Tag Archives: Jesslyn Tan

Speaking to MyPaper at Ye Shanghai Teochew Muay stall in Bukit Merah View where he works, Mr Koh said that what she did was 'wuliao'. 'Wuliao' means meaningless, or lame, in Mandarin. "There was no need for her to take a photograph of me while I was sleeping," he said. According to MyPaper, Mr Koh has worked at the porridge stall for the past 20 years, taking the MRT from his home in Woodlands -- an hour-long commute. He works from 5pm to 3.30am daily, taking orders and dishing out food.

I understand what many people think. Of course there are a lot of opportunistic people in any government and Singapore is no exception. Like most people, I too have my doubts about the sincerity of some people in government. But Indranee is different. I happen to know her personally as my former classmate in uni and I know how sincere she is. I know that when she spoke up for Jesslyn Tan's victim, her motives were pure and perfectly selfless and she did it out of a desire to support someone in her constituency. Nobody I know who knows Indranee personally will ever imagine that she was opportunistic in what she did.

So if you are in the area and have a yen for teochew muay, do go and give Mr Koh a word of encouragement or a thumbs up. He's very much part of our Bukit Merah family, and just like whenever a family member feels down, it helps when others rally round to give a morale booster. And if anyone merits a boost it is this quiet, hardworking, unassuming man. He may not be sibei trendy, but he is definitely "sibei ho".