On May 15, one Ken Lee took to Facebook to highlight how Singaporeans can show kindness to one another, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic.

He did this by sharing an example of the difference in kindness and empathy exhibited by online users in Ireland versus online users in Singapore.

Differences in kindness and empathy highlighted in comments sections

In his post, Lee attached photos of two similar articles about a mother who had allegedly abandoned her baby in Singapore and another mother who had abandoned her baby in Ireland, as well as the comments that followed the respective articles:

Lee pointed out that Irish netizens had mostly commented kind words of empathy in response to the article by The Irish Times, and had reached out to offer support to the "victim":

On the other hand, save for one comment in the screenshot below, Singapore were less concerned with the mother's well-being.

Earlier in his post, Lee had also mentioned that "while Singapore reigns in hardware, we tend to fall short in the heartware."

Collective effort for Singaporeans to be kinder

In light of the above example, Lee said that Singaporeans, including himself, "can do better".

He also provided examples of how we can do so.

"If you're a business owner, check on your employees during this period to make sure they are well and able to take care of their families. If you're buying groceries, don't hoard. If you're driving on the road, give way. If you see someone outdoors seemingly 'breaking CB rules', don't take a photo and publicly shame them, instead, talk to them. Even the smallest act of kindness can go a long way."

Lee believes that the pandemic is a time for even more support and kindness, and urges everyone to do likewise.

You can view Lee's full post here:

Top image via Ken Lee on Facebook