Malaysia celebrated its 67th independence Day on Aug. 31, 2024.

Eyebrows were raised though when a state bureau in Penang posted an independence day greeting on Facebook that showed a street of shophouses in Singapore instead.

Specifically, it was a photo of Koon Seng Road at Joo Chiat that the Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) featured.

"People might mistakenly assume that Malaysia and Singapore are the same country"

According to Malaysian media Sin Chew Daily, the man who spotted the error, surnamed Li (transliteration from Mandarin), said he did not understand why the bureau did not use one of Penang's many heritage buildings in Georgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage site instead.

“People who are unaware may mistakenly assume that Malaysia and Singapore are the same country," he was quoted as saying.

He speculated that while the bureau had used the Penang bridge in an attempt to highlight the uniqueness of Penang, they had failed to verify the other element in the photo, resulting in such a faux pas.

In addition, since the bureau is a state organisation, it should have a deeper understanding of Penang's culture and history and be more responsible for the information it releases.

Such an oversight by the bureau shows a disregard for Penang's cultural assets and also hurts the feelings of its people, Li said.

"Although this post has less than 10 likes, such low-level mistakes should not be tolerated," he added.

Bureau: Poster designer mistakenly thought buildings were in Jalan Kek Chuan, Georgetown

In response to Sin Chew Daily's queries, the bureau's chairman, Wong Hon Wai, said the designer of the poster had originally intended to use a photo of Jalan Kek Chuan in Georgetown.

However, the designer ended up using the building from Koon Seng Street in Singapore by mistake.

Wong said: "The two buildings have similar styles and their differences lie in the decoration of the doors and windows. You have to look closely to see the difference."

The post with the photo in question has since been removed from the bureau's Facebook page.

Left photo via Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau/Facebook, right photo via Wikipedia