Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam has slammed a Facebook user for asking whether there would be a by-election in Tampines group representation constituency (GRC) after Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat suffered a stroke yesterday.
Mr Heng is an MP for the GRC.
Facebook user Raymond Tan’s response to Mr Shanmugam’s Facebook post on what had happened to Mr Heng received a sharp rebuke from the law minister.
“Raymond tan, i don’t know what sort of person you are. Have no sense of compassion and what is right and what is wrong? To ask about whether there will be by-election in the circumstances you mention (I can’t even bring myself to repeat your words?) Are these words people will even use? Do you not think about his wife and children?” wrote Mr Shanmugam.
He added: “I feel sick.”
But Raymond Tan refused to back down. In his reply, he asked the minister why he was “so emotional”.
He wrote: “Well u (can’t) deny there is such a possibility right? Be rational. Why (should) you be so emotional?”
His remark incensed other users with some calling him a “beast” and “worse than a beast”.
Some pointed out that it was “unethical” of him to ask such a question.
In his rebuttal, Raymond Tan asked: “What has this got to do with ethics? I am just asking a rational question.” He also said: “We must be prepared for worst case scenario”.
The Straits Times, The New Paper, Facebook screengrabs
One netizen, who identified himself as a stroke patient, agreed with others who believed that Mr Heng, who is well-known for having boundless energy, would recover.
Former Senior Minister of Trade and Industry and National Development Lee Yi Shyan, who recovered from a mini stroke in May last year, said he hopes Mr Heng would recuperate well.
“Swee Keat advised me to go slow and that doing ‘less is more’. Yet he works so hard himself. I really wish he will recover soon and completely,” Mr Lee posted on Facebook.
chenj@sph.com.sg
