March 30, 2023, 01:22 AM
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Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann has been criticised for interrupting an acoustic music performance during the WWF Earth Hour Festival at Esplanade on Saturday, March 25.
She was slammed by the music community and audience members for her actions that were deemed inconsiderate and disrespectful.
The incident was caught on video and photos.
Image circulated online
She was seen standing at the front row reserved seats to shake hands with other attendees.
Her presence blocked the view of some other guests, and audience members who were upset shouted at her to sit down.
Sim was the guest of honour and was guided to her seat at about 8:10pm.
She was led to the front row at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre.
Singer appeared affected on stage
The singer on stage was performing a few metres away at that time.
The piece being performed was a quiet number, but camera shutters could be heard going off.
The singer was described as looking affected by what was going on off-stage, according to The Straits Times, which quoted an audience member.
Singer-songwriter Bernice Lee, 22, who goes by the moniker Benny's, was playing her acoustic song on stage.
Benny's was part of the Soul Jam event, a free performance by artistes from Panik Records, a local music collective.
ST reported that Benny’s had been very affected by the incident, but is coming to terms with what happened, citing Ian Lee, 24, the founder of Panik Records.
Sim was said to have also arrived late, a claim which has since been refuted by WWF-Singapore and Esplanade in a joint statement in response to ST.
Statement issued
The two organisations said Sim arrived early and had been invited for the Switch Off ceremony at 8:15pm.
“Ms Sim arrived early, and because the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre is a free-and-easy venue where audiences can enter or exit the auditorium at any time, the WWF-Singapore and Esplanade teams ushered her to join the rest of the audience to catch part of the performance, which was still ongoing,” the statement said.
“Upon her arrival at the seat, some members of the audience rose to greet her. We would like to emphasise that there was no intention of disrespecting the artistes, performers or audience, and we regret any disruption that we may have inadvertently caused.”
Sim's response
Sim said she was glad that an explanation for the incident has been provided and that she followed the lead of the organisers on when to enter the venue.
She added that she was greeting guests as they were introduced to her.
“It was certainly not my intent for the timing and manner of my entry to convey any disregard for the performers on stage and the audience,” Sim said, according to ST.
“Having seen the social media posts on the subject, I reached out to the artists involved to clarify the matter directly, and told them I was sorry that things turned out this way.”
“I have also learned something valuable from the incident. I wish them continued success in their musical endeavours.”
Background
The Switch Off event was co-organised by WWF-Singapore and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
It involved the Singapore skyline going dark for an hour as part of Earth Hour at 8:30pm.
Top photo via Sim Ann Facebook
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