There are conflicting reasons for her departure from 98.7FM. In her FB profile, she wrote that she had been criticized for her bad language skills and lack of an American accent. What is the logic behind the craze for an American accent?! Does having one make a person seem "cool"? We are not an American state. Not having this accent does not determine our lack of identity as a Singaporean. If it is because of the former reason, that is indeed an occupational hazard, though her colleague said that she had no problem with that.
At the same time, that does not warrant a resignation from her. Perhaps there were other reasons that led to it as well. According to her superior, her show had to be cancelled due to poor listenership rates. She could have been deployed to other duties. A resignation does not seem to justify as a response to this phenomenon.
Her superior, who is Daniel Ong, was queried on this matter. He did deploy her to another post but she rejected it. He also clarified that her flaw was that she lacked accurate pronunciation of foreign artistes' names as well as a smooth flow in hosting her show. There was nothing about speaking with a particular accent. She did not deny the former, incidentally. Her fellow colleagues had also been asked to help her improve in that aspect. This is contradictory when one recalls the earlier article on this whole matter. Her colleague had said her language skills posed no problem. Was it an attempt to conceal the truth before this matter became official? I wonder...
Daniel Ong also stated that she had been asked to improve on her grammar and diction. This definitely presents doubts towards her ability as a deejay. Contrary to what her colleague Vernon A said, being one is not just possessing personality but having basic language skills too. I agree with her superior. Broken and improper English will cause people not to understand the way she speaks. Soo Wei claimed that the listenership rates had been increasing but her superior claimed otherwise. Who is right? Is she trying to salvage her wounded pride or is he trying to quell the reality of things?
She told the reporter that viewers have been nice to her despite her poor language skills. Is she hinting at the fact that they overlook her flaw and look to who she really is? Her job requires her to possess such skills, so as her superior, Daniel Ong is not doing the wrong thing. Her plan to explore teaching is laughable. She will need to brush up on her language in preparation for that. I'm a teacher, by the way. If she did not possess such skills as a deejay, she will not be able to fulfill the higher expectation on her, if she becomes a teacher. Leonard Soosay's comment on how little our local accent is valued due to the issue over her pronunciation, is controversial. What has pronunciation to do with the Singlish accent? The focus is on her basic language skills, not on the way she sounds when she speaks English. Her final response to her superior's comments was that she did not want to refute them. I wonder if it is because she knows he was speaking the truth.
Victor Khoo the ventriloquist wrote in to comment on this issue. He mentioned proper diction and grammar, as well as accurate pronunciation of artistes' names, as one of the main factors deejays must possess. They are sorely missing in Soo's case. Is it a wonder then that she was asked to stop being one?
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