Wee Shu Min elitism controversy

In response to the scandal, Wee Siew Kim stated that he supported Shu Min's point in principle and that "people cannot take the brutal truth,"[8][10] but he and Shu Min's college principal also expressed disappointment and counselled her to be more sensitive towards others. Wee also claimed that his daughter's privacy had been violated.[3] Critics pointed out however, that he appeared to have endorsed her elitist remarks and failed to address values such as empathy and humility, and that he was apologising for the tone, but not the content of his daughter's response.[11]

Two days after Wee Siew Kim first spoke out in The Straits Times, he made a public apology to those who were offended by statements made in his interview, in particular Derek Wee.[12] Commentators used the controversy as evidence that Singapore was suffering from increasing signs that political elitism, "smarter-than-thou" snobbery and class consciousness anxiety were creeping into its meritocracy model,[13][14][15][16] a widening social stratification that will cause long-term implications for Singaporean society,[7] and problems in the education system that need to be addressed.[4][17] The controversy was subsequently raised and hotly debated again in the opening session of the Parliament by fellow MP Sin Boon Ann, who pointed out that elitism was now an open secret in several aspects of Singapore society, including education, the military and the civil service, commenting that it is necessary "(to) break down the institution of snobbery within our society."[8][14]