PAP GE 2020 candidate says people 'misunderstood' why he shared unsubstantiated Fabrications About PAP post about Sarah Bagharib & WP

A former People's Action Party (PAP) general election candidate shared a post from the Fabrications About the PAP Facebook page, which made an unsubstantiated allegation about a Singaporean woman, Sarah Bagharib.

He has since clarified that he is "sorry that it seems many misunderstood" his key intention of sending the message that Singaporeans need to stand united rather than divisive.

Sarah, a communications specialist, previously had her wedding photo used without her permission as part of a Hari Raya celebration decoration by the People's Association (PA).

Her meeting with the PA to discuss the situation was later called off by the organisation.

Fabrications About the PAP's unsubstantiated post

On June 17, Fabrications About PAP shared a post that appeared to insinuate, without evidence, that Sarah could be seen in photos alongside a Workers' Party (WP) member.

The top half of the photo had a doctored photo of Sarah with a mask on her face.

The bottom half included two photos of a woman wearing a mask, wearing the WP blue shirt, taking wefies together with Nathaniel Koh of the WP.

Koh was one of the WP candidates for Marine Parade GRC in the recent 2020 general election.

Fabrications About PAP captioned its post, "Towards a First World Parliament" (which was the WP manifesto slogan for their 2011 general election campaign), and the hashtag Team Marine Blue (previously used by a WP team contesting Marine Parade).

You can see that unsubstantiated post below:

"For all to decide... but let's not be divisive"

This post was shared by a public Facebook page belonging to PAP politician, Shamsul Kamar, at 4:37pm on June 17.

Shamsul stood in GE2020 and GE2015 in Aljunied GRC as part of the PAP team, although they did not win.

Shamsul is currently the grassroots adviser in Kaki Bukit ward, which falls within Aljunied GRC.

The Facebook page is not the same as his public Facebook page.

Shamsul added a caption of his own to the photo by Fabrications About PAP.

It read, "For all to decide... Everything happens for a reason but let's not be divisive."

Woman claims to be the person in photo, says she is not Sarah Bagharib

Another Facebook page, Wake Up Singapore, then shared a post demanding Shamsul to apologise.

The post included two photos, one of which appeared to be an Instagram story of a direct message exchange between a woman and Shamsul.

The woman claimed that she was the lady in the bottom two photos, and not Sarah.

She also asked Shamsul to apologise, as well as issue a correction for his post.

You can see it below.

Post challenged by commenters

The post also did not go unchallenged by various Facebook users.

Some questioned whether it really was Sarah in both photographs.

Others questioned the relevancy of such a claim, even if it was true.

Shamsul Kamar says his message may have been misunderstood

In response to queries from Mothership, Shamsul confirmed that it was indeed him who shared the Fabrications About PAP post.

He said that when he saw the post on his feed on June 17, he reshared it and added in his thoughts.

He also said: "I did not (mention) that it was Sarah nor anyone else and it didn't cross my mind to do so."

Shamsul added:

https://mothership.sg/2021/06/shamsul-kamar-sarah-bagharib/

Sarah Bagharib, founder of Crazycat, has something to say about community, feminism and being a mother

“A crazycat is a woman with grit and ambition (regardless big or small) who is constantly striving be the best version of herself, and living a life that serves her own purpose.”

With a bright smile on her face, Sarah Bagharib is honest and passionate. Her organisation, Crazycat is an exact reflection of that. One of the newer platforms on the scene, Crazycat is fresh, fun and wonderfully honest.

A scroll through its Instagram and you’ll arrive at the same conclusion. Don’t be deceived by the pretty pastels – Crazycat covers some heavy stuff, such as self-love, community and inclusion. That’s what Crazycat seems to be all about.

The stories and women they feature come from all over: different ages, industries, ethnicities. Different heartbreaks. The beauty in Crazycat is that it builds a community that celebrates difference, as opposed to attempting to package the human experience in a pretty box.

Regardless of how different you are, community remains integral: the beauty of the Crazycat community is in the earnest simplicity of its goals.

I chat with Sarah Bagharib on the importance of community, feminism and being a mother.

Why Crazycat?

I realised that there are plenty of women networks and organisations around but they mainly cater to more elite women, women in power, and also the more… privileged. What about the everyday women? Women like myself, or the baristas, the stay-at-home mums, the teachers – essentially women who do their best every day and live life serving their own purpose, and are not without struggles.

As an everyday woman, I resonate completely. We all have our bad days.

I struggle with self-doubt and limiting beliefs a lot and I realised that women struggle with these more than men. I really believe that everyone has a story to tell but I think women tend to discredit our unique strengths and the stories we carry. So I was inspired to encourage as many women as possible to share their story – no story is insignificant.

Tell me about a woman whose story inspires you.

My mother. She put her own dreams and ambitions on hold when she was made to stop working to look after me, my younger siblings and the household. On top of that, she was also struggling with something that really impacted her mental health. This was during a time when people didn’t quite have the same access to the mental health support tools and resources that we have now. Now that I’m a mum myself, I can truly understand the struggles and realities of juggling motherhood and well… life.

Congratulations on being a mother. That must have changed your social life a bit.

I honestly cannot remember hanging out with my girlfriends after having my daughter 20 months ago! And of course there’s the pandemic too. But at this point, I think hanging out with my girlfriends involve play dates with our kids.

How do you support your girlfriends and the women around you?

I’d like to think that I do that by first checking in on them every once in a while and by asking them how they are or how they’ve been. This would allow them to pause and self-reflect! And if they haven’t taken time to pause or appreciate the quiet moments then I encourage them to do so, because there’s a lot of value in self-reflection.

Speaking of self-reflection, what do you love most about the feminist movement?

At the core of it, I love that the movement helps remind women of the value we bring to the world.

What’s the one thing you’d change about it?

The lack of recognition of the intersections within the movement – or at least that’s the reality in this part of the world. It’s great to see that there’s increasing recognition and acknowledgement of women from diverse ethnicities and backgrounds in the West. But unfortunately, we still have quite a way to go in Singapore.

I’m a minority, a Muslim and I don’t speak for all women like me, but I’m confident to say that I do for most. We don’t feel there’s enough representation of minority women in the wider women networks and organisations that exist. I think there’s greater importance on diversity and inclusion today in general but I think there’s still room for more conversations as a starting point to acknowledge and understand our reality and lived experiences as minority women within the feminist movement here.

Any final message for the women out there?

I hope that more women can honour themselves by owning their stories. You may not think it’s significant but it is your story. Own it. Embrace it. Use your voice and share it. You’ll never know who’ll be able to relate to your truth. Your voice may just be exactly what another woman needs to hear to help her shine.

https://www.robbreport.com.sg/sarah-bagharib-founder-of-crazycat-has-something-to-say-about-community-feminism-and-being-a-mother/

Former PAP MP slammed by netizens for his remark calling a commenter “snowflake”

On Facebook, a member of the public called out former People’s Action Party (PAP) MP Amrin Amin for being “out of touch” when he said that the faux pas by the People’s Association (PA) of using a Malay couple’s wedding photo as a Hari Raya standee without permission is “not ‘racist’”.

Mr Amrin, however, responded by calling him a “snowflake”, which drew a lot of flak from other netizens.

In the comments section of Mr Amrin’s post on Monday (14 June) about the incident, a netizen replied that other minorities do not have to agree with Mr Amrin’s assessment of whether the incident is racist or not.

He wrote: “No offense, but just cos you don’t see it as racist don’t mean the rest of us minorities have to agree with you. Stop being out of touch.”

Mr Amrin’s reply was: “Don’t take offense too easily snowflake.”

The reaction to Mr Amrin’s reply has been one of irritation and disbelief as netizens slammed the former politician’s response as “shocking” and “inappropriate”, with one person suggesting that this is why he was voted out in the last elections.

Another said, “Your inability to have an open debate regardless of where you stand shouldn’t result in petulant name calling. Very disappointing and once again, highly inappropriate.”

Another netizen said that Mr Amrin should be above petty name calling given that he is a public figure while one person pointed out that his response was not professional.

The word snowflake is derogatory slang for a person deemed to be very sensitive or easily offended. According to the Collin’s Dictionary definition, it means: “Someone deemed too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own, particularly in universities and other forums once known for robust debate.”

A lot more at https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2021/06/15/former-pap-mp-slammed-by-netizens-for-his-remark-calling-a-commenter-snowflake/

Ms Sarah Bagharib, the woman whose wedding photo was used without consent charged that this incident “perpetuates the racist culture”, while PA vehemently denies so. What say you?

How dare PA exclude a cutout of Eggmy Khor! 成何体统!

PA tried too hard to por lumpar, ends up getting self pwned big time.

LMFAO @ Lee Bee Wah in tudung

Alfian Sa'at shares his thoughts on the Hari Raya Standee saga:

It was an honest mistake committed, let's move on.