August 05, 2019, 02:42 PM 
William Wan, the general secretary of Singapore Kindness Movement, has apologised unreservedly for two articles published in The Pride publication.
The Pride, a good-news-only media platform, is owned by SKM, which is a non-government organisation and registered charity in Singapore.
The apology was for the publication of two articles by Edwin Yeo, a former New Paper reporter who claims he was a humourist.
Wan appeared not to have played a part in the writing of the articles, which ended up being published on platforms he oversees.
Strong negative reactions to first and second articles
The first article by Yeo on Aug. 2, “Preetipls, it’s not because I am Chinese”, was slammed online for being flippant towards minority voices and dismissive of their perceived plight of being marginalised in Singapore.
The second follow-up article on Aug. 3, “The silent majority has a lot to apologise for, so let’s start here”, was also slammed as it claimed that the first article was a bait and social experiment to get the silent majority to agree to Yeo's jaundiced racial views, which he would later demonstrate to be problematic.
Backlash against organisation
Yeo also engaged with commenters on the Facebook post of the first article, resulting in numerous back-and-forth exchanges.
The backlash SKM suffered compounded as a result, with the largely negative comments targeting the organisation, besides Yeo.
Unreserved apology
In his apology, Wan, 72, wrote that both of Yeo's articles "intended to generate a conversation against racism but the way they were crafted led many to rightly call out that they were both insensitive and dismissive".
Wan, who is a trained lawyer and was an academic, added: "As General Secretary, I accept full responsibility for publishing these articles which have caused pain to our readers."
In a bid to move forward, Wan wrote that The Pride will continue to speak out against casual racism and racial stereotyping.
Both articles have remained on The Pride.
You can read the full apology here:
Dear Readers of The Pride,
It is with deep sincerity that I unreservedly apologise for the two articles contributed by Edwin Yeo published in The Pride, which is owned by the Singapore Kindness Movement. Edwin’s articles – “Preetipls, it’s not because I am Chinese” and “The silent majority has a lot to apologise for, so let’s start here”- were intended to generate a conversation against racism but the way they were crafted led many to rightly call out that they were both insensitive and dismissive.
As General Secretary, I accept full responsibility for publishing these articles which have caused pain to our readers.
The Pride has been covering incidents of racism over the years by reporting about it, providing insight and analysis, and urging readers to exhibit kindness and graciousness when discussing the complex topic.
We believe that casual racism exists, and it is always wrong. We also believe that racial stereotyping is also wrong.
Both are unacceptable and we will continue to speak against them.
Racial harmony, like kindness, is precious and important to Singapore and Singaporeans. It is something that we must work hard to nurture and at SKM, we commit to do our part, for a better and more gracious Singapore.
About SKM and The Pride
SKM was formed in 1997.
Its objective is to encourage Singaporeans to be more gracious through simple acts of kindness in their daily activities.
The patron of SKM is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, is its adviser.
The Pride as a publication was set up to counter perceived bad news from the media.
Its pledge is to fill the digital void with "feel-good news, thought-provoking commentaries and heartfelt features that uplift and connect with readers."
The Pride prides itself as a local publication that informs and inspires Singapore by tackling social issues and hot conversation topics through a positive lens.
Content is curated by the SKM and put together by its in-house team of content producers.
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