The Singapore general elections are underway with Singaporeans set to head to the polls on May 3. In the lead up, parties have been holding rallies, giving out interviews and walking the ground to garner support and votes.

At a recent rally for the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) though, candidate Gigene Wong used a racial slur to describe her fellow party member, Ariffin Sha. During her speech, she referred to him using the derogatory term "keling kia", which is offensive towards the Indian community. She also mispronouced his name a number of times, calling him "elephant" instead of "Ariffin".

Following the backlash, Wong issued two apologies via Facebook. In her first statement, she expressed regret for using the offensive term and acknowledged her lack of awareness regarding its meaning. In her second apology, she emphasized the hurt her comments caused and accepted full responsibility for her actions. Wong clarified that the term was not part of her prepared speech and occurred during an impromptu moment.

Since the incident, SDP chief Chee Soon Juan also apologised publicly, adding that Wong had been given a "stern warning". Sha also took to the stage and spoke about how there is nothing casual about racism and how shocked he was to hear the term being used.

Based on comprehensive analysis of media coverage by media intelligence firm Truescope, SDP experienced a significant negative sentiment shift following Wong's racial slur incident. The data shows a marked deterioration in sentiment after April 26 2025, when the incident occurred during the SDP rally at Evergreen Primary School.

Truescope also noted that after the incident, SDP faced a marked negative sentiment shift across both mainstream and social media.

The average sentiment score dropped from -0.117 before April 26 to -0.195 after April 26, representing a 66.7% increase in negative sentiment.The proportion of negative articles also rose from 21.9% before the incident to 42.0% after. 

Media engagement (likes, comments, shares) nearly doubled after the incident, with 827,272 engagements after April 26 compared to 444,871 before, despite fewer articles published, said Truescope. 



It added that although the incident received intensive coverage, audience reach was substantially lower after April 26 (864 million) compared to before (3.78 billion), indicating coverage was driven more by niche outlets rather than mainstream media.

Truescope went on to say that even with apologies issued quickly, reputation recovery was not immediate and that media narratives remained negative for at least 48–72 hours. While positive sentiment efforts (such as apologies) helped contain the matter, it did not eliminate the damage during the critical campaign window.

Communications experts PRovoke Media spoke to highlighted the need to acknowledge that this was a credibility lapse in real time, and it showed very clearly that such missteps can quickly become a brand liability.

A public affairs advisor who declined to be named said that SDP could have done better in that they could have humanized the issue and used it as a broader learning opportunity. “Wong's public misstep is just emblematic of the wider passive racism that exists in Singapore,” they said, adding that he thought SDP’s apology was rather slow and overly scripted.

“Wong’s comments were insensitive and are reflective of an extremely outdated set of thinking that still widely exists among the older population in Singapore. It is clear from the reactions of her fellow party members that her comments were not rehearsed and were uttered in the heat of the moment,” added Tarun Deo, founder and managing director of Progressive Communications. He continued by saying that this highlights the need for thorough spokesperson training that incorporates cultural sensitivity, ensuring representatives are well-prepared before addressing an audience.

"Thorough and comprehensive media training is essential for anyone speaking publicly — even those who feel confident — to ensure clear, consistent, and composed communication," said Deo. He added that cultural sensitivity must also be embedded from the start. "DEI education isn't optional; it's foundational to preventing bias or prejudice, whether intentional or not."

He went on to note that internal alignment is also key. "It’s fine to disagree behind closed doors, but always present a unified message before addressing the public," said Deo. 

 

Cultural Sensitivity Isn’t Optional


Meanwhile, Sunny Johar, managing director SEA and group head, digital strategy, at KRDS, noted that as a communications professional evaluating this through a lens of cultural education, language evolution, and cross-cultural sensitivity, in today’s environment public figures and brand leaders must be acutely aware that words carry weight beyond personal understanding.

“Even though the slur was widely considered by netizens as 'appalling' and 'unacceptable', it was somehow still part of Wong's vocabulary, suggested as a residual from when the word did not carry the same perception and weight as it does today. Therefore, this incident reinforces the need for continuous education and proactive cultural sensitivity training,” she said.

Johar went on to say that moments like this remind us that cultural sensitivity isn’t optional — it’s foundational to building trust.

“Regular training helps communicators stay aware of evolving times, but when things go wrong, it’s also how organisations respond that matters. Having a clear crisis plan, accountable leadership, and consistent messaging isn’t just a good communication strategy, it’s also how an organisation can show up with integrity when it counts,” she said.

Johar added that Sha’s speech following the incident is one that stands out as an impressive example of how to address a crisis.

“Despite being heckled by an audience member to ‘move on’, he continued to use his platform to advocate for awareness regarding the racism faced by minorities in Singapore and the need for widespread cultural sensitivity in a multicultural environment,” said Johar.

She added that his stance on the concept of ‘casual’ racism raised an interesting discourse around how derogatory terms have been woven into common sayings, and slurs to describe minorities are still normalized in certain groups.

“The continued use of these terms, whilst perhaps lacking racist intent, still delivers racist impact. Through clear communication, he contextualized the importance of evolving personal language and vocabulary,” she said.

Vet And Train Your Executives


In tandem, Jose Raymond, managing director of SW Strategies, said that essentially, public figures and brands should take from this incident and learn that they need to ensure that their spokespersons are trained and have their talking points vetted.

Raymond also emphasized the need for brands to ensure their spokesperson practices and is prepared for taking the stage before they actually do.

Charu Srivastava, chief strategy officer and corporate affairs lead at TriOn & Co, agreed by saying that it is critical that brands vet their  executives and train them well for public speaking. This includes educating them on potential sensitive issues as well as on offensive behaviors and language if they are not familiar with the community or country.

“Such off the cuff speeches can be the downfall of the individual, at best, and the entire organisation, at the worst. Just look at the aftermath of the LinkedIn post by Boon Teck Chia, ex-Law Society vice-president,” she said, highlighting a recent incident when Boon posted victim-blaming comments on his LinkedIn page with regards to a local rape case and was subsequently asked to leave his post.

“If you do get embroiled in such an issue, please be swift and 100% genuine in your apology. Show the results of investigations - what is being done to address the issue, are there consequences, what is the company going to do and be better? Trust is your biggest asset in today’s world and it is important to maintain it by being honest and transparent,” said Srivastava.

She added that SDP’s response was delayed against the backdrop of the expedited hustings period and was not fast enough. “The party’s response lacks in showing real remorse by including a ‘justification'. Racism or any kind of discrimination has no justification,” she said.

“Most importantly, there seemed to be no consequence for Wong herself, which further seeds doubt against the whole party and their value. Any association with a candidate who could in the slightest possibility harbour such thoughts impacts the SDP's reputation,” she said. 

Photo: Ariffin Sha/Instagram