A Vietnamese woman who is going to get converted to a Singaporean said that she is upset after she was associated with the infamous KTV sage. She felt that just because she is a Vietnamese woman the Grab driver ask if she works at a KTV.
Here is her story:
Feeling deeply hurt, I decided to share a very bad experience I had yesterday. I booked a ride with Grab from my office to The Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for my renunciation of Vietnamese citizenship. I greeted the driver “hello” when entering the car, and he also greeted me “hello”, which started our conversation.
He asked me: Jolin? Going to Vietnam Embassy is it?
I replied: Yes.
He continued: Are you Vietnamese?
I said: Yes. (Despite the fact that I’m becoming a Singapore citizen, my answer to this question is always yes. There is no reason for me to deny my country of origin) At that moment, I was under the impression that the driver was trying to be nice to be – a client. Besides, I am used to being asked by the drivers where I came from too since I can speak fluently in English and Chinese, another language. And I don’t sound like Local. Then the driver asked a wildly inappropriate question, which I never expected. The question was hurtful to me, which I believe all of the other Vietnamese ladies who are living here will feel the same. Here’s what he asked:
He said: ARE YOU WORKING IN KTV?
I assume he must be supposedly aware of the fact that he picked me up at an office estate, not elsewhere in the middle of the roadside. Moreover, I was wearing formal office wear, not an outing outfit, so I absolutely could not find one reason to sympathize with his question.
Afterwards, inspire of feeling insulted terribly, I still continued my ride and rated him with one star on the app. I already reported this issue to the Grab company later, and I am very appreciative of their immediate excellent response to support me from the Grab team. After all, what happened, I realized I need to be more vocal and now speak up to raise more awareness of this matter to everyone.
This does not just concern me but also the Vietnamese community in Singapore, and other foreigners in general. Please, do not discriminate against immigrants. This is Singapore, a united country with which the KTV club case absolutely does not represent all Vietnamese in this country. It’s terribly wrong, thus no one has the right to ask such an ill-judged question, no matter where she comes from.