In Singapore’s multicultural society, we get to see the celebration of different cultural and religious festivals throughout the year.
Hence, everyone needs to have a higher sense of cultural awareness because we wouldn’t want to end up uttering the wrong wish to someone.
So imagine the confusion of some folks who were travelling in a North East Line train yesterday when they saw ‘Hari Raya Aidilfitri’ decorations lining the interiors of the cabins.
News flash: Hari Raya Aidilfitri ended about a month ago. Once they were made aware of the boo-boo, MRT operator SBS Transit apologised for the outdated decoration.
According to a Facebook post on Tuesday (13 Jul), a commuter expressed disbelief when he saw the MRT cabins decked with ‘Hari Raya Aidilfitri’ stickers.
He wrote,
Seriously, Aidilfitri? I’m not trying to be an expert, I’m a Muslim and we’ve just passed Aidilfitri in May!
He also hoped that the people behind the decoration would do better and “double-check” their work next time.
With Hari Raya Haji approaching, the commuter deduced that it could’ve been a mistake. He tagged SBS Transit and clarified that it should be ‘Aidiladha’ instead of ‘Aidilfitri’.
Once they were aware of the incident, SBS Transit swiftly made the apology—5 hours after the commuter’s post was live.
They explained that the wrong stickers were put up “due to an oversight”.
They have since removed the outdated decoration and would like to apologise for causing distress.
In response to SBS Transit’s apology, the commuter replied, saying that the decorations caused him no distress. Instead, he found it funny.
Explaining his puzzlement, he also pointed out that the most amusing part of the decoration was the bicycle motif.
What does a bicycle [have] to do with Hari Raya Aidilfitri? Since when Muslims celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri with bicycle?
He ended his comment using a laughing emoji.
It could have been an honest mistake on the contractor’s end, but we’re glad that SBS Transit took the necessary steps to rectify it.
With all that’s being discussed in the media of late, we hope they can take greater care in selecting MRT decorations to better ensure cultural sensitivity.
In the meantime, it looks like more needs to be done to promote a better understanding of cultural nuances between ethnic groups in our society.
What do you think of the incident? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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