Yumi is a Vietnamese woman who opened an allegedly titular beer and juice stall in Hong Lim Food Centre in August 2020. It’s instantly associated with the recent outbreak of Covid in KTV lounges pretending to have pivoted to operate as cafes. The latter, which were found to have provided dining services with hostesses, were responsible for one of Singapore’s biggest Covid clusters. The reaction from Singaporeans was fast, funny and furious. Many made fun of the KTV customers. Some made fun of the women and there were a few obnoxious characters who targeted Vietnamese women. The insensitivity and incredibly low EQ are just unbelievable. Were our ministers right to say that Singaporeans are just being racist when they complain about foreigners taking away their jobs?
Yumi has been living in Singapore since 2017 and one of her publicity tactics is her sexy, unsophisticated outfit that fire the imagination of many of her customers, some of whom have asked her out for dates or even offered her money for her companionship. Yumi reacted with indignation, posting videos asserting that she’s only into legitimate and respectable businesses (selling snacks and drinks) and people should not judge from her outfit.
While a few netizens gave her their support, it’s not difficult to find folks who object to her outlandish dress sense and boldness which borders on audacity. While the hypocrites moralise about how improper her behaviour is, the issue that bugs me is not the necessity of censorship or a certain level of “decorum” but the inequality. Remember our sexy bubble tea girls who were pulled out soon after they were featured on TV? I’m sure that promoting one’s business this way must have crossed the minds of many business-owners in Singapore. It’s just that they don’t dare or they might have tried but received warnings due to complaints.
If Yumi is allowed to do all this, shouldn’t all of us be allowed too? She’s smart not to talk to the media, because on the internet, things only pop up for you either from group sharing or when an algorithm detects your interest. Like it or not, Yumi is already a celebrity who has wisely stayed out of mainstream media.
Yes, she’s probably not prostituting herself and I have taken note of how vehemently she defends herself. But if you were to ask me whether Yumi is serious about just selling her nuts and drinks, I will tell you, don’t be naive. She has already started selling membership to more revealing pictures. Once again, I have no issues with that, so I won’t sabotage her by showing you where she’s doing this. But unless she is unsuccessful, the cat will be out of the bag. The moralists will start complaining and the best or perhaps only thing for Yumi to do now is to make hay while the sun still shines.
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