STOMPer Vassili was infuriated when he came across an article in an Australian news website, branding Singaporeans as being rude.

Said the STOMPer:

"I am enraged to come across a column on a The Sydney Morning Herald website that label Singaporeans as being rude.

"In the article 'Singaporeans asked to chew on their manners', this so-called reporter Tamara Thiessen said that even though various courtesy campaigns are 'thrust down their throats daily', they are useless because Singaporeans are incorrigible and that we 'lack the initiative to care'.

"She even suggested that we are money-minded and that we go to church just to 'network'.

"Now I don't know which school of journalism Ms Thiessen went to, but even a dimwit can tell that her article is stereotyping and hypocritical at best.

"Sure, there are some rude Singaporeans, but there are rude people in every country. And I know for a fact that Australia is not a country of angels.

"This reporter needs to look at her country in one huge mirror before being all hoity-toity! That's the problem with people from some 'countries', they act like their the best in the world, they're so 'kaypoh' about other people's business, but they don't know how to take care of their own dirty linen.

"Please lah, for every rude person in Singapore, I can find 10 racists in Australia. I've been to Melbourne and the Gold Coast, and I know what it's like to be an Asian there.

"Once when I was paying for food at a diner, the waitress refused to look at me, even though I was the one paying, and she talked to my Australian friend instead! Even my Australian friend noticed it and she said later she felt so embarrassed.

"And my Asian friends have been called 'chinks' (a derogatory term for Asians) when they were there.

"And when you're at the airport, they only seem to stop and question the Asians, maybe because we're weird looking?

"I think the reason why we have many campaigns, and why we keep our country 'clean and green' is because we respect ourselves and our visitors.

"I strongly suggest Ms Thiessen go write another article suggesting some courtesy campaigns for Australia too. Maybe some racial-tolerance campaigns would be good as well. Lots of it."

Another STOMPer, Singaporester, agrees. She said:

"The reporter had the cheek writing about Singaporeans being rude, when she could have made better use of her time writing about things that are more relevant to her country, like the violent racial attacks on foreign Asian communities living there.

"It's a case of the pot calling the kettle black."