Singapore — On Sunday (Sept 12), Mr Hossan Leong tweeted a quote from a Straits Times commentary about making the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory, and asked why Singaporeans “being held hostage by these people?”
While some people agreed with the actor, the tweet did not go over well with others.
“It is the estimated 500,000 people who are eligible but have chosen not to get vaccinated who are threatening the healthcare system.” @straits_times
And thus holding us back from opening up properly. Why are we being held hostage by these people?
— Hossan Leong (tick myself) (@HossanLeong) September 12, 2021
Mr Leong had quoted a commentary from ST’s Senior Health Correspondent of Ms Salma Khalik, where she argued the case for making Covid jabs mandatory “so measures can be eased for all.”
He posted a quote from the piece that read, “It is the estimated 500,000 people who are eligible but have chosen not to get vaccinated who are threatening the healthcare system.”
“And thus holding us back from opening up properly. Why are we being held hostage by these people?”, the actor added.
Several netizens commented on Mr Leong’s tweet, including former PSP politician Brad Bowyer, who resigned from the party last month over a controversial Facebook post. Mr Bowyer has made no secret of his anti-vaccination stance.
Nobody is threatening the healthcare system or holding you hostage except our dysfunctional government using a virus and vested in a vaccine.
As a public figure spouting this nonsense without understanding or thinking not only doesn't help it is dangerous.
Very disappointing.
— Brad Bowyer (@BP4SGP) September 12, 2021
Another netizen tweeted back that “people have their rights” and “no evident (sic) that the unvaccinated are crippling the health system.”
https://twitter.com/malibu741/status/1437009062747508741
Another called Singaporeans “complaint kings of the world.”
Why, do you want Singapore government to mandate that every single eligible person be vaccinated? Srsly singaporeans complaint kings of the world.
Damned if they do, Damned if they don’t 🤷🏻♂️
— truthhurts (@truthhu51152310) September 12, 2021
On Wake Up, Singapore, a political page on Facebook which shared Mr Leong’s tweet, commenters were similarly unhappy.
Mr Leong has commented on several social issues in the past, including calling for the end of transporting migrant workers in the backs of lorries earlier this year, when two workers died and a dozen more injured when two traffic accidents occurred involving such vehicles within five days.
“When will Ministry of Transport @LTAsg ban ppl from being transported like cattle? #MinistryOfManpower,” tweeted the actor on April 25.
/TISG
Elementary school teacher who was unvaccinated, unmasked, spread Covid to half her students