M’sian Comedian Ronny Chieng Calls S’pore ‘A Country Of Small Island Karens’, Triggers Netizens
*laughs nervously*SARAH YEOH
MARCH 24, 2024
Malaysia and Singapore has had a longstanding rivalry for decades ever since both countries came into being, be it over who has better food or standard of living.
Malaysian-born comedian Ronny Chieng recently ruffled some feathers among Singaporeans with an Instagram story, where he described the city-island with a term that’s usually associated with entitled and snobbish individuals.
Ronny Chieng: S’pore is ‘a country of small island Karens’
In an Instagram story shared by the Johor-born comedian and enior correspondent of the hit US talk show ‘The Daily Show’ on Thursday (Mar 21), Chieng sharply criticised Singapore with this stinging statement:“This is apropos of nothing but it’s a mistake to listen to any Singaporean about current affairs other than Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
He then ended the statement by praising a particular Singaporean dish, writing, “Great chili crab though.”
For the uninitiated, the term ‘Karen’ is commonly known to be a derogatory word to describe an individual who demands to have things done their way and would throw a tantrum if it’s not met.
Fair or an uncalled for statement?
Chieng’s statement was later shared to the subreddit r/Singapore and it unsurprisingly caused a lively discussion in the comment section.Some said that Chieng was a prime example of Malaysians suffering from “inferiority complex” and would jump at any chance to talk bad about Singapore.
One netizen even claimed that it putting down Singapore was a “Malaysian thing” and that “to be Malaysian is to hate Singaporean(s)”.
However, some agreed with Chieng’s comments, saying that certain Singaporeans treated others as “non-playable characters” (someone who is perceived as lacking independent thought).
Another wrote that Chieng’s job as a comedian was to basically make jokes out of certain countries for entertainment purposes.
