Fri. Mar 22nd, 2024
Property agent insults delivery riders

TL;DR – And the edit was super on point!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the hoo-ha caused by a Malaysian property agent, Paul Lim, for his uncalled-for remarks he’s made about food delivery riders and private-hire drivers in a live stream video.

What happened

In case you didn’t know, on 7 November, the Penang-based agent hosted a Facebook live stream session with entrepreneur Maggie Fong, who founded education company Wekah. During the live stream, Fong, in particular, can be heard belittling the food delivery riders.

Fong said, “Many people say, aiya the economy’s bad, so they go drive Grab. Let me tell you, it’s not that I’m looking down on people who drive Grab. But if you really have the courage to change your destiny, my advice to you is, don’t go and do food delivery. Really, you won’t be able to learn anything and can’t meet anyone.”

“How rich can those who order deliveries be?” Fong continued before breaking into hysterical laughter. At this point, Lim can also be seen laughing along with Fong.

Fong then asked the viewers: “How can you have a future when you only interact with people who order food delivery?”, and told them that they need to sell things to rich people to be rich.

She said, “It’s not that it’s bad for you to drive Grab or do food delivery, but you can have more options, understand? So, if you want to be with rich people, but you have no money, then you should sell things to rich people. That’s the right way!”

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Lim, 28, then showed off a luxury watch on his wrist after Fong pointed it out and said he had bought it for RM110,000 ($35,800) as a reward to himself, but it costs RM200,000 ($65,100) now.

You may watch the video below:

Netizen digs up PM Lee’s National Day Rally speech from 2014

Unsurprisingly, their distasteful remarks about food delivery riders and private-hire drivers have caused outrage amongst netizens who condemned their behaviour.

One Malaysian even went as far as digging out PM Lee’s National Day Rally speech from 2014 and edited it into a TikTok video just to hit back at Fong for insulting food delivery riders and private-hire drivers.

@aizaibt #maggiefong #范盈 #maggiefong范盈 #驾Grab #grabfood #grab #送餐员 @grabfoodmy #grabmalaysia ♬ 原聲 – BRYAN TAN 🐱🐈🇲🇾

Here’s an English translation of PM Lee’s Chinese Speech:

“We believe everyone can excel in the job they choose. It is vital that they respect the work they do and master their skills. As a society, we should respect every job, every worker, and recognise their experience, skills and contributions. We should not measure a person’s worth, social standing and achievement solely by their academic qualifications.”

The TikTok video, which has since garnered more than 6,200 likes and 5,000 shares, had netizens commending, and agreeing with what PM Lee said.


Translation: This is why Singapore is so successful, their leaders are different.


Translation: PM Lee is right! Every profession has its own role and importance! Everybody has something that they were born to be good at.


Translation: Lee Hsien Loong talks with sense!

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Translation: Wow, your editing is on point! 👍🏻


Translation: Well said, PM Lee.

Both apologised

Both Lim and Fong have since apologised following the backlash.

Two days after the controversial live stream, Lim issued a public apology on Facebook in which he asked for forgiveness while wiping away his tears.

He also pleaded to netizens not to involve his family or company in the matter.

Meanwhile, Fong has also apologised for her uncalled-for remarks in a press conference and said in an interview with Sin Chew Daily that her intention was to encourage young people to improve themselves and seek breakthroughs.

She also said that she had learned a lesson from the incident and will be more careful with her words and behaviour in the future, adding that she will stop taking part in live streams, except for those related to charity work.

By AJ