Why 'complain kings' love to kick up a fuss

If Singapore has a national pastime beyond lining up for food and scoring deals, it is complaining.

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Few places reflect this national penchant for airing daily grievances more than the popular Facebook group COMPLAINT Singapore, which has accumulated more than 230,000 members since it started in 2017.

One user's post on Dec 8, which drew over 400 "likes", has a picture of the "worst carrot cake I ever ate in my life".

Others chime in, commiserating: "I've never seen carrot cake look like this before."

Banal complaints about trivialities such as small portions of hawker food, rude private-hire drivers and misleading advertising are common on the platform, though it is not reserved for just minor irritants.

A small fraction of posts are of grievances like insurance providers denying a claim, disputes between neighbours and negative interactions with businesses.

The group's anonymous moderators tell The Sunday Times that the Facebook page was launched "as several founding members found that there is almost no online platform for complainants or victims to voice their genuine complaints in Singapore".

Today, the group receives 30 to 100 submissions daily, though the majority are rejected by moderators for failing to meet basic requirements, such as providing evidence or avoiding hateful speech.

Its 10 or so volunteers take turns to moderate the comments in shifts.

Still, the group set up as an outlet for venting has itself been divisive, even among its users.

Commercial manager Alaric Ng, 33, says he is no fan of the Facebook group, decrying its users as "posting rubbish and whining about everything on earth" without a filter and referring to those who post complaints that are overtly hateful and xenophobic.

Meanwhile, photographer Ken Chiang, 29, says: "I think complaint culture is sometimes necessary only if it's really warranted. And these groups at times do effectively get the message across to the relevant parties.