YPAP leader Jack Lin Xinlin now claims he was “misinterpreted” because of his Singlish
July 30th, 2010 | 
Author: In a stunning U-turn, controversial YPAP leader from PAP Joo Chiat branch and General Secretary of Joo Chiat Community Club Youth Executive Committee Jack Lin Xinli now claims that his callous remark on Singaporeans being “3rd class citizens” has been “misinterpreted” because it was phrased in “Singlish”.
[Source: Shin Min Daily, 29 July 2010]
Mr Lin sparked a massive outroar among Singaporeans recently by describing them as “3rd class citizen” on the YPAP Facebook:
[Source: YPAP Facebook]
Besides insulting Singaporeans, Mr Lin also made defamatory remarks on opposition MP Mr Chiam See Tong in the same exchange. He insinuated that Mr Chiam “bought” his ‘O’ levels from a degree mill.
In a public apology issued on Temasek Review two days ago, Mr Lin said he was “sorry” for his “choice of words”:
“I would like to take the chance to apologize to those who are offended and I will be more careful with my choice of words. It was not my intention to make these statements as a Joo Chiat grassroots leader and youth activist.”
However, he flip-flopped in less than a day and told Shin Min Daily in an interview yesterday that his Singlish may have caused the “misunderstanding”:
“Look at the original statement written in Singlish “We got first class ministers and govt, but still got 3rd class citizens”. When translated into a more proper form of English, it would be “We have first class ministers and government, but we still have 3rd class citizens (amongst our midst).” I was thus referring to a specific group as being “3rd class” and in no way referring to all Singapore citizens. On the contrary, I was expecting all Singapore citizens to be first class. My intention was to relay the fact that certain people posting irresponsible comment while remaining anonymous were having the conduct of “3rd class”", Mr Lin wrote in his email reply to Shin Min.
This is not the first time that Mr Lin has publicly humiliated Singaporeans on the YPAP Facebook. Back in April, he described Singaporeans who complained about the sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats as being “spoilt brats”:
[Source: YPAP Facebook]
He also boasted rather unshamedly that he sold off his private property at record high prices which would make one’s “jaws dropped”:
[Source: YPAP Facebook]
The Jack Lin fiasco has become a major talking point among Singaporeans and articles on it are most read not only on Temasek Review, but on TODAY as well:
So far, NO PAP MPs have stepped forward publicly to reprimand or condemn Mr Lin for his disparaging remarks towards fellow Singaporeans, a sign that they both endorse and support his views.
Related articles:
>> PAP MPs refuse to condemn YPAP leader Jack Lin Xinli
>> YPAP leader Jack Lin Xinli apologizes to opposition MP Chiam See Tong
>> PAP MP Chan Soo Sen refused to condemn Jack Lin’s callous remarks on Singaporeans
>> YPAP leader Jack Lin Xinli clarified his “3rd class citizen” remarks on CNA
>> Massive outcry at YPAP leader Jack Lin’s remarks
>> YPAP leader Jack Lin: We are free to fix the opposition
>> Complaint letter on YPAP leader Jack Lin
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he could have ended it well with an apology. now he’s asking for condemnation.
This man is talking without a brain. Think how many are suffering when you are enjoying yourself. Let’s all just get out of this country and see the support they can garner when no one is around to do so.
clever little word twisting monkey! clever…
at fist i praise that guy for humility, and ask old f*** to learn from him. now have to take that back! just another arrogant, unsympathetic, privileged elite prick!
I will spit on his face if I meet him face to face
Hi Jack Lin do you know that Martin Luther a German Priest ‘misinterpreted’ the bible and the Roman Catholic church was divided from then on. I am sure many terrorist also misinterpreted their holy scriptures and become fanatic. Sometime misinterpretation lead to many things that created tension and hatred. Please be careful with your words next time.
All the Ypap leader are well connected with the elite ruler team. no wonder they dare to open mouth shoot without thinking.
I am kinda taken aback by the vicarious attitude that was portrayed in the 5 earlier post.
Instead of taking it in a negative light, we should try to understand where he is coming from and what he means by “3rd class singaporeans”
Isn’t it an irony that everyone takes offense to what he say when in reality is that we are actually living it; in my own interpretation.
Allow me to quote a classic example, do we clean up after dining / eating at a fast food restaurant or do we expect the poor staff to clean up after us? Or better still, there are some who still smoke in the toilet when it is known that smoking is illegal in any enclosed area. Is that what we call first class attitude.
I am not defending him.
It is just the evils of media. All u need is an opportunist to blow things out of proportion.
What I suggest is we should stop having this “You think, I thought, Who confirm” attitude.
All of us are adults who are able to break notions down on a critical or a subjective basis.
Good night =)
A cornered cat will try its level best to claw its way out of dead end, and hope that it will still keep its 9 lives.
Clearly, Jack ‘Ass’ Lin never had the intention to apologise, and is merely being disingenius in attempting to differentiate the wrong interpretation of the same sentence in ‘Singlish’ or proper ‘English’.
Whether it was ‘Singlish’ or ‘English’ – the words were printed by him, in his preferred forum, and no one need to interprete those words which basically had the same words in ‘Singlish’ or ‘English’.
The additional words that he had belatedly attempt to add as ‘English’ will still carry the same weight – and it is merely a distraction to add the belatedly extra words to narrow the group of 3rd Class Citizens.
Obviously, Jack ‘Ass’ Lin had made also an UNITENTIONAL apology too, as it was never meant to be an apology in the first place, as Singaporeans had wrongly interpreted it in Singlish too.
A Jack ‘Ass’ will remain as one, irregardless of its preferred name in whatever language.
To ab:
if that is the case, our ministers and govt should be fourth or fifth class, cos they are thieves
Off topic, but the ‘Singapore branding’ takes another beating again!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/jul/30/singapore-british-author-alan-shadrake
It’s worth a TR post by itself. Go get it, TR mods.
Cocky , Arrogant and Narcissism is what I’ve seen from his words, is what he has written. Fact and period.
to ab:
You’re probably a very gracious and kind person, and that is good. But your example gives Mr Lin a context that he doesn’t deserve.
Read again what he wrote. Do you see empathy or contempt? Do you see reason or conceit? Do you see humility or arrogance?
It doesn’t matter if you, or this Jack himself, think he was referring only to a minority. His parameters for “spoiled brats” and “3rd class citizens” are rather loose and flexible. Who knows, you may even fit in if he finds your view not so palatable.
One day after his apology (and a rather grudging one), he tries to fudge the issue – saying he was taken out of context. This calls to question – was he even sincere in his apology?
I’ll leave you to decide what this tells you about Mr Lin. But let me suggest to you that we cannot and must not allow such people to ingratiate themselves along the paths of political influence and power.
Jack, from which era are you born in? And in which era are you living in?
My own mum, born a British Subject used the word in English “outsider” to admonish us, (her children) if we do not study hard. (Outsider probably means we will be outclassed). She was a housewife with NO education.
“3rd class citizen” – what sort of colloquial language is that? Definitely NOT SINGLISH.
In what capacity; with what level of intelligence are you naming Singaporeans “3rd class citizen”.
Jack Ass
You are following your Master’s footstep not being sincere with your apology as they always regard themselves as high and mighty.
Just some adjectives to describe your Master – arrogant, conceited, stuck up, cocky, egoistic, disdainful, high handed, insolent, overbearing, haughty, supercilious and many more.
Go and learn fast and be like them.
YO! Jack Lin Xinlin! Ah you a parody of Lee Kuan Yew or a nerd? You are not on the studio or ballroom dance floor you know! Doing ballroom dancing or doing the line dance Jack Xinlin? Where’s you Xin hah? Looks like you are fitting to the like of PAP and is now showing us all hwy and how pap chosen you!
What a complete buffoon. Seriously, is this the best of the young PAP members the party has? Someone who is absolutely incapable of communicating in his own native language, i.e. Singlish, and processing the information in his brain before he speaks or write?
The leaders, like Jack Lin, are complete fools too. Probably trying hard to fight fire now, but don’t know how to please the public and at the same time keep their pet buffoon safe from harm’s way. Little things like this, party leaders and MPs don’t know what to do and how to react. How can we trust them when the flood waters start coming in again? What a bunch of grossly overpaid clowns.
See!! Now we know this bast..d’s earlier apology was not sincere. Singaporeans are so naive to believe PAP elite is capable of saying sorry.
What better way to attract or seek ATTENTION??? he may end up being called all sorts of names and condemn but what the FCUCK,he gets the attention and probably thrives on it and may seek more before retiring into oblivion.It happened before and it will happen again not only in YPAP but elsewhere too.
Even an old octogenarian will not fade but seek ATTENTION in more controversial statements, MAN!!! thats LIFE!!!
The PAP government thinks the ordinary Singaporean a bloody fool.
They make them work and work, pay you little and still they vote them into parliament election after election.
No wonder the thug-in-chief said you idiots got to work your whole life for a meagre salary.
YOU CAN’T TRUST BLOOD-SUCKING BANDITS.
No great gentleman apologise and then regret it.
only sissy men apologise and later retract.
i rather have wiw(women-in-white)than sissy in white,anytime.
most of the miws are faggots,say one thing,meant another.PERIOD.
PAP is farking us again. This time is small kiddy YPAP doing the farking. Poor 66%. Spineless.
Why does a YPAP member say something so degrading of his fellow citizen?
Is he not a Citizen?
By his words, did he mean himself as well?
If not , is he a citizen?
Why put down singaporeans?
Did the Majority true blue singaporeans not voted for PAP?
Did he imply the 66.6% are 3rd world ? No right? If not , what does he mean ? His england strong or not?
It seems like the rich and those who are in govt are the only ones that can claim defamation… So if one does not have the economic means or if one is on the wrong side of the political divide, then one is fair game to have ones’ name drag through the gutter. This cannot be right but sadly this is the reality we are witnessing. Some ego trip for those who can. Hope the next generation have it better then us. Sick and tired of having to witness these travesty of justice.
Ha ha ha!
3rd class citizen is people like Great Asia.
Great Asia: “This is the most useless PAP government since our country’s independence.”
English or Singlish = same meaning.
Ha ha ha!
“We got first class ministers and govt? But still got 3rd class YPAP members”. Please, don’t misinterpret me.
HDB failed to forecast the demand of HDB flats = low productivity = useless leadership.
Now, HDB is fire fighting to increase the supply of HDB flats = low productivity = useless leadership.
3rd class PAP government!
PAP government want to teach Singaporeans what is productivity?
Give me a break!!!
Ha ha ha!
Maybe YPAP leader Jack Lin Xinli had been misinterpreted calling Singaporeans as 3rd class citizens. He supposedly want to call Singaporeans as Dogs instead.
The same goes for YPAP leader Sinha Shekhar who may not had the intention of calling Singaporeans as Dogs but 3rd class citizens instead.
So I think we should give both the benefit of a doubt and hope they treat us more humane than the dog named Xixi.
Sinha, must be very happy now, that the focus is on this Jackass!
lol
BTW why 3rd class?
who is 2nd class?
Our PAP regime are state robbers helping themselves to millions of dollars for their salaries from our tax payers monies.
The YPAP leaders will be selected as future ministers of the ruling party.
Both are the worst class in Singapore.
How dare he insults our beloved ministers…
Our ministers are raffles-class… first class only earns 1 peanut a year (like obama)… our ministers earns 5 peanuts every year, officially.
Jack does really believe that we are the 3rd class citizen, lowly and stupid.
First he pretends to apologize to the netcitizen then to CST and so forth. His main concern is not what we think, he is trying to shut our gap with a sham like throwing a bone to a dog to get us out of the way. His main concern is the MSM where the gullible public is in a confused state. He jolly well knows that a large portion of the population do not use the Internet to access news and will never get to know the truth or what he actually writes. By bending the story and contorting it to look like some freak incident, the public at large could be pacified. He probably can cajole his way into deceiving the public to believe that netcitizens are a bunch of crap people not to be believed or trusted.
Did the press print a snap shot of his comment from facebook like as in TR? Does it have a full transcript? If not then he can say whatever he wants to influence the press to paint a nice picture of himself. PAP guys do not believe in sincerity and veracity, they are lovers of wits, spin and falsehood. They are wolves dressed in sheep skins. I am concern about some little children in the net net world that could fall prey to these wolves and got consumed.
In Singapore, PAP rules.
i like to apologize to all singaporean that they are so stupid that they do not know they belong to 3rd class citizen, and below…
He speaks Singlish? I thought he was part of the first class ruling elite that speaks proper English and not part of the third class citizens?
Fcuk fcuk fcuk. Fcuk PAP. Fcuk these sons of bitches and the sluts. Elite? My foot.
This boy is really not smart – certainly not fit to be even third class. If he has the intellect to know that there is a chance of misinterpretation by using Singlish, WHY use it? Even so, isn’t the meaning of his words clear enough, even if it is in Singlish? What grassroot leader? Go get a first class degree first, otherwise dont come and bullshit us.
I still don’t get the misinterpretation he claimed.
Do I need a phd in Philosophy or what?
Or to be frank, I am probably to lazy to bother about him when there are bigger, older, and shriveled problems to look at and criticise at.
Oh wait.
So it is OUR FAULT now for MISINTERPRETING him?
So he is now the Victim and we are to be blamed?
WHAT THE FARK?!?
Problem at the top of YPAP. Who choose Jack Lin into YPAP in the first place? Sack Jack Lin and apologize is the correct way. Sinha and Jack Lin have both tarnished the image of YPAP. People have lost trust with YPAP and PAP more.
“He speaks Singlish? I thought he was part of the first class ruling elite that speaks proper English and not part of the third class citizens?” Tang Li
Practicising leh OR he third class trying to be elite.
Join YPAP! No integrity necessary.
Time to change PAP government,because soon or later those 3rd class YPAP will come up……..Singapore will then 沦陷 and Singaporean’s will 死得很难看！！
Jack-S Lin,
“狗眼看人低” 的‘神功’想必是你在你的犬主的‘英明’领导与及教育下连成的吧？
看来你还没学习到真正的精髓 – 等你连成了第八十六崇再来学学你的犬主的‘高招’。
不过先让你知道 – 时辰不早了，没什么时间了。 命运的轮盘已经开始向一个更自由，更美好的新加坡前进。 你或许也可以想想，换换你的主人吧！ 反正你们一样的，对国人（也许对家人）都是“狼心狗肺” 的一族。
阿明
OUCH!!! We the “Shitizens” of Singapore pledged ourselves as one UNITED people…OUCH…OUCH….OUCH…HIGHFALUTIN ASPIRATIONS…IT IS, ELITE CLASS, FIRST CLASS, SECOND CLASS NEW SHITIZENS, THIRD CLASS LABELLING BY THE POLITICAL CLASS…AND DOGS LABELLING BY THE ELITE CONDOS-OWNING BUT CONCURRENTLY HDB-RENTING CLASS with official blessing.
This is AFTER 45 years of solemn pledge to the nation.
Brainless idiot, totally spineless and thick skinned.
1st class citizens don’t misinterpret important words and issues. This fxxxer is just a 3rd class shit.
An insult by any other language, be it Singlish, English or Rublish is still an insult!!
The Ypap modus operandi is to test the citizens’ patience by uttering some craps and when the craps backfired and are forced to a corner, they come out with ” misquoted, misinterpreted, quoted out of context,” etc. But they will never ever admit willingly that they are in the wrong!!
This is the in-breding result of the MIW mentality!! It will never change unless we vote them out and bring in new blood of different species– the oppositions!!
SIG, your comments appreciated. And this National Pledge Lee Kuan Yew DARED to give after his “Repression …..” statement in 1956 to David Marshall even before he won the GE in 1959? Meaning that The Repression came before The National Pledge and so they ARE REPEATED here once more for equally nefarious and nerd PRs like “PR Citizen” AND “PR better than Citizen” whom I’ve whacked in TR! So here goes in Reverse Chrono order for delectable Anti-LKY-PAP TR supporters for good reasons.
And just to add, is The Nation Pledge “Just AN aspiration” or “A COMMITMENT FROM RIGHT AT THE TOP IN THE NAME OF BOTH THE LATE AND HONOURABLE S. RAJARATNAM BUT NOT HONOURABLE lee KON you?
YO to brainwashed and whitewashed PRs!
The National Pledge:
We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.
YO YO AGAIN to ALREADY “white’ BRAIN PRs!
YOU WILL Collect YOUR DUES IN TIME FROM PAP if you stay! – UNLESS OF COURSE LIKE THEM YOU Dither AND THEN DESERT To BETRAY yourselves FOR WHAT YOU SAID HERE IN TR AND RETURN TO A “BETTEREREST” PLACE YOU STILL CALL “HOME”. But by that UNfortunately lee KON You WON’T BE around to SEE you LEAVE FOR GOOD AFTER YOU’VE “USED” him like he HAS BEEN “using” us in despicable ways!
“Repression, Sir is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love – it is always easier the second time! The first time there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course with constant repetition you get more and more brazen in the attack. All you have to do is to dissolve organizations and societies and banish and detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil on the surface. Then an intimidated press and the government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises, and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done, or if these things are referred to again they’re conveniently distorted and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict.” – Lee Kuan Yew as an opposition PAP member speaking to David Marshall, Singapore Legislative Assembly, Debates, 4 October 1956
And so nefarious PRs, IS SIG perfectly right about lee KON you;s USING the MSM for “REPRESSION”?
“I pointed to an article with bold headlines reporting that the police had refused to allow the PAP to hold a rally at Empress Place, and then to the last paragraph where in small type it added the meeting would take place where we were now. I compared this with a prominent report about an SPA rally. This was flagrant bias.” – Lee Kuan Yew complaining about the Straits Times in 1959.
AND the additional last one above was his complaint at the 1959 GE rally before he won! What did he do after winning? Repression by FULL controlling the MSM to become “his’ – DID he or not? YOU know the right answer right! BECAUSE he also said in 1987 & 1997:
“I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn’t be here today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn’t be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters – who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.” – Lee Kuan Yew, Straits Times, 20 April 1987
“Anybody who decides to take me on needs to put on knuckle-dusters. If you think you can hurt me more than I can hurt you, try. There is no way you can govern a Chinese society.” ? 1997- LKY
WHY DID he INSULT US CHINESE? YOU KNOW HOW SMART CHINESE LEADERSHIP IN CHINA ARE NOW RIGHT! ESPECIALLY IN THEIR PRESENT PRESIDENT HU & PM WEN! When the former speak, i always gotr to think what considerations he had put into how those he want them to here and those not but still important! no doubt your India has 800+ languages and dialect PLUS 2 MILLION+ religious believes IS much MORE COMPLEX THAN China. Let alone COMPARE Singapore!
Still think we are “retard dogs” from “daft” of lee KONNED YOU or US here? YOU know the right answer to this one too right! Or you DON’T because YOU are RETARDED? And “daft” too?
SO, you read my this wisdom quote before right?
“An ox IS taken BY the horns, a man by HIS tongue”! Understand? I HAD TO use lousy word in retaliation as I could see no good relating with you in decent language and you SHOULD KNOW EXACTLY WHY TOO! Honesty DOES NOT HAVE TO HIDE!
Judging by his “standard” – i truely think he joined the right party.
A few years ago when someone mentioned singaporean being 2nd class citizen carrying sedan chairs.Guess what?Patriot PAP takes a very serious stand and “banished” him for the sake of all singaporeans.!This jack sure is a lucky ass,only need to apologize still not sincere!
Why argue with an idiot? They drag you down to their level and then beat you with their experience! LOL
Well done Jack Lin, you have just made a killing in the property market.
Obviously, your buyer have paid record price and rightfully, you had made him looked silly by your remarks. He is probably crying by now.
How do you obtain such good market information?
A gullible buyer paid record price for Jack Lin’s private property.
By posting on YPAP online about his property transaction selling at record price, Jack Lin wanted all Singaporeans to know how smart he was.
Very smart indeed, Jack!!!
His intention to go online and made his remarks known to his viewers was also directly indicating that his buyer was damn bloody stupid to pay such high prices.
After reading Jacks postings, wonder how the buyer is feeling right now?
This lackey dog spoilt brat really know how to twist his words accordingly.
Can someone share if this guy is a borned Singaporean or an import?
I have a different view, but I respect you for sharing this story.