Seventh month offerings placed in front of Jalan Besar MPs’ National Day banner: ‘Could be innocent mistake’
Some seventh-month offerings were described as “inappropriate” after they were placed in front of a National Day banner showing the Jalan Besar Members of Parliament (MPs).
According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place at around 2pm on August 15 in front of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown.
On August 15, Facebook group Umbrage Singapore uploaded photos of the sight. The post has since garnered more than 1,900 likes and over 320 comments.
‘Inappropriate’ and ‘inauspicious’
The photos showed a group of people conducting prayers at an offering table, with a National Day Banner in the background featuring the portraits of the Jalan Besar MPs – Dr Wan Rizal, Josephine Teo, Denise Phua and Shawn Loh.
The offerings table was laden with items including an incense burner, joss paper, fruits and a roast pig. Some members of the public were even seen kneeling in prayer.
Several netizens commented that the sight was inappropriate, particularly because the offerings table had been placed in an unsuitable location and was directly facing the billboard featuring the MPs’ portraits.
Zhao (transliterated), 75, a manager at a nearby coffeeshop, told Shin Min that the prayers were believed to have been organised by regular customers in the area and were not related to the coffee shop. Residents and workers from nearby premises would usually come to the area to pray.
“Back then, nobody thought there was anything inappropriate. We just thought they were holding the prayers in an open space. It was only after someone posted the photos online that we realised it did look inappropriate,” she said.
Zhao said she was unsure whether the organisers had obtained a permit, but the town council had contacted the coffee shop.
“I’ll try to find the customer and get him to liaise with the town council to resolve the matter,” she said.
Yang (transliterated), 68, a nearby resident, said he passed by at around 5pm on August 15 and saw the large-scale prayer ceremony, but did not pay much attention to it at the time. After seeing the photos, however, he described the sight as “inauspicious”.
Another resident, Xie (transliterated), 73, said the organisers might not have realised that the offerings table happened to be facing the MPs’ portraits, and believed it was simply an innocent mistake.
Offerings table has since been removed
Zhao revealed that the prayer ceremony had been held at a different location in previous years.
She said the organisers usually held the ceremony at a nearby open space, but an event was being held there this year and large balloons had been put up. They therefore moved to another open space.
When Shin Min visited the area, the prayer ceremony had ended and the offerings table had been removed. Only some incense sticks remained on the ground.
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