Goh Meng Seng calls out ministers for keeping mobile phones out during lunch with Trump

In a much shared and commented on Facebook post, Secretary-General of the People’s Power Party Goh Meng Seng chided Singapore’s ministers for their “impudence” at the working lunch hosted by Prime Minister Lee. Hsieng Loong for US President Donald Trump.

Mr. Goh posted a photo of the Singaporean ministers at lunch with President Trump and other members of the US diplomatic team, drawing attention to the fact that several ministers had their mobile phones in front of them at the table, and naming Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan in particular.

Though he prefaces his post with writing, “Comment by a friend…” Mr. Goh’s ire toward the ministers is palpable. The “comment,” whether it’s from Mr. Goh or the unnamed friend, points out that the presence of the ministers’ cellphones during the lunch meant that they were “not committed to 100% attention in a high level lunch with the president of the United States” and tells them this is improper for a meal with the family, let alone an important official function.

The fact that the US team did not have their phones on the table was also focused on, as well as the point that no matter what one may think of the US President, his position is still worthy of respect. The ministers should have delegated other matters to their secretaries.

The post ends with this:  “If I were the master of ceremony for the event, I will tick off the secretaries of the Singapore team mercilessly.”

A number of netizens agreed with Mr. Goh

Others seemed to joke that maybe the Singaporean ministers were recording Mr. Trump’s words.