I can't know that for sure, of course, since I do not know the life and work of every single Singaporean journalist, but I'm convinced that if such a ranking was ever made she would rank very near the top.
In fact, Bertha Henson is among the worst journalists I have ever come across observing the media of the world (bear in mind it includes some proper nutcases from the modern American mainstream) and one of the most wilfully ignorant people, full stop.
3 days ago someone told Ms. Henson to visit ACRA's website and, lo and behold, she discovered (GASP!) that she could find her NRIC number there. Oh my god, how could that be!?
I will give her that she at least tried getting some information back, reporting to the ministry, but regardless of what was explained to her about how ACRA functions and what the purpose of NRIC is, she still posted a whiny Facebook post lambasting the authority which has for years been in charge of keeping public corporate records.
Unlike any actual "journalist" Ms. Henson is never content with the truth, no matter the explanations or technical facts – for example how NRIC is computed, what its role is, and that you could (FOR YEARS!) use reverse-engineered automated NRIC generators which would produce a format compliant fake number.
NRIC is really just a shorthand for your identity, that is forever attached to you, regardless of anything that happens in your life (like changing names, for instance).
This is why it has been accessible via ACRA for years. It's part of public business records.
Somehow, the person who is so eager to lecture others on how to be a journalist can't wrap her head around the idea of personally identifying people who run a particular business, regardless of their names or addresses.
The only number that infallibly can point to them is their NRIC.
This is how Singaporeans and foreigners alike are protected by ACRA.
It doesn't take long to realise that any shady character could try to hide their identity after conning customers or partners out of money. A name is meaningless as it can be changed and investigating who a particular person actually is could take forever without their IC number.
It also enables future clients or shareholders to check the entire business history of their counterpart, as both current and past business engagements are listed in ACRA's archives.
It's an invaluable resource that provides quick and easy access for everybody – and has done forever.
Somehow Ms. Henson never asked herself the question why it has always been a feature of Bizfile, albeit with a token fee of S$5.50 beforehand, even as she wonders why many "very important people" are listed there as well.
Just think – are you smarter than them? Or maybe they know something that you don't?
Saviour complex
We all can see that Ms. Henson seems to have a bit of a chip on her shoulder for being sidelined by the Singapore media, relegated to the role of a social media commentator with no real stake or a job in the industry. Not even teaching, anymore.
But now a new element appears to emerge – a saviour complex.
Dear Singaporeans, clearly NOBODY ever knew about ACRA's practices until Bertha Henson accidentally came across them 3 days ago! This includes some "very, very important people"!
Imagine that! Millionaires, billionaires, government ministers, members of parliament, thousands of wealthy foreign investors – NOBODY knew they were being exposed!
Seriously, Ms. Henson, didn't they? Or is it that you simply did not, came late to the party, and made a ruckus to your similarly ignorant followers who, I must assume, have never registered a business in Singapore, or else they would have been aware of that already?
So, no, a retired writer turned social media influencer is not Singapore's saviour, the system works as intended – as it always has – and knowledge of your NRIC is not enough to scam, impersonate or rip you off in any other way.
This is why those "very, very important people" didn't care. And it's also part of the reason why they have ascended to positions of such high importance – because they possess the intellectual capacity to understand it.
Why the “worst”?
So, why do I think Bertha Henson might be the worst journalist in Singapore's history? Firstly, because every single she does goes precisely against the professional standards of the job.
Here's a tip: if you want to become a journalist please follow Bertha Henson and do the exact opposite of what she does every single time.
She doesn't check her facts, she barely seeks information and yet is eager to write on topics of public importance assuming a position of authority, as if she had any right to become a referee on mechanisms that have been put in place by the most competent and trusted government administration on this planet.
Mind you, I speak from experience of interaction with her on multiple topics which she proceeded to throw a tantrum about each time I pointed out her factual mistakes.
She is as motivated to write about unemployment figures, which she doesn't know the computation of, as she is of maintenance intervals of SMRT trains, when a major breakdown happened.
She doesn't need experts – she assumes the position of a referee that she exhibits quite a bizarre entitlement to – that is, even if she occasionally acknowledges she doesn't know something, it's always somebody else's fault for not explaining it to her in a way she understands, apparently permitting her to still pass judgment on the issue, regardless of the scale of her ignorance about it.
This, mind you, is a person who was once even entrusted the process of education of future writers (which has, thankfully, come to an end).
Worst of all, being the Facebook influencer that she is now, Bertha Henson blindly seeks social validation of her views from her followers, instead of investigating what the truth actually is.
Singapore may have had incompetent journalists: lazy ones, bad writers, fools – but they were both inconsequential and are now forgotten.
It may have had paid shills for foreign countries or mouthpieces of past local administrations, using public media to paint a politically approved picture. Even they, however, at least knew what they were doing and went along with it (some might even say out of a sense of duty for a greater cause).
Meanwhile, Bertha Henson is a self-important internet celebrity feeding the outrage of ignorant masses – rather than educating them out of it, like any proper journalist should.
She's using the power of the web to cement the misinformation in the minds of thousands, against public administration officers who keep the country among the world's best.
And instead of second-guessing herself she assumes she is entitled to questioning them, even though she neither has the knowledge nor the will to obtain it, and nothing she's ever done comes even close to their achievements – which include running ACRA in a transparent, internationally trusted way.
