Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah has been keeping up with her annual Hari Raya greeting tradition by appearing on banners and in person in baju kurung and tudung.
While it has been a yearly affair, some in Singapore are perhaps encountering images of Lee in traditional Malay wear for the first time.
A photo of a banner featuring Lee in red baju kurung and white tudung has since been widely-circulated in May 2020, which has sparked much online discussions again.
Religious teacher at Mosque said OK
In response to the comments, Lee explained on Facebook on May 17 that this has been her way of showing respect to the Malay Muslim community.
She said she had consulted a religious teacher and the chairman of Ahmad Ibrahim Mosque to ascertain that wearing the baju kurung and tudung is appropriate.
In her post, Lee also wrote that she would usually celebrate Hari Raya at the mosque and a group photo with residents will be preferred for the festive greeting banner.
However, the banner only featured her alone in the traditional outfit because she wants to be sensitive to residents who cannot gather due to Covid-19.
Besides Hari Raya, Lee also dressed up in sari before to greet the Tamil, Sikh, Punjabi, Malayalee, Bengali and other communities in Singapore on their new year.