TL;DR – Very brave of him.
Veteran Hong Kong actor Benz Hui has been a Singapore permanent resident for quite some time now and has been spending quite a lot of time in his daughter’s cafe ever since he decided on settling down in Singapore with his Singaporean wife and daughter.
He was even spotted at one of his daughter’s cafés, helping to wait at tables!
Perhaps that’s why the TVB star had some things to say about Singaporeans, after having observed the behaviour of customers here.
During an interview with Lianhe Zaobao on 12 April, Hui said: “Singaporeans have been spoiled by the government, they love to complain.”
While the actor acknowledged that it’s normal to complain, because everyone complains, he added that the complaint syndrome is a bit more serious amongst Singaporeans.
“It’s perfectly normal to complain, but sometimes they’re the only ones who think that it’s a problem, but in reality, there isn’t really an issue.”
“That’s not very nice. I hope people can change this habit,” he continued.
Hui added that while Hong Kongers do complain too, they are generally “more reasonable” as compared to Singaporeans. He attributed this to the fact that people in Hong Kong don’t enjoy much welfare as people in Singapore, adding that “Singaporeans are too fortunate”.
Hong Kong family says they prefer living in Singapore and vow to “never go back to Hong Kong”
He continues,
“Once the government doesn’t spoil the people as much, they become unhappy. Don’t be like that, everyone is just doing their job. You need to be nicer to the government as well, let them have a breather.”
Hui also speculated that Singaporeans’ love for complaining could be stemmed from them being “more knowledgeable” as compared to Hong Kongers.
He explains,
“I have a friend in Hong Kong who is a doctor. He told me he’s very afraid of seeing Singaporean patients. Because Singaporeans know too much. They will question the doctor on why certain medicines are prescribed. My doctor friend then thought to himself: I am the doctor. Of course, I have my reason why I prescribe certain medicines. You are the patient, why are you doubting me?”
“So, I think being too knowledgeable can both be good and bad. People should still respect doctors even if they are very knowledgeable. Patients should be patients, and let the doctors be doctors. Don’t teach the doctors how to cure their patients. If you’re teaching the doctor how to be a doctor, why do you even need to see one?” Hui added.
Hui then concluded his interview by saying: “I’m guessing a lot of Singaporeans are going to get very upset at me after hearing me say all these things.”
You can watch the full interview below:
What do you think of his comments? Do you agree with what Benz Hui had said about Singaporeans?