PETALING JAYA: Former Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong tonight defended the use of a picture featuring a scarecrow in a “baju Melayu” in a Hari Raya greeting after critics accused him of being insensitive.
He said he was dismayed that some had misinterpreted his social media post as portraying Malay-Muslims as scarecrows.
“This is far from my mind,” he said in a Facebook post tonight.
Goh went on to say that he spent his political life working for a harmonious multiracial society.
“This episode reminds us that strengthening multiracialism is always a work in progress. All of us have to do our part. Scary, isn’t it?”
Goh, who served as prime minister between 1990 and 2004, said he was struck by the change in attire when he passed by the HortPark scarecrow yesterday and decided to take a picture to be used as a greeting for his Muslim friends.
His initial post, however, drew flak with some labelling him “tone-deaf” and being condescending, while one called for the republic’s minister in charge of Muslim affairs to take appropriate action.
Some accused Goh of being racist as well as insensitive and said he owed the Malay community in Singapore an apology. - FMT
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