Random Musings

I guess this saga needs no further introduction, now that it has made its way to the front page of today’s New Paper.

Not to mention the various postings on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and all that.

If you like you can listen to the actual on-air recording (here).

I have just 2 points to make.

Firstly, I always believe that disgraceful behaviour is one thing, but an equally (if not more) disgraceful response to that behaviour is not something which one should indulge in.

I cringed when I read the various online comments in retaliation to Samantha’s comments.

Does one need to resort to phrases like “stupid”, “brainless”, “prostitute”, “uncultured b*tch”, and the like?

I even remember reading one comment that went something like “I want to kick her in the face!”.

So I guess it’s a witch-hunt now huh? A mob baying for blood?

There was even a report about some guy who started a Facebook event called “1,000 peeps to Holland V in Singlets, Shorts and Slippers Day”.

I mean, like….what?!?!?

Seriously, is that how we respond to comments about the supposedly cultured set vs. the uncultured set in Singapore?

Chill, people.

No need to get so worked up over one female’s controversial comments over the radio.

Remember, your response to something also reflects the kind of person you are.

Which brings me to my second point…

Anyone else happen to also think that this is one big load of fakery?

Seriously folks, go listen to the transcript again.

Which female Singaporean talks like that? On national radio?

Which young female starts off by saying “Helloooo!” in an ultra bright and chirpy voice, then proceeds on with her clearly politically-incorrect rant in an assured and confident manner, starting with the words “Oh gosh!”?

(Who says “Oh gosh!” nowadays???)

If you really study the subtleties in the audio transcript, you’d realise that the way the conversation was carried out (and I’m certain that all 3 DJs were equally complicit in this affair) was very unlike a normal conversation by 4 Singaporeans, both based on the manner of speaking, and the choice of words and subject matter.

The entire conversation just had this slight sense of being staged.

The way the DJs asked her questions, it seemed like they were egging her on to say more, whereas most DJs on national radio (this is Singapore after all) would be desperate to cut off the conversation for fear of censure.

The 3 DJs seemed happy to let the whole rant play out.

Samantha’s speaking definitely seemed unnatural, and notice that while she constantly peppered her sentences with the word “like” (indicating that she is quite young, because young people always say the word “like” at least 3 or 4 times in a sentence), she hardly muttered the word “er”.

This suggests that she was i) confident in what she was going to say, and ii) she already had it all planned out in her mind, or maybe even on paper.

(Most normal Singaporeans always say “er…” before every phrase. It’s a cultural thing.)

Hey, this whole things reeks of one big local publicity stunt gone wrong.

I dunno man, I have problems convincing myself that this whole thing can be real.

My dear fellow Singaporeans, I fear that you’ve been had!

p.s. Another clue – why would 91.3FM be so brazen as to post up a crystal clear audio transcript of the controversial conversation between themselves and Samantha on their official Soundcloud account?

You would think that a national radio station would be keen to forget about such a potentially volatile situation rather than fan its flames.

…

Which brings us to the next question: What would be the motivation for pulling off such a stunt?

Well, let’s just say that before this whole “Samantha from Holland Village” saga started, I’ve never heard of the radio show “The Married Men”, I’d not heard Rod Monteiro’s voice for more than 4 years, and I hardly even knew that the radio station 91.3FM existed.

Or maybe it could be a ploy to get people to visit Holland Village in droves.

I dunno.

Time will tell.

…

*UPDATES (27th Mar):

- The audio clips on “Samantha” seemed have been taken down from 91.3FM’s Soundcloud account as of today.

- Just had a thought about the Facebook event – Why 9th April?? Is there a particular reason for 9th April? Why not this coming Saturday instead? I mean, if one were so anxious to prove a point to “Samantha”, you would expect the organiser to want to get the event started as early as possible right? 9th April is two whole weeks away…wouldn’t the momentum have died down by then? I dunno man, something just doesn’t gel here.

- Someone postulated that “Samantha” might have been a shop-owner in Holland Village, and deliberately made those comments so that more people would come visit Holland Village. I don’t really buy this theory, because one cannot possibly be certain that more people would flock to Holland Village in droves based on some highly inappropriate and politically-incorrect comments made on national radio about the supposed “uncultured” people of Singapore. There is just no cause-and-effect relationship between these two elements. It’s quite a fetch.

- That being said, if I were a shop-owner in Holland Village, I would be very much looking forward to 9th April!

- “Samantha” made a call to 91.3FM on two consecutive days, on the same radio show…the first day to make the rant, and the second day to apologise. Someone commented that she was highly fortunate to be able to get through to a radio station on two consecutive days. I agree. Most of us have no such luck when calling in to radio stations.

- Let me get this straight: Based on my understanding, the whole point of the Facebook event on 9th April is to flood Holland Village with people wearing t-shirts, shorts and slippers…just to prove a point to “Samantha”? Seriously, is that it? And I suppose “Samantha” will obediently turn up at Holland Village on 9th April to witness everything and realise her folly? Sorry, but I’m having problems appreciating the full concept and meaning of this event. It sounds very knee-jerk to me.