For a prominent figure in the media industry who has been living in Singapore for most parts of his life, it was a bizarre moment for Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member Kumaran Pillai having been mistaken for an expat by a financial consultant on LinkedIn.
In a Facebook post on Monday (30 Nov), Mr Pillai shared a screenshot of a message he received on LinkedIn from a financial consultant who goes by the name Evonne Chew.
Based on the screenshot, Ms Chew started off by asking Mr Pillai how has he been faring in Singapore.
“I’ve chanced upon your profile and noticed that you’ve been based in Singapore for the past few years. I hope that you’ve been settling well so far,” she continued.
Ms Chew described herself as a financial consultant in Singapore focusing on the expats community, adding that for the past seven years, she and her team have been providing financial advice for expats who are based in Singapore.
“For the past 7 years, my team has been working with expats like yourself, providing advice for individuals based in Singapore,” she wrote.
Ms Chew went on to list down the services that she provides, which include “analysis of individual and corporate benefits” and “customize solutions towards individual requirements”.
In his post, Mr Pillai said that Ms Chew thinks he is an expat in Singapore, and is trying to peddle her insurance policies.
“I’m a KK Baby and have been in SG for most part of my life,” he asserted.
The 49-year-old PSP member even highlighted the irony of the silly mix-up, noting that he has been vocal against the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
Mr Pillai is a known figure in Singapore’s media industry. He was the former chief editor of The Online Citizen (TOC) before leaving to join the team behind the formation of The Independent Singapore as a stakeholder and publisher.
He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Seed, a Singapore based venture accelerator.
Mr Pillai contested in Kebun Baru SMC in the recent General Election, losing out to People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Henry Kwek.
Mr Kwek won with 62.97 per cent of the votes, while Mr Pillai received 37.03 per cent.
