This article is a satire and not factual.
Following last Sunday’s (Apr 24) Star Awards, netizens were quick to take to social media to share their opinions on who should have won. Many quipped that a top contender for Best Actress should have been Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs.
Netizens were making fun of her emotion-filled speech in Parliament on Sept 1, 2020, in which she promised to help Singapore workers “bounce back” and “emerge stronger”. Ms Teo who was then Minister for Manpower, earned their “vote” with her earnest, sometimes halting, speech. For a considerable part of her performance, she seemed to be tearful or on the verge of tears.
The 27th edition of the Star Awards, Star Awards 2022 (Chinese: 红星大奖2022) highlight the best in Singapore TV released between January and December 2021. The 2022 ceremony was held in Singapore on Apr 24at the MES Theatre @ Mediacorp. It was hosted by Chen Hanwei.
The actual Best Actress was Huang Biren who played Chen Huiying in Recipe of Life, though netizens cheekily insisted online that the award should have gone to Ms Teo.
In a post to the public group Umbrage Singapore, a netizen who goes by the name Justin Lim Lim shared a photo of Ms Teo with “Best Actress” superimposed on top.
Other netizens also shared videos of Ms Teo getting emotional in Parliament, with the Star Awards logo superimposed.
Here’s what netizens said:
Her “award-winning” speech had Ms Teo speaking on job anxiety among Singaporeans.
In her speech, she cited the stories of three workers whom she had interacted with, who had either received help from various job-related schemes or shared their concerns with the Ministry of Manpower.
She then continued, with tears in her voice:
“Please know that you too are always in our hearts. However long this storm lasts, MOM will walk the journey together with you. However tough it may be, we will help you bounce back.”
Earlier this year, netizens also joked that Jurong GRC MP Shawn Huang should have been given a Star Award after he shed tears in Parliament. He was speaking on strengthening Singapore’s science and technology capabilities. He gave a shout-out to individual members of his team and lauded them for their “remarkable performance”, which led to an increase in the hiring of cybersecurity analysts by 400%.
He also added, “When I heard the programme was a success, it truly touched my heart” and then wiped a tear from his eye.
Netizens call out yet another PAP MP sheddding (crocodile) tears in Parliament