I had never heard of OkLetsGo. They do podcasts in Malay. I am not conversant in Malay. They style themselves "open-minded", "real" and able to tackle "tough" issues. I was curious about the "real" and "tough" issues that they addressed. Perhaps, these were...
- social inequality
- domestic violence
- the plight of children growing up in households making less than $800 a month
- racism
- exploitative landlords
- the plight of children with drug addict parents
- young girls forced into sexual slavery
No leh... their tough issues are
- drug use
- prison life
- sexuality
Drug use is a tough issue? It sounds like stupidity and weakness to me. Prison life is a tough issue? Why? If you committed a crime, then go to prison. If prison is tough, don't commit crimes in the first place. Sexuality? How tough can it be when cats, dogs, slugs, birds all have a good go at it?
Then, I read this account HERE about OKLetsGo podcasts
- promoting the sale and purchase of Syrian and Russian wives
- condoning the pornographic Telegram group Nasi Lemak saying that the members in the group needed a way to fulfill their sexual needs
- interviewing a lady who had suffered a mental breakdown because her husband had forced all sorts of unwelcome sexual practices upon her, including violent rape and wife sharing.
The interview of the lady unfurled with a complete lack of compassion for her.
This complete lack of compassion continued when Sarah explained that she held herself accountable for the torture she has had to endure, claiming that it was the result of her “pampering” the ex-husband by giving in to his every whim. One podcaster asked in full confusion, “How is that pampering though?” referring to her giving her husband anything he wanted. Then, after summarizing their understanding of the situation, he questioned again, as if struggling to fathom, “Are you saying that by depriving him of the things that he wants, you would have made him a more mellowed person than he is right now?” Both questions disturbingly insinuate that the podcasters deem it a necessity for a husband’s wants to be fulfilled by his wife.
- Click HERE for Source -
The interview ends with the lady breaking down.
Firstly, should not this exploitative and real-time abusive material be legally pursued under the Undesirable Publications Act?
Secondly, the mindset of the podcasters was clearly that men should be able to satisfy every single one of their sexual urges no matter how deviant, even if it meant hurting their women or placing them in danger. Very very clearly, these podcasters think that women have no rights in the bedroom. It is not an equal partnership. There is a master (the husband) and a slave (the wife). It is not an act of love between 2 equal partners but one of an object used for the satisfaction of certain men whose brains have no space for wisdom, kindness and good judgment... because only filled with sex.
It is this type of thinking that very quickly slips down the slope of: "Let me take a 2nd/3rd/4th wife," or "Let me buy someone's virginity."
Let's not do that. Let's not. The world already has girls as young as 13 years old sold into sexual slavery, beaten, imprisoned and forced to have sex with men 5 times older than they. What would be good is this. These 3 men should be reborn into their next lives as girls sold into sexual slavery. I hope these 3 men have enough imagination to look forwards to their next lives. Better still, these 3 podcasters should go through their next lives with full memory of their present deeds and words. This way, they will understand the karmic debt they now owe the women of the entire Malay community in Singapore.
The ladies in the Malay community pushed back. They raised soft, firm and elegant voices to hold the line for all Singapore women. Thank you!
President Halimah Yaacob wrote this:
COVID-19 brought about terrible consequences for many women around the world. The incidence of violence against women, which is already an issue in many countries, became worse. In some countries, non-profit organisations even had to provide shelter for women and their children during this period.
The best way to educate a community on respect for women, is not during this period, but it is a lifetime process, starting at a very young age, when children, especially boys, see how their mothers are treated by their fathers. That influences them and contributes to how they will treat the women in their lives later on. But this duty to mould the minds of the young to develop healthy and respectful relationships with women does not rest with the family alone. It resides with every one of us, and particularly those who have great influence over people through social media.
If we continue to perpetuate the image of women being inferior, existing only for the purpose of male sexual gratification, then we have to be held responsible for being one of the perpetrators of violence against women.
Women are not objects to be made fun of, ridiculed and trampled upon, and no one has the right to do that to them. Women have the right to be respected, valued for their contributions in the family and in our society. Taking cheap pot shots at women to boost ratings or to make some people laugh no matter how offensive, cannot be justified under any label be it freedom of speech or encouraging conversations. How do you encourage healthy conversations about the role of women and families, when your starting point is to degrade women.
Hence, the Podcast OkLetsGo should sincerely and humbly apologise to all women for their offensive, humiliating and misogynistic remarks on their podcasts about women. I received so many emails from very concerned people. They worry about the kind of values that are being promoted among the young, and their concerns are justified.
It's not ok to treat women like dirtbags and punching bags.
Our women in Singapore have worked very hard to raise their status through education, employment and in raising healthy families. They are important in building healthy communities which will be undermined by such podcasts.
They don’t deserve this treatment by OkLetsGo or any other group.
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