An open letter to the Straits Times re Zengkun Feng
I refer you to this Facebook note by your employee Zengkun Feng. Its inflammatory nature has led to it spreading like wildfire through Facebook and other online forums.
In this post he insults both existing and potential readers of the Straits Times (essentially the Singaporean population at large), with phrases such as:
- an ignorant fool
- get a fucking brain
- if you haven’t read the paper, you should keep your mouth shut
- do your own fucking research before you slime the paper
- until you actually read the damn paper, you have no right to talk
- um, hello? Do you know what a newspaper is?
I am sure many of the allegations against the Straits Times that Feng was responding to are unfair. However, instead of taking the high road, he decided to join in the mudslinging. This conduct is beneath that of a working professional, let alone the caliber of reporters we expect from the Straits Times.
A journalist is expected to report the news in the most objective and unbiased way possible in order to serve the common good. The above post’s vitriol and insults will forever taint its author’s journalistic integrity.
Zengkun Feng is an embarrassment to his profession, and an embarrassment to you, his employer. While he added a disclaimer that said his views did not reflect that of his employer or colleagues, it would reflect extremely poorly on your organization should he remain in your employ after demonstrating his lack of self-control.
I would like an official apology from the Straits Times for the rude, dismissive behavior of this journalist. I consider anything short of his termination a token gesture.
