Ho Ching seeks more compassion for service workers with special needs

SINGAPORE: After advising Singaporeans not to look down on those who do not speak their language, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife, Ho Ching, has asked Singaporeans to be more compassionate when interacting with service workers who have special needs.

Her appeal comes on the back of a local florist’s account of two incidents involving their staff with special needs having less-than-ideal interactions with customers.

Located in Jurong, Mustard Tree employs “special needs artisans” and provides them with comparable craft skills. In the first incident, a customer requested “simple wrapping” for her daisies. However, the staff members present at the time found the customer’s definition of “simple” to be complicated.

They told the customer they “cannot do it,” leading to frustration and a complaint to the owner. It was later discovered that the employees meant to say, “I do not know how to do it,” rather than “cannot do it.”

In the second incident, a customer asked some questions while a staff member was sweeping the floor. As the staff member was focused on his task, the customer felt ignored and reported the staff to be “rude.”

Mustard Tree’s owner stressed that there are many scenarios that could occur during a normal day of operations, especially when it comes to staff with special needs. While both incidents are a result of miscommunication, the kind employer has asked members of the public to be patient and understanding with their staff.

The incidents struck a chord with Mdm Ho.

In a Facebook post published on Tuesday (4 Apr), she noted that individuals with autism tend to interpret words in a literal sense.

She gave an example of a teacher asking a child with autism what they were doing, and the child responding with a straightforward answer that they were talking to the teacher. This is not a case of the child being sassy, but rather a result of their literal understanding of language.

Mdm Ho also highlighted the danger of using angry and thoughtless words, as individuals with autism may misunderstand them and take them literally. She emphasized the innocence of autism and the importance of not jumping to negative conclusions about others, especially when we are ourselves in a negative mindset.

As for how Singaporeans should interact with service staff with special needs, the Prime Minister’s wife stressed that Singaporeans should strive to be good customers and that knowing how to be a good customer is an important aspect of being a good person.

Advising that customers who are self-centred and entitled can be challenging to deal with, she added that Singaporeans should appreciate and understand one another’s human nature and give each other space to grow and build a kinder, more inclusive, and more caring society.

She said: “Look for the good points in others, chuckle at the funny side of a situation, and most of all, relax and laugh at ourselves from time to time.

“Enjoy the moment – admire how focused someone is at work, and give space for mistakes and misunderstandings that are not life threatening. But also learn every day about the world and people.”

This is not the first time Mdm Ho has weighed in on socio-political issues online. Just last week, she asserted that those who do not speak the language we share should not be shamed as she publicly condemned the behaviour of a woman who criticised a supermarket worker for not being able to speak in English.

Ho Ching lambasts woman who criticised NTUC Fairprice staff for not being able to speak English