In Singapore, it’s a pretty common sight to see banners in heartlands featuring Members of Parliament (MPs) expressing well wishes to constituents as festive occasions approach.
But a Hari Raya banner featuring MP Lee Bee Wah has become the subject of much social-media discussions of late.
Here’s the banner, in case you’ve not seen it.
On Sunday (17 May), Mdm Lee Bee Wah took to Facebook, explaining that she had worn the Malay baju with tudung to show respect towards the Muslim community.
According to the post, Ms Lee would celebrate Hari Raya at the Ahmad Ibrahim Mosque in Nee Soon every year.
She would also don traditional Malay costume with tudung to show respect towards the religion.
Her attire in the banner was apparently from one of these sessions. Indeed, the image in the banner seems to be a cropped from this exact picture uploaded in Sep 2017.
Ms Lee explained that Hari Raya banners from previous years would show her and other residents. However, this year, she did not go with that in order “to be sensitive to residents who cannot gather during Circuit Breaker”.
Source
She also claims that she had checked with the chairman of the Ahmad Ibrahim Mosque who said her attire pictured in the banner is appropriate.
The banner has gotten polarising comments from netizens.
This netizen questioned if it was a “mocking gesture” and questioned the intention of the banner.
On the other hand, another netizen described Ms Lee as being “so cute” in the banner.
With such contrasting views, it’s great that Ms Lee explained her rationale and intentions for donning the traditional attire.
Now that you know her explanation, what are your thoughts on the banner? Share them in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
Those who break the rules on group size can be fined S$150 each.
A netizen also questioned the need to body shame mothers, who sacrificed their waistlines to…
The young cast will go through familiar stressful childhood experiences like collecting exam results.
Fans took to the concert promoter’s comment section to voice their displeasure.
The most expensive resale flat in April was a S$1.438 million 5-room flat in Toa…
Maybe there's hope yet for the iconic newsstand.