Singapore — Netizens ask if they could delete Seah Kian Peng from being their Member of Parliament (MP) after he posted on Facebook that “Kamala’s name spelt backwards is Alamak”.
For those who don’t know, Alamak is an expression to display dismay, shock or alarm as one would with “Oh, no!”.
United States Vice-President Kamala Harris touched down in Singapore on Aug 22 and stayed until Tuesday (Aug 24) afternoon.
On Monday (Aug 23) evening, Member of Parliament and CEO of NTUC Fairprice Seah Kian Peng wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post: “As we know, VP of USA, Ms Kamala Harris chose Singapore for her first stop of her Asia tour”.
He continued: “And with it, a friend pointed out to me that Kamala’s name spelt backwards is Alamak … what a coincidence !”
In response to media queries, Mr Seah explained why he decided to remove the post. He said: “Yes, I did post this on my FB page last evening just before I went for my MPS. Midway through my MPS, a friend ping me and as I reflected on it, I agree it was not appropriate and decided to take down the posting”
Adding that he was not able to meet her during her trip here, he hoped that “there will be an opportunity for me to do so in the future”.
“Singapore has had a long and strong relationship with the USA, China and many other countries. VP Kamala Harris’s visit to Singapore and making Singapore the first stop of her Asia tour reinforces this relationship between our two countries”, Mr Seah said.
Netizens who commented on Mr Seah’s post felt that it was a silly and inappropriate remark.
During Ms Harris’ visit here, she had a joint press conference with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Aug 23.
Both leaders reaffirmed the enduring partnership and announced plans to strengthen cooperation in cybersecurity with the signing of three agreements.
The U.S. and Singapore have also agreed to launch a new US-Singapore Climate Partnership to explore collaborations to tackle climate change issues. /TISG