was then.)
While he may have been justifiably upset over the crowded public buses, there is simply no reason why he should have to resort to such colorful language.
Besides, is this how a person who wanted represent Singaporeans in Parliament, should behave?
What happens if another country's politician says something rude about Singapore? Is Alex Tan going to show them the full extend of his potty mouth powers? Do we really want such a character to be in Parliament?
In any case, despite his strong words of "...I have no apologies for my language...", Alex had to eat his own words in the end.
Here's a summary of what happened from an AsiaOne news report.
SBS Transit had asked a Magistrate's Court for help after Alex Tan Zhixiang sent them an expletive-filled rant in an e-mail about his trip on one of its buses. When such a complaint has been lodged, the Magistrate will assess the case and decide if the police should proceed with the investigation.
Mr Tan added: "I am so regretful, I didn't know a feedback would land me in a lawsuit."
SBS also confirmed that it had received two e-mails from Mr Tan "expressing remorse".
"We have since accepted Mr Tan's apology and understand that he will be retracting his earlier comments," added Ms Tan, who is the senior vice-president, corporate communications at SBS Transit. "We will keep the Magistrate's Court informed of this latest development."
See the full news report here: http://transport.asiaone.com/news/general/story/blogger-apologises-sending-e-mail-rant-sbs#sthash.enfh5MR1.dpuf
But why is this important now in 2015? This happened in 2012. Surely we should all move on now?
Well, here's the thing. Alex Tan is still spreading his nonsense online via the States Time Review. So it's important that Singaporeans and his readers see him for the kind of dubious character he is.
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