Scholarships should be based on merit, not nationality: Baey

[Aces]

Tampines MP Baey Yam Keng shared his thoughts on the online backlash that ensued from comments he made to a local …
No matter where a scholarship comes from, nationality should not factor into the decision of who receives it, says Member of Parliament (MP) for Tampines GRC Baey Yam Keng.

"Whether they are a GLC (government-linked company), the government or a private company, they all want good people to work for them," he told Yahoo! Singapore in an interview on Thursday.

He said that a scholarship should be awarded based on meritocracy, and should not be allocated specifically to locals or foreigners.

"If a local is as good or better than the foreigner, I think the local should get it. It shouldn't be because I want a foreigner, therefore I will settle for (a candidate with) a lower standard… because ultimately people want good talents, so the nationality should not be an issue at all," he added.

Comments to media sparked online backlash

Baey was at the receiving end of a wave of online furore over the past two days following his comments in Wednesday's The New Paper on a Chinese scholar studying here who made the "There are more dogs than people in Singapore" remark on his web blog.

After almost 40 posts attacking him were posted on his fan page wall, Baey published a transcript of what he said to the newspaper over a phone interview, where he explained that Singaporeans should not jump to conclusions over the comment the student, Sun Xu, had made.

The note he posted on his Facebook profile and shared on his fan page attracted almost 350 comments, some of which were positive but most were negative sentiments from internet users, who questioned his choice of words, his statement that citizens should "reflect upon (themselves)", and even his loyalty to Singapore, among other things.

When asked about the fiery reactions to his initial comments, Baey told Yahoo! Singapore he accepted, understood and appreciated the sentiment expressed in them.

While several users took issue with the fact that he felt the need to deconstruct Sun's offending line while speaking to TNP, Baey said at that point he was striving to be as rational as possible about the situation.

"I have to be accountable for what I say, whether published in the media or otherwise," he said, explaining why he published the transcript of his phone interview with the paper, with the hope of setting context to his words.

"I thought at the time, let's not jump to conclusions. Yes, certain words can be hurtful but let's not punish (the whole community because of) one person… we shouldn't just pick on one word (or phrase) and that's it, condemn the person for life just because he's said that.

"My point was please, let's not enlarge or expand it to say that all foreign students are bad — that's very dangerous."

Responding to people accusing him of defending Sun's actions, Baey said, "Why should I defend him? I'm just asking for us to take a step back and cool down, rather than just reacting on impulse."

'A big lesson in my political career'

When asked whether he would have said anything differently on hindsight, Baey said he still stands by his views, as well as his intentions, although he is more mindful of how people might read into the things he says.

"There's a lot of learning I have done from this… it's a big lesson for me in my political life—in fact, I would say my whole career so far," he said.

"But to me, I still do what I think is right, and will do my best serving people in my constituency, the country and the society," he added.

Acknowledging the threats on his Facebook page of him losing his voters in 2016, Baey said, "Ultimately I think I want people to judge me over a longer period of time. It's a lot more about what I do and what I say. Look at me as a person, what my values and views are, and whether they are consistent… so I'm taking it in my stride; I cannot let (the incident) hamper what I need to do in the constituency because I shouldn't.

"I will still make my own judgement and do what I think is right, and I hope people will understand that and give me the opportunity to do so."

From Yahoo SG

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tampines have a good mp

[boxedfish]

all singaporean mp should be banned from facebook. They seriously do not know how to use it, what to say and when to say

[BubbleBubble]

Idiot .

讒臣宦官語無倫，並列齊吠示忠心，賣國求榮護其主，欺凌百姓迎蝗蟲。
蝗禍爆發蝕家園，暴君閹黨視不見，責罵庶民當懺悔，民間疾苦不慾生。

[dave6238]

This guy got his priority wrong..... As an MP, should he be serving singaporeans or foreigners? Maybe he should go n join the UN.......

.

[Aris]

These MP's riding on the PAP's coat tails to get into parliament seriously lack EQ. On their own, they will never make it as the representative of their voters as none will vote them in.

They can be frank but simply do not know how to put it in a manner more easily acceptable. Behind their thoughts in writing and speech, is the government's stance on the issue. To be truthful is one thing, but to be a leader and have the people's acceptance is something only REAL TRUE leaders can command. Unfortunately being made Chief of Army does not mean they have achieved that status, as it is all just a paper army and he was a paper general. The same can be said for all scholars and paper qualified PAP leaders.

[globalcookie]

This guy is not a first term MP to know better how to phase his words and how pple will react. Didn't the many PAP MPs and Ministers choice of uncouth words teach him anything?

When SINGAPORE's scholarships are open to the world at large, isn't that a huge disadvantage to Singaporeans? Afterall, there are only about 3 million true blue Singaporeans vs 6 billion total global population?

Why can't these PAP smarty pants realise they are representing SINGAPOREANS and not United Nations? When will Singaporeans become a PRIORITY? We have been pawned! We have a RUINING PARTY!

Originally Posted by globalcookie

This guy is not a first term MP to know better how to phase his words and how pple will react. Didn't the many PAP MPs and Ministers choice of uncouth words teach him anything?

When SINGAPORE's scholarships are open to the world at large, isn't that a huge disadvantage to Singaporeans? Afterall, there are only about 3 million true blue Singaporeans vs 6 billion total global population?

Why can't these PAP smarty pants realise they are representing SINGAPOREANS and not United Nations? When will Singaporeans become a PRIORITY? We have been pawned! We have a RUINING PARTY!

Pinky loong will come out to defend him likewise he did for the DISGraceFul , HE is absolutely Right!!!

[globalcookie]

So, Hougang must not fall to the opposition (pap being the opposition in Hg for last 20yrs).

chants : Workers Party! Workers Party! Workers Party!

[stargazer]

So the worst of MPs are found in tampines. Old horse kena kicked liao. Now this idiot takes over.