Everything About the OkLetsGo Saga, Whereby Even President Halimah Spoke About As Well

By
Zhi Hao
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By now, you might have have heard of the whole OkLetsGo saga, a controversial episode that has been sweeping the nation by storm. But if you haven’t, not to worry;

This article will entail all that has happened thus far, as well as the conclusion that occurred just hours ago.

Everything About the OLG Saga, Whereby Even President Halimah Spoke About As Well

Lest you’re unaware of what OkLetsGo is all about, it’s a podcast team comprising three former Mediacorp deejays: Dzar Ismail, 34, Raja Razie, 38, and Dyn Norahim, 38.

The first episode aired on 2 February 2019, and they have grown to become the number-one podcast on Spotify.

Primarily geared towards Malay men, the online podcast discusses “taboo” topics that most mainstream platforms would routinely avoid. These controversial topics include drug use, prison life, sexuality, and religion.

But it seems that their “openness” about such topics might have proved a tad bit too much, as they recently came under fire for supposed “misogynistic” remarks about women.

A quick browse through their earlier shows unearths such opinions as the preference of “bums and legs” over women’s breasts, the detailed description of a MILF (Mother I’d Like To ****) and the fantasy of “licking” a woman with a “jacked bum” and having intercourse in a particular position.

These seemingly casual remarks have, over time, drawn the collective ire of the Internet.

Image: Twitter

The Mufti of Singapore, Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, has also weighed in on the issue, stating that individuals with influential power should be aware of what they say or do, as it will determine the characters of people who listen to them.

And though he did not explicitly refer to OkLetsGo, he did add the following hashtag: #okletsrespect

View this post on Instagram

Assalamu 'alaikum friends, . We have come far as a community and we can go even further if we continue to support one another out of compassion, empathy and respect. When we spot a weakness, we rush to fill that gap, not to let it grow bigger. Break the cycle that leads to such weaknesses. . Women in many communities are often mistreated and denigrated because they are deemed to be of less worth than men. As Muslims, we know this is misguided and has caused many social ills. Women are equally important and their contributions exceptionally significant. If we still fail to recognise this, we need to take a good and hard look at ourselves. God looks at us equally so we should be ashamed to discriminate, belittle and treat women with disrespect. . Whilst discussing social issues is helpful and we must encourage those who offer such platforms, what we say and do will reinforce and shape the attitudes of those who listen and look to us. We should therefore use such influence to create positive change, not to perpetuate sexist attitudes and behaviours that have plagued our community for far too long. Don't just be a mirror to reflect what we think the society is. Let the misogyny train depart for good so that we can be better. . Think ahead. Move forward. Respect. . #okletsrespect

A post shared by Nazirudin Nasir (@nazirudinmnasir) on

In response to the backlash, the OkLetsGo team crafted a Facebook post on 13 June to acknowledge the criticism, and wrote that they will continue to “improve” their content. However, they said that they will remain “committed” to their “open minded approach” regarding “tough issues” affecting the community.

No apology was made.

It should be noted that though there were dissenting Netizens in the comments section of the post, some (including women) conveyed their support for the OkLetsGo team.

The President Steps In

On 15 June 2020, the President of Singapore herself, Halimah Yacob, aired her views on the controversial issue.

According to the post, educating “a community on respect for women” is a lifetime process. Boys are influenced from a very young age as to how women should be treated, and everyone has a responsibility to guide them down the right path, especially those with “great influence over people through social media”.

She also emphasised that women are not meant to be taken lightly of, and denounced the act of degrading 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,” the President wrote. “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.”

She then asked the OkLetsGo team to “sincerely and humbly apologise to all women”, before concluding by saying that women do not deserve such degradation by any group with influence.

“It’s not ok to treat women like dirtbags and punching bags.

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“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.”

You can view the original Facebook post down below:

Apology

The OkLetsGo team might have been unfazed by all the Internet criticism in recent weeks…

But it seems that the President’s take on matters has proved too hefty to ignore.

Just over 4 hours after the President’s post went public, a member of the podcast crew responded with an apology on Facebook.

According to the post by Dzar Ismail, the podcast team has reflected on their actions, and apologised for taking “this long” to realise the hurt they have caused.

They admitted that they cultivated such ‘hurtful’ habits from staying in the industry for a prolonged period of time, and this saga served as a reminder for them to “unlearn some of what has been normalised” around them.

They also stated that they do not condone misogyny in any way, and apologised for the “objectification of women”.

Moving forward, the team promised to become better, as individuals and as a community.

You can view the full Facebook post down below:

The post has since garnered over 700 shares, and Netizens have aired their approval of the team member’s apology.

A similar update was posted on OkLetsGo Facebook Page an hour later:

In the meantime…Phase Two has been scheduled to start from 19 June 2020.

So yeah, maybe it’s also time to remember the goody things, like bubble tea will be back very, very soon.

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Zhi Hao
Email: [email protected]