David Neo says he should stop telling jokes after movie remark backlash

SINGAPORE: Newly promoted Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said he should not tell any more jokes, when asked about his earlier parliamentary remark that ministers had no time to watch movies.

Neo was responding at the press conference held at the National Press Centre on 22 July 2026, at which Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced changes to the Cabinet line-up.

Neo was promoted at that reshuffle from acting minister to full minister, retaining the Culture, Community and Youth portfolio he has held since the previous reshuffle in May 2025.

The question came from a Lianhe Zaobao reporter, and was the last of several put to the panel.

It asked for Neo's take on the comment, given the discussion at the press conference about demands on ministers' time.

"Well, I should just not tell any more jokes," Neo replied, before chuckling.

"But as all things, we all learn. And every time there is criticism, I take it positively as feedback, and it is just a matter of how things are experienced by different people."

He added: "We look at it, and then I ask myself, how can I do better going forward. And that, I think, is the spirit in which I keep taking in feedback and keep improving."

That was the whole of Neo's response to the question on his parliamentary remark.

David Neo's 'no time to watch movies' remark draws backlash

The remark that prompted the question was made in Parliament on 7 July 2026, during a debate on the Government's approach towards dialect-language films.

Workers' Party MP for Aljunied GRC Kenneth Tiong, speaking in Mandarin, said Teochew-speaking residents in his constituency had asked him in dialect why they were not allowed to watch Teochew films.

Tiong questioned whether the Government's objective was to promote Mandarin or to restrict dialects, arguing that the two represented different policy goals.

He asked whether the Government would review measures existing purely to restrict dialects, including those relating to films and broadcasting, and remove restrictions no longer necessary.

Tiong also asked ministers which version of the film Dear You they had watched, the Teochew original or the Mandarin-dubbed release.

Responding in Mandarin, Neo quipped that ministers had no time to watch movies.

He went on to say the Government recognised that dialects made a distinctive contribution to Singapore Chinese culture, and that it worked frequently with clan associations to promote dialects.

The Government also told Parliament that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) was reviewing the film classification framework relating to the use of dialects in films.

It stopped short of committing to remove the existing restriction governing dialect-language cinema releases.

Dear You opened in Singapore on 18 June with Mandarin-dubbed screenings for the general public, while the original Teochew version was initially confined to festivals and selected niche screenings.

The release prompted public debate over the place of Chinese dialects in Singapore. IMDA subsequently indicated it would adopt a more flexible approach towards future applications for dialect-language films in cinemas.

Tiong was among 11 Members of Parliament who spoke during the parliamentary discussion on the film.

Online reaction to the movie remark

Soon after Neo's parliamentary remark, social media users circulated photographs and reports showing that several People's Action Party (PAP) ministers had recently attended a Teochew screening of Dear You.

Among those named were Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng and National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat.

Both attended a Teochew screening organised by SPH Media's Chinese Media Group at Golden Village Waterway Point on 4 July 2026.

Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao after the screening, Chee described the film as exceptionally well made and deeply moving, and joked that he had not shed many tears, though several scenes had affected him.

A comment on 8World News' Facebook page asked whether Neo was implying that Baey and Chee, who had watched the original Teochew version, were very free.

Another comment noted that Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong had dropped by a People's Association community screening of Dream Stall, a film by home-grown filmmaker Annette Lee.

Other commenters asked whether ministers had time to watch football or to sing on stage despite saying they had no time for films.

On Reddit, one commenter described it as strangely ironic that an acting culture minister would say ministers had no time to watch movies, arguing that films were part of culture.

Not all responses were critical. One commenter argued that whether ministers personally had time to watch films was not important, provided they continued serving people who did.

Local author Crystal Lim-Lange criticised the remark in an Instagram video, describing it as not a good joke and arguing that it failed to address an issue tied to cultural identity.

Lim-Lange said dialect and cultural heritage were not just a policy matter but an identity matter, and that a throwaway joke risked trivialising an emotionally sensitive issue.

She said Neo did not need to have watched the film personally, but should have acknowledged why the issue resonated with Singaporeans before setting out the Government's policy position.

Other changes announced

At the same press conference, Wong announced that the Ministry of Trade and Industry would be renamed the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (METI), and led by two ministers.

Gan will continue to oversee trade and broader economic strategy, while Tan See Leng will oversee energy and industry, relinquishing his responsibilities at the Ministry of Manpower.

Jeffrey Siow was also promoted to full minister, retaining the Transport portfolio. Jasmin Lau becomes Acting Minister for Manpower, and K. Shanmugam was appointed senior minister.