Look. How far do you wanna go with this burn?
Because you can say the same about influencers, you know.
It’s like, “Wah you make a podcast then you fix the world’s problems is it?”
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Health
Dr Janil Puthucheary recently appeared on the podcast Yah Lah BUT… (YLB). The podcast, hosted by Haresh Tilani and Terence Chia, brands itself as a “the most uncensored conversations and interviews coming out from the much-censored country of Singapore.”
In that podcast, Dr Janil Puthucheary, who is the son of Dominic Puthucheary, a founding member of both the People’s Action Party and the Barisan Sosialis, also spoke about his “political awakening”. Janil’s uncle, James Puthucheary, was an anti-colonial leader, economist, trade unionist, lawyer and pioneer of the Central Provident Fund and Industrial Promotion Board (now EDB).
In a clip from the podcast that was uploaded to TikTok, Haresh Tilani, a comedian, asked Dr Janil Puthucheary for his views on clapping for healthcare workers.
Dr Puthucheary first acknowledged that many cynics may have had reservations about the idea.
Well… people want to express their support. So, what can they do?
I understand where you’re coming from. You’re thinking, “Is this lame? Is this cynical?”
If we take the view that everything is lame or not worth it, then nothing gets done lah.
While Dr Puthuchueary noted that clapping by itself will not solve the pressing needs faced by healthcare workers, he shared that “the reality is that people want to express their support, want to express their solidarity… you’ve got to allow that to happen, and I think, nothing’s wrong in encouraging it.”
He also issued a warning against virtue/value signaling.
If you get sucked into the idea that – not that you’ve done it, you can tick the box and move on, then you have fallen into the value signalling sort of trap.
Dr Puthucheary posited that clapping should be just one component in a larger effort to support healthcare workers
Throwing the curveball back at his hosts, Dr Puthucheary quipped, “Look. How far do you wanna go with this burn? Because you can say the same about influencers, you know. It’s like, “Wah you make a podcast then you fix the world’s problems is it?”
@yahlahbut From #YLB 280: Dr Janil Puthucheary on clapping for healthcare workers
♬ original sound – Yah Lah BUT Podcast – Yah Lah BUT Podcast
The host, Haresh Tilani, responded by saying that he agreed with Dr Puthucheary’s views. In a Facebook post dated 10 April 2022, Dr Puthucheary wrote that he had a great time discussing many things with the hosts of YLB.
In the comment section of the TikTok video, one user called Dr Puthucheary one “of the best 4G Ministers who can communicate”.
Others argued that the focus should centre on the opinions of healthcare workers themselves.
This clip brought to mind what Trevor Noah tweeted about clapping for healthcare workers, which is not unique to Singapore:
Remember when we all used to clap for healthcare workers at 7pm every night? At some point, we all stopped clapping, but nurses never stopped sacrificing.
If you’d like, you can view the full episode of the podcast here.
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