Tommy Koh, Who Are You Calling “Snobbish” And “Hierarchical”?
Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh griped about how Singapore is overpaying our brain workers, and that we are a “snobbish” and “hierarchical society”. Who was on his mind when he made these comments?
Just last week, Tommy Koh’s words about Singaporeans being “snobbish” and “hierarchical” took the internet by storm. Many Singaporeans resonated with his comments about Singapore overpaying our brain workers and underpaying the hard workers.
“We are ruled by money, so we look down on those who are poor. We are also a meritocracy, we therefore look down on people who are poorly educated. And we have become very snobbish, we look down on people who can’t afford to stay in private housing.”
“The truth is that in Singapore, as in the rest of the world, we overpay the brain workers. We underpay what I call the hard workers and we underpay the hand workers. There should be more justice for the hard workers and the hand workers,” — Tommy Koh
However, his statements had me wondering about how he came to such conclusions. He couldn’t have been on the receiving end of such treatment. Rather, being the head of one of the most privileged families in Singapore, it is more likely for him or the people around him to be living embodiments of such snobbishness.
To think of it, his sons are the quintessential “overpaid brain workers”.
Wei Koh is a major player in Singapore’s luxury watch scene. His career right now is all about luxury watches, from doing luxury watch reviews, to owning a magazine that covers luxury watches.
Aun Koh on the other hand has his career built on food. Not in the usual way. Aun is a food reviewer who travels around the world to photograph the most expensive meals.
When he criticized the brain workers for being overpaid, was he reflecting on his children? Was he thinking about how he raised them? After all, he did give his children the luxury of being able to choose niche careers that will allow them to continue frolicking in elite “snobbish” circles.
When he chided Singaporeans for being “snobbish” and “hierarchical”, who is he thinking about? Did the brain workers around him come to his mind? Could our ambassador-at-large have been so blind to not notice the snobs around him while he reproached all Singaporeans?
