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1) Your society's context towards the topic (by levels of society), taking into account the relevant SG context: culture/values/mindsets etc.

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"It's too late to apologise... It's too late.."

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OneRepublic - Apologize (Official Music Video)

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https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/youtuber-and-dj-dee-kosh-apologises-questionable-tone-teenage-boy-amid-police-probe

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YouTuber and DJ Dee Kosh apologises for 'questionable' tone with teenage boy amid police probe into alleged sexual harassment

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SINGAPORE - Popular YouTuber and radio deejay Dee Kosh, who is the subject of a police investigation over the alleged sexual harassment of teenage boys, has apologised for what he called an "inappropriate" online conversation with a 15-year-old boy.

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/1/new-zealand-apologizes-for-1970s-dawn-raids

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Ardern, centre right, takes part in a ceremony in Auckland to formally apologise for the Dawn Raids [Brett Phibbs/New Zealand Herald via AP]

Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, has formally apologised for police crackdowns in the 1970s that targeted the country's Pacific communities.

Ardern on Sunday told a tearful crowd gathered at the Auckland town hall that her government was offering a formal and unreserved apology for the infamous "Dawn Raids", during which police - often accompanied by dogs - raided homes to find overstayers who were then convicted and deported.

At the time of the raids, many people from the Pacific islands - including Samoa, Tonga and Fiji - had come to New Zealand on temporary visas to help fill a need for workers in the country's factories and fields.

But the government appeared to turn on the community during a downturn in the 1970s, amid claims they were taking jobs from New Zealanders. People who did not look like white New Zealanders were told they should carry identification to prove they were not overstayers and were often randomly stopped in the street, or even at schools or churches.

"Today, I stand on behalf of the New Zealand government to offer a formal and unreserved apology to Pacific communities for the discriminatory implementation of the immigration laws of the 1970s," Ardern told the gathering in Auckland, the country's largest city.

"The government expresses its sorrow, remorse and regret that the Dawn Raids and random police checks occurred and that these actions were ever considered appropriate," she said.

Pacific people comprised a third of overstayers but represented 86 percent of prosecutions, while Britons and Americans in New Zealand - who also comprised a third of overstayers - saw just 5 percent of prosecutions in the same period.

While the raids took place almost 50 years ago, Ardern said their legacy continued.

"It remains vividly etched in the memory of those who were directly impacted. It lives on in the disruption of trust and faith in authorities. And it lives on in the unresolved grievances of Pacific communities that these events happened and that to this day they have gone unaddressed," she said.

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from Auckland, described Sunday's ceremony as emotional and said many in the audience broke down in tears following Ardern's apology.

The ceremony also included an ifoga, a traditional Samoan ritual, in which people ask for or receive forgiveness, he said. During the ifoga, Ardern sat motionless as members of the Pacific community pulled a large white mat over her head, completely covering her, before removing it and embracing her.

"This is a pretty rare thing in New Zealand," said Hay. "A formal government apology for past injustices, and such an apology has strict criteria attached to it.

"Those who are the subjects of the apology have to be definable as a distinct group that continues to suffer harm today connected to those historic events and the government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decided that the victims of the Dawn Raids in the 1970s fit that criteria."

As a gesture of goodwill, Ardern said on Sunday the government would fund new education and training scholarships for Pacific communities and would help compile an official account of the raids from written records and oral history.

"As part of this, the community will have the opportunity to come forward and share their experiences," she said.

Sunday's ceremony had originally been scheduled for June but was delayed due to coronavirus measures. The apology did not come with any broader financial compensation or legal changes, but many Pacific people said it represented an important first step.

Tongan Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili, speaking at the ceremony, said the impact of the Dawn Raids had haunted her community for generations.

"We are grateful to your government for making the right decision to apologise," she said to Ardern. "To right the extreme, inhumane, racist and unjust treatment, specifically against my community, in the Dawn Raids era."

The princess added that the government could do a better job of responding to current immigration needs, a comment that drew sustained applause. She said petitions had been submitted to find pathways and residency for overstayers and visa-holders.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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New Zealand apologises for historic raids on Pacific people

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Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, has formally apologised for police crackdowns in the 1970s that targeted the country's Pacific communities. Ardern on Sunday told a tearful crowd gathered at the Auckland town hall that her government was offering a formal and unreserved apology for the infamous "Dawn Raids", during which police - often accompanied by dogs - raided homes to find overstayers who were then convicted and deported.

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tuition centre removes race preference option for parents 

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tuition centre removes race preference option for parents 

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https://theindependent.sg/we-must-keep-racial-harmony-strong-tuition-centre-removes-race-preference-option-for-parents/

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Singapore - A tuition centre that was called out for having a race option for clients' preferred choice of tutor has decided to mend its ways, and said it will be removing the option from their site.

Political activist group Wake Up, Singapore, has been holding the #CALLITOUTSG campaign to point out racism in the hopes of action being taken.

On Thursday (Jul 15), Wake Up, Singapore showed screen grabs of the websites of tuition centres on its and pages, underlining that these pages have an option for people to choose the race of the tutor they would like to hire.

The screenshots from the sites of brighttutor.sg and championtutor.com both ask would-be clients to "state the preferred race" of the tutor they're looking for- Chinese, Indian, Malay, Eurasian or others.

On one of the sites, clients could choose more than one option.

But, as Wake Up, Singapore asked, "How is the race of a tutor relevant? And why do you include such options which enable racial biases?"

It added that other tuition centres do the same, adding "This must end now and the tuition centres that continue to enable racism shall be held accountable."

Wake Up, Singapore called the demand for certain tutors "discriminatory."

"We shouldn't enable such racism and or racial biases. We are equally culpable if we give in to placate the discriminatory demands. Long story short, we have a choice not to serve racists," it added.

And while it did not feature smiletutor.sg on its social media pages, Wake Up, Singapore left a comment on an Instagram post of the tuition centre on Tuesday, Jul 13.

"It is also difficult for me to understand why race is relevant in choosing a tuition teacher. Can help me understand?"

Wake Up, Singapore received a lengthy reply from smiletutor.sg, which decided to remove the race preference option.

While the tuition centre admitted that 20 to 30 per cent of parents who call them actually indicate a race preference and that it's a standard industry practice, it acknowledged that Singapore has a multi-racial society and that "we must all do our part to keep the multi-racial harmony strong."

smiletutor.sg added that having the race preference option could create the perception that the people behind the company are "racists or enabling racists, hence we are removing it permanently."

Wake Up, Singapore posted the message from smiletutor.sg, thanking the tuition centre for its "prompt action."

"We now hope the rest of the tuition centres or co-ordinators that have this option will follow in their footsteps," it added. /TISG
Read also: Man working in a local bank says that in his team of 8, there are only 2 locals, adds: 'if anyone wants to accuse me of being racist, I'm Indian too'
Man working in a local bank says that in his team of 8, there are only 2 locals, adds: 'if anyone wants to accuse me of being racist, I'm Indian too'

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Singapore - A tuition centre that was called out for having a race option for clients' preferred choice of tutor has decided to mend its ways, and said it will be removing the option from their site. Political activist group Wake Up, Singapore, has been holding the #CALLITOUTSG campaign to point out racism in the hopes of action being taken.

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The Bianconeri Women's account posted an image of Cecilia Salvai making a gesture mocking Asian people

Juventus have apologised for posting a racist image on Twitter.

The Juventus Women's team shared an image of defender Cecilia Salvai wearing a cone as a hat and slanting her eyes with her fingers, which follows harmful, long-standing caricatures of people from Asia.

The only caption that accompanied the picture was of a face between two hands to replicate Salvai's expression.

What has been said?

The tweet was condemned as racist and eventually deleted before the Bianconeri account posted an apology.

It read: "We sincerely apologise that our tweet, which was not meant to cause controversy or have any racial undertones, may have offended anyone.

We sincerely apologise that our tweet, which was not meant to cause controversy or have any racial undertones, may have offended anyone. Juventus has always been against racism and discrimination. #DifferencesMakeTheDifference
- Juventus Women (@JuventusFCWomen) August 5, 2021

"Juventus has always been against racism and discrimination."

What else was said?

The Italian club did not make any further comment regarding the image.

However, the club's apology did not satisfy many of their followers, as several accounts took issue with the insistence that Salvai's pose was not meant to "have any racial undertones".

Meanwhile, Salvai's latest Instagram post has been flooded with comments calling her out for the gesture.

Further reading

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Juventus apologise for racist Twitter post appearing to mock Asian people | Goal.com

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The Bianconeri Women's account posted an image of Cecilia Salvai making a gesture mocking Asian people Juventus have apologised for posting a racist image on Twitter. The Juventus Women's team shared an image of defender Cecilia Salvai wearing a cone as a hat and slanting her eyes with her fingers, which follows harmful, long-standing caricatures of people from Asia.

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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) has apologised for the delays in taking people under quarantine orders to government facilities, following complaints about the process and confusion over the information given to affected individuals.

"We have been getting a lot of feedback on quarantine operations and its related ground coordination and communications lapses," said MOH in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Aug 3).

"We are doing the best we can to ramp up resources. Our sincere apologies to affected individuals and their families for the delays and lapses."

Among those affected was Ms Nur Faeza Agus, who said she received a call from MOH on the afternoon of Jul 26. She was told that she would have to be placed under quarantine as she had been exposed to a COVID-19 case.

Later that night, she was informed via a Health Ministry SMS that she had been in the same place as a COVID-19 case. But when she checked her TraceTogether app, there was no alert about possible exposure.

Her fiance did not receive any alerts either. Both of them had used the group check-in option that day.

"MOH couldn't answer me on that. They said it might be an error," said Ms Faeza, adding that she had already packed her bags the moment she received the SMS.

The next day at about 7am, Certis Cisco, whose officers help on the frontlines, called. Ms Faeza requested to be transferred to a government quarantine facility.

At that point, the Certis Cisco officer told Ms Faeza that another officer would call her within 48 hours to give her a one or two hours' notice before taking her to a government facility.

According to that officer, her parents would not be allowed to leave the home until her first swab test shows up negative.

That was the start of her week-long wait of being taken to a government facility.
WAITING FOR ANSWERS
When another Certis Cisco officer called later that afternoon, Ms Faeza was told that her parents could actually go wherever they wanted and need not be quarantined.

"So the confusion starts from there. Because the first Cisco (officer) said that they have to be quarantined until I get my first swab test result. But the second person told me that it's not needed. They can do whatever they want, they can go wherever they want," she told CNA.

That evening, a swabber arrived and informed Ms Faeza that she would get the result of her PCR test via an SMS.

On Jul 28, MOH called again to ask where she was.

"He sounded blur already," Ms Faeza said. "So I know something was not right. I asked him if there's anything wrong, if there's any error or something. He said no, no, no, you just wait for them to come. I said yeah, it's more than 48 hours already."

At about 6.30pm, MOH called again. This time, they wanted to investigate her quarantine order, said Ms Faeza, as there might be a "duplicate". According to the officer, she could have been at two different places with other confirmed cases.

There were no major updates until Jul 31, when MOH informed her that her second swab test would be on Aug 2. She was later taken to a hotel to serve out the rest of her quarantine.

Ms Faeza took her swab test on the morning of Aug 2 and ended her quarantine the next day.
ANXIETY FOR SOME PARENTS
There were similar stories of delays and confusion onFacebook group Complaint Singapore.

One user, who only wanted to be known as Ayu, said she was informed on Jul 25 that her six-month-old would be quarantined as another child in the same infant care centre had tested positive for COVID-19.

MOH called her on Jul 27 to inform her of the quarantine order. She asked if her entire family could serve the quarantine order at home, but she said the staff member told her that the decision would be up to Certis Cisco.

On Jul 28, MOH's swabber arrived. There were still no calls or visits from Certis Cisco, despite being told that they would get in touch within 48 hours.

"Having to go anywhere with a baby would require packing many, many essential things. They don't seem to know the amount of anxiety we are under when issued with QO (quarantine order) and not knowing if we can stay home to serve it or pack and go to the facility," she said.

As of Jul 30, she said that she had not received any official documentation from MOH or Certis. The documentation was necessary as her son needed proof of quarantine for school.

Mr Leong Wai Thoe also experienced delays in being transferred to a government quarantine centre.

His son, a Pei Chun Public School student, was informed about a COVID-19 case in his class on the week of Jul 16.

On Jul 25, his classmates all took a PCR swab and his son tested negative. The day after, the school said that the whole class would be under quarantine. MOH's official message came shortly after midnight on the 27th.

On that day, the mobile PCR team swabbed his son, and Mr Leong also informed MOH that his son could not be quarantined at home as it would affect other family members.

"As anxious parents, then we keep logging into HealthHub to check the PCR results," he said, adding that he called the hotline only to be told that the PCR results were under MOH's charge.

At 8.30pm the next day, they finally saw the negative test results on HealthHub, but Mr Leong said he noticed that the result was time-stamped about 14 hours ago.

From Jul 26 to Jul 29, Mr Leong said he had also called the hotline daily about being transferred to a government facility, only to be told each time that it would happen "today or tomorrow".

"If they can tell us by tomorrow, we will come, then we can make other arrangements, then we know where is the end of the tunnel," said Mr Leong. "But whenever it's always today or tomorrow ... then you cannot plan anything."
CLEARING MOST OF THE BACKLOG
In its Facebook post apologising for the delays, MOH said that the number of people on quarantine has increased "many fold", with the outbreak of the KTV, Jurong Fishery Port and other smaller clusters.

"This surge has led to slower conveyance to government quarantine facilities for some persons under quarantine," said the ministry. "Our operations staff have been working very hard to handle the increased load."

It added that it has managed to clear most of the backlog over the weekend, and the situation "should settle down".

"With Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), we are also finding that the number of contacts per infected persons has come down. With more of the population being fully vaccinated, more individuals are able to serve home quarantine if their homes are suitable. This will reduce the need for conveyancing," said the ministry.

As of Monday, there are about 20,000 people under quarantine.

In a written response to a parliamentary question on Monday, MOH said that the mean time taken to issue a quarantine order from the notification of a case was two days, with the longest time interval being 14 days.

"This happened for a small number of individuals, where it was particularly difficult to trace the contacts of the infected," it said.
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

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MOH apologises for delays and lapses after confusion over COVID-19 quarantine orders

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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) has apologised for the delays in taking people under quarantine orders to government facilities, following complaints about the process and confusion over the information given to affected individuals."We have been getting a lot of feedback on quarantine operations

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Japanese Olympians apologise for attaining results short of gold--even if they get a silver medal

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Japanese Olympians apologise for attaining results short of gold--even if they get a silver medal

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“If you don’t apologize for only getting silver, you might be criticized,” said Takuya Yamazaki, a sports lawyer who represents players’ unions in Japan.

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At the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese athletes who fell short of gold have apologized profusely - sometimes, even after winning silver.

Kenichiro Fumita, who won a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling for Japan this week, said he was "truly sorry" for the "shameful result." Credit... Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

TOKYO - Kenichiro Fumita was crying so hard that he could barely get the words out.

"I wanted to return my gratitude to the concerned people and volunteers who are running the Olympics during this difficult time," Mr. Fumita, a Greco-Roman wrestler, said between sobs after finishing his final bout at the Games this week.

"I ended up with this shameful result," he said, bobbing his head abjectly. "I'm truly sorry."

Mr. Fumita, 25, had just won a silver medal.

In what has become a familiar - and, at times, wrenching - sight during the Tokyo Olympics, many Japanese athletes have wept through post-competition interviews, apologizing for any result short of gold. Even some who had won a medal, like Mr. Fumita, lamented that they had let down their team, their supporters, even their country.

After Japan's judo team earned silver, losing to France, Shoichiro Mukai, 25, also apologized. "I wanted to withstand a little bit more," he said. "And I'm so sorry to everyone on the team."

Apologizing for being second best in the world would seem to reflect an absurdly unforgiving metric of success. But for these athletes competing in their home country, the emotionally charged displays of repentance - which often follow pointed questions from the Japanese news media - can represent an intricate mix of regret, gratitude, obligation and humility.

"If you don't apologize for only getting silver, you might be criticized," said Takuya Yamazaki, a sports lawyer who represents players' unions in Japan.

From an early age, Japanese athletes "are not really supposed to think like they are playing sports for themselves," Mr. Yamazaki said. "Especially in childhood, there are expectations from adults, teachers, parents or other senior people. So it's kind of a deeply rooted mind-set."

The expectations placed on the athletes have been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, which made the Olympics deeply unpopular with the Japanese public before the events began. Many may feel more pressure than usual to deliver medals to justify holding the Games, as anxiety swells over rising coronavirus cases in Japan. Athletes who have failed to do so have offered outpourings of regret.

"I feel fed up with myself," said Kai Harada, a sport climber, vigorously wiping his eyes during an interview after failing to make the finals. Takeru Kitazono, a gymnast who finished sixth on the horizontal bar, fought back tears as he spoke of his supporters. "I wanted to return my gratitude with my performance," he said. "But I couldn't."

Naomi Osaka, in a statement after she was eliminated in the third round of women's singles tennis, said she was proud to represent Japan but added, "I'm sorry that I couldn't respond to people's expectations."

In some respects, these athletes have offered an extreme form of the apologies that are everyday social lubricants in Japanese culture.

When entering someone's home, a visitor literally says sorry. Workers going on vacation apologize for burdening colleagues, while conductors express deep regret if a train is a minute late - or even a few seconds early. Generally, these apologies are a matter of convention rather than a declaration of responsibility.

At times, the mea culpas ring hollow. Corporate chieftains and politicians frequently bow deeply to the news cameras to apologize for this corporate scandal or that political misdeed. For the most part, few consequences follow.

The former president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, Yoshiro Mori, initially tried to use such an apology to avoid resigning after making sexist remarks. But a vociferous social media campaign helped depose him.

People who study Japanese culture say the athletes' apologies, even in the face of victory, stem from an instinct that is cultivated from childhood.

"Americans are very good at finding reasons why you are great even if you fail," said Shinobu Kitayama, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan. But in Japan, he said, "even if you succeed, you have to apologize."

The apologies are also likely to be recognized as tacit expressions of gratitude, said Joy Hendry, an anthropologist and the author of "Understanding Japanese Society." "I expect they feel that they need to apologize for not having achieved the very best they could" for those who trained or financially supported them, Ms. Hendry said.

Mr. Fumita, the wrestler, may have also felt pressure to please his father, a well-known wrestling coach. In an interview on NHK, the public broadcaster, Mr. Fumita said he was afraid to answer a call after his silver medal win. "I could not pick up the phone," he said. "I just didn't know what I could say to my father."

The athletes also know that aside from the medal count, the Japanese public cannot enjoy the perks of being an Olympic host, because spectators are barred from the venues.

The absence of fans was palpable on Tuesday night at a near-empty stadium in Saitama, a Tokyo suburb, during the semifinal men's soccer match between Japan and Spain. Close to 64,000 seats were vacant as loudspeakers blasted recorded cheers and applause onto the field.

After Japan lost in the final minutes of extra time, Yuki Soma, 24, a midfielder, paid tribute to those who could not be there. "By winning a medal at any cost, I would like to give energy to Japan and make them smile," he said at a postgame news conference, his eyes downcast. The bronze is still in Japan's reach as it faces Mexico on Friday.

Of course, it's not just Japanese Olympians who express bitter disappointment after missing out on gold. Liao Qiuyun of China wept openly after winning silver in women's weight lifting last week. After the U.S. women's soccer team fell to Canada on Monday night in a semifinal, one member of the team, Carli Lloyd, crouched on the field, clasping her head in her hands.

But in a post-match interview, she made no apology. "I was just gutted," Ms. Lloyd said, adding, "we give up so much, and you want to win."

When Simone Biles withdrew from both the gymnastics team competition and the individual all-around competition, she explained that she wanted to protect her own mental and physical health.

The urge to apologize may stem in part from the harsh coaching style found in some sports in Japan, said Katrin Jumiko Leitner, an associate professor in sports management and wellness at Rikkyo University in Saitama. When she first came to Japan to train in judo, she said, she was shocked by coaches' aggressive language. "I thought, if that's the way to become an Olympic champion, I don't want to be an Olympic champion," she said. "They did not treat athletes like human beings."

Some Japanese athletes have been subjected to public criticism for failing to show sufficient humility. Yuko Arimori, a marathon runner who won silver in Barcelona in 1992 and bronze in Atlanta in 1996, was accused of narcissism by some in the Japanese news media after declaring in Atlanta that she was proud of herself.

Ms. Arimori understands why athletes continue to offer apologies, given that they can convey a sense of gratitude.

But "I think supporters know the athletes have worked hard enough," Ms. Arimori added. "So there is no need to apologize."

Makiko Inoue and Hikari Hida contributed reporting.

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Second Best in the World, but Still Saying Sorry

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At the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese athletes who fell short of gold have apologized profusely - sometimes, even after winning silver. TOKYO - Kenichiro Fumita was crying so hard that he could barely get the words out.

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2) Identify possible tensions/contrasts if any: past vs present, generation gap, individual vs collective, ideal vs reality, minority vs majority, short-term vs long term, western world vs Asian societies etc.

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Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry (Official Video)

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https://www.google.com.sg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj-jN7Ln63yAhUzheYKHehLClkQFnoECA8QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.todayonline.com%2Fsingapore%2Fim-deeply-sorry-ex-ngee-ann-poly-lecturer-issues-public-apology-bigoted-comments-inter&usg=AOvVaw0TUVI0o7j8ZWygNLhbDIjQ

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Scott Morrison has apologised for Australia's slow vaccination rollout a day after he repeatedly declined to say sorry for the government's missteps during an interview with a Melbourne radio host.

"I'm certainly sorry we haven't been able to achieve the marks that we hoped for at the beginning of this year," the prime minister told reporters in Canberra on Thursday when announcing that pharmacies, backed by a commonwealth indemnity, would be able to administer AstraZeneca vaccinations from August.

"Of course I am [sorry]. But what's important is that we're totally focused on ensuring that we've been turning this around. I take responsibility for the vaccination program [and] I also take responsibility for the challenges we've had."

With new Covid infections continuing to rise and millions of Australians locked down, Morrison used a number of media interviews on Thursday to encourage people to get vaccinated. The prime minister said the risks associated with the Delta variant made it imperative to get more "horsepower" behind the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In a live interview with Triple J's Hack program on Thursday evening, Morrison conceded he was unhappy with the state of the vaccine rollout.

"No, I'm not - I'm not happy with where we are at right now," the prime minister said. He said that was why he had appointed Lt Gen John Frewen to oversee the federal government's vaccine taskforce.

Morrison on Wednesday was engaged in public lobbying of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) to change its public health advice on AstraZeneca.

The prime minister said the latest outbreak required a new risk assessment to ensure more people got vaccinated. As the public backlash has grown about a lack of vaccine supply, Morrison has sought to shift criticism of the troubled vaccine rollout on to the independent advisory board.

On Thursday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) confirmed in its weekly safety report there had been two more deaths in Australia from rare blood clots likely linked to AstraZeneca. One was a 44-year-old man from Tasmania and the other was a 48-year-old woman from Victoria.

A total of five deaths from thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome have now been reported in Australia out of 6.1m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. All of the deaths were related to a first dose.

The TGA has noted that in Australia, severe cases of TTS appeared to be more common in women in younger age groups.

Morrison's reflections on Atagi attracted the ire of the Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, on Thursday. Foley declared Morrison should "not seek to blame people for doing their job".

Foley said Morrison's negative commentary about Atagi was "unusual" and an "unnecessary shot at professionals doing their jobs". He said Atagi comprised the most "preeminent physicians and experts in their field and [the experts] respond to the inquiries and the issues that governments put to them".

The Victorian health minister said rather than seeking to blame expert advisers for turbocharging vaccine hesitancy and contributing to delays in the rollout, the prime minister should "constructively engage" with Atagi and reach a solution.

"Don't seek to blame people for doing their job," Foley said, before doubling down with a direct criticism of the prime minister. "If we all did our job, we may not be in this position we are in today with very low vaccine rate."

Morrison nuanced his critique of the expert group on Thursday. He told reporters at the Lodge in Canberra that he completely respected Atagi but he said prime ministers should not just "accept advice uncritically".

"Whether it is sitting in cabinet meetings or in other forums, of course I challenge the advice that I receive," the prime minister said.

"I ask questions. I drill into it. You would expect me to do that. Australians would not expect me to just take this advice simply on the face of it. We must interrogate it."

Morrison said the changing public health advice about AstraZeneca had "caused some hesitation amongst people, particularly older people". But he said his comments on Wednesday reflected not a lack of confidence or respect for experts, but a shift in the balance of risks.

The prime minister confirmed the commonwealth would indemnify general practitioners and pharmacies prepared to administer the AstraZeneca vaccination to people under the age of 60. But he said it would be left to state governments to indemnify people administering vaccinations in their mass hubs.

It was pointed out to Morrison that the Western Australian government was not prepared to administer AstraZeneca through its hubs. The prime minister said it was "a decision for the state governments about what they are offering".

"I want to get AstraZeneca vaccines in people's arms to protect them, their families and their communities," the prime minister said.

"That is what I want. I am trying to lift the vaccination rate, and states that have been leaning in to vaccination using AstraZeneca have much higher vaccination rates than those who haven't."

The New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard, also took another veiled swipe at the federal government over the vaccine rollout.

Hazzard said vaccine hesitancy towards the AstraZeneca jab was "a shocker".

"That's obviously come off the back of advice that came out of Atagi and also then translated by the federal government," the Liberal minister said. "We need to take a step back and say ... most of us can't afford the luxury of sitting back and saying I don't want to have the vaccine that has actually been taken by almost every country in the world."

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'I'm sorry': Scott Morrison apologises for slow pace of Australia's vaccine rollout

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Scott Morrison has apologised for Australia's slow vaccination rollout a day after he repeatedly declined to say sorry for the government's missteps during an interview with a Melbourne radio host.

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Thanks to the internet, apologies look, feel, and sound far different from how they used to. They come in formats that seem unimaginable even just a decade ago: a screenshot of a Notes app, a teary-eyed confessional on YouTube, or a long-winded tech company blog post.

In recent years, apologies and professional statements of regret have become more pervasive than ever, especially in the business world. Corporate contrition, from both high-profile and small businesses alike, is not rare inasmuch as it's a safety blanket for brands mindful of damage control.

Dishing out a public relations-approved apology gives the impression of appearing sorry, while the company (that's supposedly in the wrong) attempts to regain its handle on the situation by reminding customers of its values and the intent of its actions - often before the apology itself.

For example, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (or his public relations team) penned a 900-word statement shortly after the Cambridge Analytica data breach, yet it still took the company multiple tries (after Facebook's stock dropped) for Zuckerberg to say: "I'm really sorry."

Or in the case of Pepsi's advertisement with Kendall Jenner, which received backlash for using protest imagery, the company simply said it "missed the mark" in what it was trying to portray.

In The Apology Impulse, co-author Sean O'Meara, a professional apologizer and public relations professional, argues that the corporate world has ruined the sanctity of the apology by failing to say sorry and over-apologizing. The book, which was published on October 29, examines the most egregious and effective business apologies in recent memory, from United Airlines' passenger-dragging debacle in 2017 (and its failure to properly apologize) to Johnson & Johnson's calm handling of a Tylenol recall in 1982.

Here, O'Meara discusses what makes an effective apology, the worst apology archetypes, and how social media has made customers demand more cultural responsibility and sensitivity from businesses - and whether or not that's reasonable.
You outlined several archetypes in the corporate apology starter pack, like the "faux-pology" (when a company expresses limited fault) or the "passive apology" (using passive voice in a statement). In your opinion, which type is the worst and why?
That's a tough one because I hate all of them. The worst habit an apologizer can fall into is leading with a qualifying character reference, or the Schrodinger's apology.

Let's say there's been a privacy hack with a company and one of the first things addressed in its corporate statement is, "We take the protection of consumer data very seriously." As a customer, you know there's a "but" coming in the apology. It assumes that the people you're giving the apology to are stupid. If you're going to apologize, if you fail, you don't get to speak to your own virtues.

"If you're going to apologize, if you fail, you don't get to speak to your own virtues"

That adds insult to injury. If you're apologizing, you're conceding that you failed. If you're conceding that you've failed, it's just not the time to give yourself a character reference and say, "Hey. We're great 99 percent of the time. We messed up here." If the customer is the 1 percent - if you're that person that's really unlucky - that's going to make them feel worse because they're like, "Okay. I'm the person that suffered from this rare and exceptional failure, as you put it. That gives me no comfort whatsoever."
In one chapter, you outlined how it took three of the world's biggest brands - United Airlines, Does a proper apology necessarily have to include the phrase "I'm sorry" or could action be more effective to consumers than a statement itself? Facebook, and In the book, you write that apologies are costly. Why is that, and what are the financial effects? Papa John's - three tries each to apologize correctly. These apologies were mostly triggered by a financial loss or a drop in stock prices. Do you think most corporate apologies require a financial incentive?
The short answer is yes. A company's finances and investor confidence really play a part. With a lot of the high-profile apologies in the book, I suspected some companies were evasive because they were trying to avoid litigation. That's a myth. Some people believe that saying sorry invites litigation because it's an admission of guilt. It's been proven not to be true, particularly in studies on the United States' health care sector.

It actually lowers the chances of litigation if you apologize. It's kind of like a game of chicken where a company doesn't want to say sorry because it doesn't want to get sued, but it also doesn't want its stock price to keep tanking. Whichever one becomes more severe first - if the stock price keeps going down, executives lean toward saying sorry versus risking a lawsuit. It does get complicated in that scenario.

I used to think no, but I changed my mind when I was writing the book. I used to think you had to say sorry, but how Johnson & Johnson responded to customers getting poisoned through Tylenol proved me wrong here. The CEO came up with a solution, and he went on TV to deliver that message. The company took a huge financial hit, but they definitely saved lives by quickly enacting a solution.
Can brands ever really issue an apology that feels real and human?
With that level of action - and I'm not expecting every organization to be able to do this - that was as good as saying sorry. Tylenol didn't technically owe anybody an apology, but they were sorry because of what happened. Instead of putting out a press release or going on an apology tour, they poured all their energy into fixing the problem, innovating and protecting their customers. So brands can deliver contrition without using the s-word.

There's the obvious cost of promoting an apology to make sure that people get the message. That can be anything up to the hundreds of millions of dollars. I think Uber's apology campaign was the most expensive one we documented at $500 million.

Then there's the cost of being sorry. If you imagine an organization that has been criticized for, let's say, a marketing campaign that people didn't like or found offensive.

If the company apologizes, it has to presumably scrap that campaign and the creative that goes with it. For example, Dove had a campaign with women taking off their sweaters. As the first woman took her sweater off, the next model in the shop appeared. The way it was edited, it appeared like a black model took off her sweater for a white model to appear. The implication that people took from that was Dove implied that using its products will make you whiter.
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I don't think that's what Dove intended, but that's how it looked from a certain angle. Dove had to end that campaign and obviously replace it. You can't just leave a vacuum where you're not advertising. There's the cost of replacing the creative or withdrawing a product, and then there is the extra cost to the organization of being vigilant.

One thing organizations don't realize is once you say sorry, you're on notice. Consumers are hyper-vigilant to what you do next. All that extra care, all that extra market testing, focus groups, that all goes into the budget of what it costs to be sorry as an organization.

It is rare, but it can be done. I think when you see these apologies, which are usually a social media post or use very vague language, a brand will just pop that out on the internet and they've apologized. That, to me, isn't genuine regret. That is public relations.

JetBlue had a great example of a proper apology when there was a massive snowstorm in 2007. There was bad planning and the airline ended up having to cancel hundreds of flights so thousands of customers were affected.

CEO David Neeleman didn't immediately apologize. He looked at how JetBlue failed and then made a YouTube video. I'm pretty sure it was the first high-profile corporate apology via social media. If you watch it, you'll notice that David Neeleman, he's not a natural publicist. He's very much a businesslike CEO. He's sitting in his office and he's talking to camera and it's not slick, but it's authentic in the right way.

Brands go for authenticity and they pay millions of dollars to emulate authenticity. This was real authenticity. This was a guy who was not overly sorry. He was explaining what consumers can expect when his company failed again. He didn't say if we fail again. He acknowledged that he's running an airline and there are a lot of moving parts. There will be a future where JetBlue has to cancel flights and people are inconvenienced.

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This story is part of a group of stories called Thanks to the internet, apologies look, feel, and sound far different from how they used to. They come in formats that seem unimaginable even just a decade ago: a screenshot of a Notes app, a teary-eyed confessional on YouTube, or a long-winded tech company blog post.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/government-made-mistake-by-not-being-upfront-about-tracetogether-use-for

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Govt made mistake by not being upfront about TraceTogether data use; people accept explanation: PM Lee

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It has passed a law to restrict its use to serious crimes, and people have accepted it. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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When sorry seems to be the hardest word: the art of the celebrity apology

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Will Smith, Chrissy Teigen, Ariana Grande — perfect repentance is hard to master. Joe Stone charts the good, the bad and the #awks

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3) Match or use relevant arguments in the passage to apply the above ideas

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https://youtu.be/x6QA3m58DQw

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SUPER JUNIOR 슈퍼주니어 '쏘리 쏘리 (SORRY, SORRY)' MV

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1AZ06W

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Singapore's Olympic champion Joseph Schooling has apologized to Malaysians for saying he was going to teach their swimmers a lesson at the South East Asian Games, which open on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.

The 22-year-old, who won the city-state's first Olympic gold in the 100 meters butterfly in Rio last year, had told local media it would be "nice to go to Malaysia's backyard and teach them a thing or two".

"If I offended anyone, I do apologize... that wasn't my intention," Schooling said on his arrival in the Malaysian capital on Saturday.

"I'm really sorry for my comments and I definitely didn't mean it that way."

Schooling won nine gold medals at the last SEA Games in Singapore two years ago but will race in fewer events this year.

"I'll do my best in all of them. I'm just going to do my best and let the outcome speak for itself. We have two days to prepare so hopefully we'll put on a good performance in the Games," he added.

"It's definitely not like training for me. Every race my dad likes to say race fast and that actually holds a lot of ground. There are a lot of great swimmers in the South East Asian region so I gotta be the best as I can to make my country proud."

The 29th version of the biennial SEA Games continue until Aug. 30.

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Olympic champion Schooling apologizes to Malaysians

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Singapore's Olympic champion Joseph Schooling has apologized to Malaysians for saying he was going to teach their swimmers a lesson at the South East Asian Games, which open on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.

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Hidden in green hills east of South Korea's capital is the House of Sharing, a nursing home for elderly women.

It's a bright, spacious place. But its residents are survivors of a dark chapter of history.

"It was 1942 and I was only 15, running an errand for my parents [in our Korean hometown of Busan], when two Japanese men in uniform grabbed me by the arms and dragged me away," recalls Lee Ok-seon, now age 90. "That's how I became enslaved."

She was sent to work in a brothel in a Japanese-occupied area of northeast China.

Lee is one of the last survivors of sexual slavery by imperial Japan's military. Tens of thousands of Korean women were forced into prostitution during World War II. They were euphemistically called "comfort women."

As the surviving comfort women age and die, their stories pull at heartstrings in South Korea. They frequently appear onstage at street protests against Japan, and their stories were dramatized in a popular film, Spirits Homecoming, that came out last year.

Japan and South Korea are now allies, and their cooperation is essential in facing the threat from nearby North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. But the issue of the comfort women has long dogged their relations.

The two countries signed an agreement two years ago for reparations. But many Koreans - including the new president - think that deal was unfair.
Lee was forced to have sex with Japanese soldiers at the brothel for three years, until WWII ended. Japan had taken control of Korea in 1910, and in 1945, when Japan lost WWII, Korea gained its independence.

"We didn't know the war had ended. The owner of the brothel ran away. I was inside with seven girls, and we were starving," Lee recalls. "A soldier came in and told us to run. The whole city was burning."

Lee didn't return to South Korea until the year 2000. Many of the comfort women were shunned by their families. She says she just wants Japan to apologize.

"Apologize, apologize!" protesters chant at weekly rallies in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Such protests have been held for years.
Japan says it has apologized - in 1993, and then again two years ago.

"We have been expressing our remorse and apology," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in 2015, when his government signed an agreement with South Korea that included $8.3 million in reparations for the few dozen surviving comfort women. He called it a "final and irreversible resolution."

But polls show a majority of Koreans want it reversed.

"They don't respect Korea. We can't trust them. I feel like crying," says Korean protester Cho Byol, 35, in front of the Japanese Embassy.

She took part in street rallies to oust the conservative Korean president from power earlier this year, amid a corruption scandal. Now the same activists are joining rallies against Korea's old colonial ruler, Japan. It's part of a grass-roots, popular push to hold those in power to account, she says.

"I think we're in the middle of a tornado [of democratic protests]!" Cho says. "I think all feminists and victims should raise all their voices."

Some academics worry that South Korea's emotional defense of the comfort women may obscure the facts.

"Nowadays, people think Japan came and raped and never gave compensation," says Park Yu-ha, a Korean professor of Japanese language and literature at Seoul's Sejong University. "But that's not totally accurate."

Park wrote a book titled Comfort Women of the Empire, in which she disputes the numbers of Korean comfort women. She interviewed many survivors and sifted through Japanese military records, and says there's some evidence some of the women were given labor contracts as prostitutes. Her book challenges the view that all of them were rape victims, and says there were Korean middle men, or collaborators, who helped traffic Korean women.

The book won awards in Japan, but parts of it were redacted in Korea.

Some of the comfort women sued Park for defamation. She's been labeled a Japanese apologist and a traitor.

"I've been a victim of this anti-Japanese sentiment," Park says. "It's part of this post-Cold War identity shift, as nationalism grows."

Now that Korea is a rich, prosperous country, it's re-examining its past as a colony of Japan.

In one of his first acts in office, the new South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, spoke by phone with Japan's Abe. They discussed the common threat posed by North Korea. But the headlines here were dominated by Moon bringing up the comfort women - and that 2015 agreement, which he said the Korean people "cannot emotionally accept."
Jihye Lee contributed to this story.

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Not All South Koreans Satisfied With Japan's Apology To 'Comfort Women'

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Hidden in green hills east of South Korea's capital is the House of Sharing, a nursing home for elderly women. It's a bright, spacious place. But its residents are survivors of a dark chapter of history.

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SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has apologised after a photo emerged showing one of its officers posing "inappropriately" at the scene of a person's death.

In the photo posted on Facebook on Tuesday (Jun 28) by user Tracy Lim, an SPF officer is seen with his hands raised in "V" gestures. Part of a blue tent can be seen next to the officer.

Such tents are used by police to cover bodies.

In her post, Ms Lim criticised the officer for "posing like the body beside was nothing but a background or an accessory to a photo". She noted that the person who had died was her aunt.

"Instead of showing basic respect, this police officer decided it was funny and treated the situation as if it was a happy matter, like he just won a trophy, a game or a prize," she said.

"Is there no integrity on how a police officer should behave, especially when he is on duty, attending to a case involving (a) casualty?" she asked.

"This is utterly unacceptable and disrespectful to my family and myself and anyone who has been through death in the family."

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, SPF said that it was aware of the photo, and had reached out to the family of the deceased to apologise for the officer's actions.

"The Police are aware of posts circulating online showing a police officer posing next to a blue tent," SPF said.

"The post pertains to a case of unnatural death attended by the Police on 28 June 2022. The deceased was found lying motionless at the foot of a block.

"The Police had contacted the next-of-kin of the deceased and apologised for the officer's actions."

SPF clarified that the officer was not posing for a photo, but acknowledged that his behaviour had been inappropriate.

"While the officer was not taking a photo of himself at the scene, he had responded inappropriately to the presence of onlookers in the vicinity," the post continued.

"All police officers are expected to maintain professionalism in managing incidents. The Police will be taking internal action against the officer."

In a subsequent Facebook post, Ms Lim said that the police had called to apologise, and that their apology had been accepted.

"We appreciate the fast action and assurance they will reinforce ... sensitivity when handling such cases," she said.

"We wish to rest the matter and let our family have privacy as we prepare for final (arrangements for) our aunt.

"(Thank) you all friends for your condolences and support."

Ms Lim's original post is no longer visible on Facebook. As of 2pm on Wednesday, it had been shared about 160 times.

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Police apologise after officer responds 'inappropriately' to onlookers near scene of death

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SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has apologised after a photo emerged showing one of its officers posing "inappropriately" at the scene of a person's death.

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4) How can I include my personal experience without being too example-driven etc.?

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SINGAPORE - Workers' Party (WP) Sengkang candidate Raeesah Khan apologised on Sunday for two Facebook posts said to allege police discrimination against minorities.

At an unplanned press conference the party called on Sunday night, Ms Khan, 26, said she did not mean to cause social division, but had made the remarks as she wanted to raise awareness about minority concerns.

Flanked by WP leaders Pritam Singh, Sylvia Lim and her GRC teammates, Ms Khan, with her head bowed and reading from a piece of paper, said: "I apologise to any racial group or community who have been hurt by my comments.

"My remarks were insensitive, and I regret making them. I feel really passionate about minority issues regardless of race, and in my passion I made improper remarks, and I have to be accountable for them. I will fully cooperate in any police investigations."

The apology comes after the police issued a statement on Sunday about two police reports that were made against Ms Khan.

Police said in a statement on Sunday (July 5) that she had allegedly commented that Singapore law enforcement authorities discriminated against citizens, and that compared with other groups, rich Chinese and white people were treated differently under the law.

Another police report was made over a separate post. In the context of a news article on the City Harvest Church ruling, she was alleged to have commented that Singapore jailed minorities mercilessly, harassed mosque leaders but let "corrupt church leaders who stole $50 million" free.

Responding to questions from the media, Mr Singh said the party would stand behind its Sengkang team and he and Ms Lim were at the press conference to support them.

The rest of the candidates, equity analyst Louis Chua, economist Jamus Lim and lawyer He Ting Ru looked on solemnly but did not answer questions.

Asked if this matter would affect Ms Khan's candidacy, Mr Singh said it was too early to talk about it and that the police investigations would have to be allowed to take its course.

He added that he had not known about the Facebook posts beforehand, but noted that at 26-years-old, Ms Khan is WP's youngest candidate in this election and comes from a generation that has "completely grown up on social media".

"And for me, I would be actually a bit disappointed if our candidates try to sanitise their past. And I think they should be upfront and authentic to the public. This is who they are. And in the event there are certain posts or certain comments that they may have made which are untoward, then I would expect them to explain themselves."

He added that he has no regrets fielding her and that she will continue with her campaign.

"I know that she takes each case very seriously, regardless of race, regardless of religion. She's very vested in what issue the resident is facing," he said.

"I think those are very important criteria for me personally to consider someone for candidature, whether you are able to put yourself and walk a mile in the shoes of someone who needs help and assistance, so I've got no regrets for fielding a candidate who is like that, who is prepared to walk with residents and solve their problems and issues, and I think that's an important criteria, which resulted in Raeesah being selected as a candidate."

The Straits Times understands that both of the posts in question were made on her personal Facebook account.

One post was made on May 17 about an incident involving seven foreigners violating social distancing rules at Robertson Quay during the circuit breaker period.

"Imagine if this was a group of minorities," she had said, adding that she saw police patrolling near a hawker centre and supermarket near her house every day to ensure that people practise social distancing and mask-wearing.

"Do you see police officers here? Imagine if this was a neighbourhood hawker centre. There would be policemen swarming the area and enforcing the law within minutes," Ms Raeesah had said in her post.

"Why is the law different for these people? Is it because they're rich Chinese or white people? Do you think expats will be treated with the same disdain as migrant workers who broke the law?

"I'm not a fan of aggressive policing, but what I will not accept is law enforcement that discriminates against its citizens."

The seven foreigners, including four Britons, an Austrian and two Americans, were tracked down by the police and fined in court last month. Six of them had their work passes revoked by the Manpower Ministry and were banned from working in Singapore in future.

Ms Raeesah was comparing the case to a separate incident in April, in which a work pass holder was stripped of his pass and permanently banned from working in Singapore, after breaching circuit breaker measures. Another 39 foreign workers were also fined in April for gathering in groups.

The Straits Times understands the comments on the City Harvest Church ruling were also posted on Ms Raeesah's personal Facebook account in February 2018.

After the police reports were made, her social media accounts were made private.

The police said in its statement: "The police have consulted the Attorney-General's Chambers, which advised that an offence of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race under Section 298A of the Penal Code is disclosed. Police investigations are ongoing."

For promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion or race under the Penal Code, a person can be jailed up to three years, or fined, or face both punishments.

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Singapore GE2020: WP's Raeesah Khan apologises for posts which allegedly promoted enmity between different groups

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SINGAPORE - Workers' Party (WP) Sengkang candidate Raeesah Khan apologised on Sunday for two Facebook posts said to allege police discrimination against minorities. At an unplanned press conference the party called on Sunday night, Ms Khan, 26, said she did not mean to cause social division, but had made the remarks as she wanted to raise awareness about minority concerns.

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When you make a mistake, admit it. Say sorry. Apologise. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/mom-apologises-to-jade-rasif-for-facebook-post-that-said-her-account-of-maids-covid-19

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SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has apologised to former DJ Jade Rasif for saying that her account of her domestic worker's Covid-19 scare was "inaccurate".

In a Facebook post on Saturday night (May 22), MOM said it was retracting its point about Ms Rasif's account and redacting the word "inaccurate" from its post last Monday.

"We note that the use of the word 'inaccurate' and one of the points in our 17 May FB post could have portrayed Ms Rasif to be providing an inaccurate account on the Quarantine Order investigation," the ministry said in its post.

"She shared with us that this had affected her negatively. We would like to extend our apologies to her for this."

Ms Rasif's posts on Instagram and Facebook last Sunday detailed how her domestic helper had been discharged on her third day of stay-home notice (SHN), only to test positive for Covid-19 two weeks later on April 30.

She had raised concerns about whether it was safe for her domestic worker to be released early from SHN, and questioned why she herself had not been put under quarantine.

MOM had initially disputed Ms Rasif's claim that police officers had called her saying she was under investigation for breaching a quarantine order. The ministry had also said she could not be under investigation as she was never issued a quarantine order.

Ms Rasif then posted Instagram stories last Thursday with screenshots and audio recordings of communications between her and MOM that appeared to contradict parts of MOM's May 17 statement.

She included a recording of a phone call in which a man, whom Ms Rasif said was MOM "management", can be heard laughing after Ms Rasif raises concerns about the ministry's statement.

MOM's post on Saturday said: "We understand that the police have since clarified with Ms Rasif on the purpose of their calls, and that she is not being investigated for any breach of quarantine orders."

The ministry also retracted its claim that it had reached out to Ms Rasif's family on a complaint made against an ambulance driver, whom Ms Rasif alleged had texted her an expletive.

It also said it had called Ms Rasif and discussed the way its officers had handled a call with her last Tuesday.

In its Facebook post last Monday, MOM explained that Ms Rasif's domestic worker was assessed to be a recovered Covid-19 patient and no longer infectious. She was discharged from isolation on May 9.

Ms Rasif, who is a healthcare worker, told The Straits Times: "I feel vindicated... I'm very satisfied with the apology, and their statement. I'm very happy that MOM is actually looking into things and looking to tighten (its processes).

"I can (now) move on with my life, hopefully in peace. I have never called out the Government, and I have no intention of doing so going forward."

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MOM apologises to ex-DJ Jade Rasif for saying her account of maid's Covid-19 scare was 'inaccurate'

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SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has apologised to former DJ Jade Rasif for saying that her account of her domestic worker's Covid-19 scare was "inaccurate". In a Facebook post on Saturday night (May 22), MOM said it was retracting its point about Ms Rasif's account and redacting the word "inaccurate" from its post last Monday.

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5) What is 1-2 distinctive evaluative points that I would want to emphasise on this topic?

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Night Owl Cinematics' Sylvia Chan says sorry for 'harsh' language after being accused of bullying

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She was responding to anonymous accusations that she verbally abused and bullied her employees. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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In recent weeks, controversial statues and symbols across the United States that seem to glorify the white supremacist ideals of a Confederate past have been taken down by frustrated protesters and concerned institutions, ready for a change in the public conversation. In many ways, this has been a long time in coming, but some have looked on in disapproval, fretting that these quick actions point to a politically correct erasure or denial of the country's Civil War history, good or bad. This is despite the fact that in many cases, these statues do not have a long history at all and celebrate an outdated-or, in some cases, an overtly racist-viewpoint that obscures the stain of slavery from America's story.

As historian Robert R. Weyeneth observes, when it comes to longstanding historical injustices committed against an innocent people, perhaps taking down these symbols of oppression is not a suppression of history, but just one form of historical apology that a nation can make, one way the present can apologize for the past, on the road to reconciliation. "Societies now find themselves compelled to confront their past in its entirety," writes Weyeneth, "to ask new questions about it, and to rewrite the story 'all of us have learned since childhood.'"

Countries can take many steps that could act as apologies for historical wrongs-so is an official apology ever needed? Old statues can be taken down, new statues can be put up. Memorials, plaques, and holiday observances such as Juneteenth can dedicate space and attention for a nation to tell a more complete story of its past. Renaming the places and important geographical points we know can better reflect what really happened. For example, the Custer Battlefield National Monument in Montana acknowledged only the general who was defeated by the Sioux and Cheyenne in 1876, until its name was changed in 1991 to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Much-debated reparations and legal settlements can also help the healing process, writes political scientist Angelique M. Davis.

But when a nation is grappling with a painful history, what is necessary, and what is enough?

An apology may be mere words to many, but it is often the case that for those affected, egregious historical wrongs can't be made right without them.

What many don't realize is that a nation's leader just saying the words "I'm sorry" or "I apologize" can be even more powerful than toppling statues. According to Weyeneth, "When the Australian government offered a $41 million assistance package to make amends to the 'stolen generation' [Aboriginal children who had been forcibly removed from their families by government programs from 1905 into the 1970s], some Aborigines deemed the offer 'fundamentally flawed' because the government had refused to apologize as well." An apology may be mere words to many, but it is often the case that for those affected, egregious historical wrongs can't be made right without them.

There is a strange power in the words "I'm sorry." They seem simple, but they can carry far more complex, uncomfortably loaded meanings than we're often aware of.

For some, on a practical level, the very election of Barack Obama as president of the United States might have seemed symbolically more potent as a kind of apologetic act, better than any formally spoken apology could be-yet the effects of slavery and racial discrimination haven't gone away. In fact, as a presidential candidate, writes Davis, Obama publicly opposed both an official apology and reparations, saying, "I have said in the past-and I'll repeat again-that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed." Obama marked the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth in 2015 with powerful words, but none of them contained an official apology for slavery on behalf of the country.

Before Obama, Bill Clinton reportedly did not offer an official apology due to the objections of the white majority. Some may believe that official apologies for historical injustices are unnecessary or meaningless rhetoric, because, essentially, in the opinion of one citizen quoted by Weyeneth, "You're asking people who didn't do wrong to apologize to people who weren't the actual victims."

People often assume the apologizer has a sense of guilt and shame-an apology can be an act of humiliation, making it very hard for many people, not just political leaders, to say sorry and accept blame on behalf of past generations.

So what could saying sorry really do?

Linguist Robin Lakoff explains that apologies are basic to our social interaction, but they can take on different meanings. In our daily lives, they actually cover a range of functions, "from abject abasement for wrongdoing, to conventional greasing of the social wheels, to expressions of sympathy, advance mollification for intended bad behaviour, and formal public displays of currently 'appropriate feeling.'"

Linguists have found that for apologies to be recognized as valid by listeners, they must contain the right words associated with this "speech act," namely the simple expression "I'm sorry," which is used in the majority of cases, along with "I apologize."

The receivers may ultimately refuse to accept an insincere apology, which plays an important role in validating the many forms that apologies can take.

Speech acts are utterances that actually change something about the world, such as a leader declaring war or the police arresting someone "in the name of the law." True apologies are no different: They are intended to right a wrong, to heal something that is broken, to convey a sense of remorse. But unlike other speech acts, apologies aren't simply enacted with a word; they're also a social process of trust. The receivers may ultimately refuse to accept an insincere apology, which plays an important role in validating the many forms that apologies can take. This can be even more involved when it comes to official apologies, which can have a ceremonial aspect of performance to convey the gravity of the matter.

Perhaps the spectrum over which apologies range, from inconsequential politeness to deep remorse expressed formally, drives some members of the public to distrust official apologies as insincere or unnecessary, while others demand them to redress wrongs. When political leaders are attentive to public sentiment, and empathetic to public grief, the careful language of an official apology can be symbolically very powerful as a first step to dealing with a country's deep-seated wounds.

Australia established its first National Sorry Day in 1998, which helped sway public opinion to support an official apology from the Australian government for its policy of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families. Then Prime Minister John Howard stubbornly refused to join millions of Australians in apologizing to the victims on behalf of the nation, believing that " present generations should not be held responsible for the actions of past generations." Two years later, the Howard government did pass a resolution expressing "its deep and sincere regret," yet a motion to use the simple word "sorry" was defeated. This shows how much meaningful, performative weight the mere words "sorry" or "apologize" can carry, compared to milder expressions like "regret."

It was not until a decade later, in 2008, that the next government, led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, officially apologized to the stolen generations and their families. In a close study of this historic speech, linguists Martha Augoustinos, Brianne Hastie, and Monique Wright show how a leader with a simple, unequivocal apology, using the right inclusive language, and accepting responsibility, can change how an entire country sees a once-disenfranchised group.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

[...]

For the pain, suffering, and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

By accepting institutional and collective guilt and blame, rather than stubbornly avoiding it, such a symbolic apology can actually reframe and reset a nation's history, allowing people to feel the collective emotions and empathy and respect for those who were once left out of the story. An honest, heartfelt apology on a national scale, seeking forgiveness from the victims of injustice, rather than dividing a population into "us" and "them," can actually be inclusive as the wronged are recast as fellow human beings, belonging to the same community, with the same national identity.

How is it that a mere apology can turn long-held assumptions upside down in a way that practical solutions, such as more social support or even financial assistance, simply can't do alone? Those one-dimensional symbols, such as statues and flags, can give way to richer, more complete stories that embrace empathy and respect. A sincere apology on a national scale can turn once-revered heroes, such as Confederate leaders, into villains, and once-despised outsiders, such as an enslaved people and their descendants, into human beings who have endured unimaginable injustices. It may be one small first step, but without a political leader addressing it head on as an official act, it is harder for a nation to be made whole and move onward.

Apologies that look and sound and speak clearly like true apologies do matter, when it matters to those who desperately need to hear them. For those people whose very humanity has been repeatedly denied in the telling of a nation's history, somehow those simple words "we are sorry" might help restore and heal, just as much as physically correcting problematic symbols and statues.
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The Sorry State of Apologies | JSTOR Daily

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In recent weeks, controversial statues and symbols across the United States that seem to glorify the white supremacist ideals of a Confederate past have been taken down by frustrated protesters and concerned institutions, ready for a change in the public conversation.

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In a statement on Wednesday evening, Mr Leong said he had received a call from Dr Balakrishnan, who "conveyed his apology".

"I accepted his apology. Let's put our time to better use for Singapore and Singaporeans," Mr Leong said.

However, he added that he is "also curious to know" who else had been involved in the conversation and "the reason why they held the institution that (he) attended in contempt".

Early Wednesday morning, Parliament passed a motion by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on securing Singaporeans' jobs and livelihoods.

Parliament also rejected a competing motion by Mr Leong, who called on the Government to "take urgent and concrete action to address widespread anxiety among Singaporeans on jobs and livelihoods caused by the foreign talent policy".

The motions were debated together but voted on separately.

In a post on PSP's Facebook page, the party's secretary-general Francis Yuen said Mr Leong and NCMP Hazel Poa "stood their ground" and spoke up "passionately".

Noting that the debate was about"protecting the interests of our Singapore core", Mr Yuen added: "This core will have to be complemented by real foreign talent that is brought in through sound foreign talent policies and effective implementation by the relevant government agencies."

Mr Yuen said that the debate was not about racism or xenophobia, although "relentless attempts have been made to label PSP as such".

"We believe the public knows and understand why we had to table the motion and get this debate going," he added.

"Unlike some quarters who may find dissenting voices illiterate, we have confidence that our fellow Singaporeans are enlightened and educated, and will not miss the woods for the trees."

In a separate statement, Mr Yuen also said that it was "shocking to listen to such remarks coming from a minister and a diplomat representing Singapore".

"His disdain for a fellow parliamentarian and disrespect for a very renowned school is disappointing to say the least."

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Vivian Balakrishnan apologises to Leong Mun Wai for 'private comments' made during Parliament session

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SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said on Wednesday (Sep 15) that he has called Progress Singapore Party's (PSP) NCMP Leong Mun Wai to apologise for his "private comments to a colleague" in Parliament on Tuesday. "I disagree with him on the issue, but I should not have s

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Joseph Schooling, Amanda Lim public apologies ‘send good message’ that no one gets special favours in doing drugs, MPs say

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The public apologies by national swimmers Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim “send a good message” that taking drugs is not right and that no one rec

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Singapore minister's apology lays bare angst over elite school obsession

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Vivian Balakrishnan's comments about an opposition politician's educational background has fuelled discussion on how capabilities are still measured by the schools a person attended.