Malaysian comedian Ronny Chieng calls Singapore ‘a country of small island Karens’
Malaysian actor-comedian Ronny Chieng caused a stir online with a disdainful social media post about Singapore last week.
In his Instagram Stories on March 21, he wrote: “This is apropos of nothing, but it’s a mistake to listen to any Singaporean about current affairs other than Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
“They are just a country of small island Karens with main character syndrome who literally think they have all the answers despite having zero perspective on the world.
“Great chilli crab, though.”
A screenshot of the post was shared on Reddit, where it drew mixed reactions.
Some commenters agreed with him. One said: "We do sorta live in a bubble on this island and it is true that a lot of us have little to no perspective of the world. That said, I think the same
Some commenters agreed with the stand-up comic. One said: “We do sorta live in a bubble on this island and it is true that a lot of us have little to no perspective of the world. That said, I think the same can be said for most people.”
Others dismissed the post as another Malaysian hating on Singapore, with one commenting: “It’s a Malaysian thing to hate Singaporeans. To be Malaysian is to hate Singaporeans.”
Though born in Johor Bahru, Chieng, 38, attended Singapore schools like Fuchun Primary School, Pioneer Secondary School and Pioneer Junior College. His mother lives in Singapore.
He rose to fame after moving to New York and becoming a correspondent on American talk show The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (2015–2022), and acting in Hollywood movies such as Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021).
Chieng – who was last in Singapore in September 2023 to perform two comedy shows – has not always been negative about Singapore, though.
During a 2021 podcast, when a United States interviewer talked about visiting Asia and asked whether he should start with Malaysia, Chieng said no.
“Start with Singapore,” he said. “Singapore is like the gateway drug. It’s easier. You’ll ease your way into it. Everyone there speaks English. It’s safe. I think when you’re done with Singapore, then you go to the wild side, which is Malaysia.”
On an episode of The Daily Show the same year, he defended Singapore after then host Noah joked about the Singapore Government not paying for Covid-19 treatment for the unvaccinated.
“In Singapore, the healthcare system just works,” said Chieng. “Essentially, it takes like free market principles and socialist principles and combines them together. All they care about is efficiency in Singapore.”
However, he concluded with a caveat: “In Singapore, you’ll live forever, but you’ll have way less fun.”
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