The writer, Edwin Yeo, a former journalist and current PR practitioner, wrote an opinion piece titled "Preetipls, it’s not because I’m Chinese”.

What riled various people on social media was this specific quote: "Let’s be blunt, it’s (casual racism) always existed since our forefather’s time, and that’s okay.”

As for the rest of the opinion piece, it was an overlong, somewhat artlessly verbose piece that ended with Yeo advising Singaporeans to "chill”.

Yeo's attempt to portray the recent controversy over the E-Pay 'brownface' ad and a video response by YouTuber Preetipls as overblown, was not received well.

On Facebook, one commenter said: "I never thought I’d see an article from the Singapore kindness movement advocating for racism of all things."

Another response on Twitter saw a commenter saying, "This article re-amplifies the ignorance of some members of the majority while pouring even more salt on the wounds of many of the minority."

The issue of the treatment of minorities in Singapore is a thorny issue, and has a become a point of debate in recent years. With the coming election, it has come to the fore and likely made sitting politicians nervous.