A girl featured in a National Day roadside poster was attacked by xenophobic online comments after lawyer and opposition politician Lim Tean shared her Facebook post, writing, "The girl in your roadside poster is not a Singaporean".

In response, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan denounced the "vile and hurtful" comments.

"We are better than this," he wrote in a LinkedIn post.

The girl's Facebook post no longer appears to be publicly accessible.

Background

On Jul. 27, the girl posted photos on Facebook of her posing and smiling with the National Day banner that she had been featured on.

The banners were put up by the Tanjong Pagar GRC.

"Happy 59th Birthday Singapore," she captioned the post.

Two days later, Lim, who is the founder of the People's Voice party, shared her Facebook post and criticised the poster's inclusion of a non-Singaporean.

He wrote: "But why is a non-Singaporean being featured in a roadside poster celebrating our National Day? Shouldn’t National Day be a celebration of the Singapore Identity and Singaporeans????"

Lim's post elicited negative comments, many of which were xenophobic.

Tan's response

In response, Tan, who is also Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tanjong Pagar GRC, penned a Jul. 28 LinkedIn post calling out the "vile and hurtful" comments on Lim's page and elsewhere.

"This is sad and discouraging," he wrote. "This is not who we are as Singaporeans."

Tan added that of the 20 banners put up this year by the GRC for National Day, 18 featured Singaporeans and 1 featured a permanent resident.

The last featured the girl.

In the aftermath of the online animosity, the GRC has been in touch with the girl and her family, Tan said.

"They appreciate our support and care and told us that it makes them happy to be here in Singapore," he wrote.

Tan also remarked that this is not the first time derogatory comments have been made about National Day banners.

In 2021, online commenters derided a banner for featuring a family, with one comment reading: "Are they even citizens?"

Subsequently, one of the members of the family stepped forward to identify himself as a Team Singapore athlete, and many came together to support them.

Tan said that "how we rallied in support of [the family] in 2021 showed who we are as Singaporeans".

He added:

"We are a vibrant, cosmopolitan nation that welcomes friends from all over the world.

They too, make up our Singapore history, tapestry and precious social fabric."

Double down

Lim then doubled down on his original comments in a Jul. 29 Facebook post.

He wrote: "I will defend to my last breath my belief that National Day should be a celebration of our people as Singaporeans and Singapore citizens!"

He also dismissed his critics, and said that despite his extensive international experience, he "never forget[s] that [he is] a Singaporean".

Lim concluded:

"So whilst I welcome foreigners to Singapore, I will always believe that National Day is a celebration for Singaporeans.

It is a reminder of what has made our country what it is today and of the tremendous sacrifices of our forebears!"

Top image from Lim Tean/Facebook and Alvin Tan/LinkedIn