In a multiracial country like Singapore, we have to be exceptionally sensitive in our interactions with each other, out of respect and courtesy.
Local fashion brand founder Priscilla Ong Shunmugam learnt this the hard way after her comments about Chinese women in comparison to Indian and Malay women created some uproar online.
She has since apologised for the incident that occurred during a virtual lecture organised by the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) last year.
Though the lecture, “ACMtalks: Nadya Wang and Priscilla Shunmugam”, occurred on 16 Sep 2021, a snippet of it resurfaced on Instagram page @kebaya.societe on Thursday (24 Mar), drawing lots of unhappy attention.
In the caption to the post, kebaya.societé claimed that Ms Shunmugam was responding to a question about why she often incorporates qipaos and cheongsams in her designs.
Ms Shunmugam went on to explain her research into “the emancipation of Asian women”, which effects she said are still visible today.
Chinese women have progressed significantly faster and further as compared to their Malay and Indian counterparts.
Noting that it’s not a modern-day phenomenon, she traced the observation back to the 1960s, when, according to her, two significant changes happened:
Ms Shunmugam linked the above with the phenomenon of Chinese women joining the workforce, which apparently reflected the level of acceptance within their community.
She then asked,
Were Malay women allowed by their husbands or fathers or brothers to dress a certain way? To go out and work? To perform certain duties that they hadn’t been [doing]? And we can also ask the same about Indian women. How soon were they released from social shackles?
Concluding her point, Ms Shunmugam explained that studying such patterns would explain the fashion trends.
More specifically, she attributed her choice to “have more fun” with cheongsam designs to Chinese women being “more receptive”.
In response to queries from TODAY, Ms Shunmugam reportedly apologised “unreservedly” for the comments she made.
She told TODAY,
I acknowledge that it was clumsy, hurtful and insensitive. It was also uncharacteristic of the narratives championed in my work.
ACM has also apparently removed the video of the lecture from their Facebook page, though it’s unclear when this happened.
The museum posted an apology on Instagram yesterday (25 Mar), acknowledging the hurtful remarks made during their lecture.
They explained that the moderator had difficulty reacting immediately in a live setting. They also admitted that “it would have been appropriate that these remarks were addressed swiftly and decisively”.
ACM Director Kennie Ting, who wrote the statement, promised to ensure better moderation for future sessions.
In a society that values harmony like Singapore, making such remarks is something we shouldn’t tolerate.
As kebaya.societé has explained in their post, different communities have made progress in their own ways, without having to meet certain expectations.
Hence, we should learn to have a wider perspective on such topics in order to acknowledge every race and cultural group’s achievements.
We hope ACM and Ms Shunmugam have learnt from this incident. May it serve as a reminder for everyone to not repeat such mistakes in the future.
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Featured image adapted from @kebaya.societe on Instagram.
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