A recent spate of blackface incidents in Singapore that has sparked public outrage reflects existing gaps in racial awareness in a country generally known for harmonious ethnic relations, according to observers.
On Tuesday, a TikTok post of eight costumed people in afro wigs and black-painted faces who attended property group UOL’s dinner and dance event became the latest blackface case to make headlines and the third in under six months.
UOL Group later told local media it was aware of the incident at the event, themed “The Rhythm of the Night”, and apologised for the offence caused. It did not reveal if the group were employees or if any action was taken against them.
One TikTok user commented: “How old are yall? […] the fact not one person went ‘this is a bad idea’.”
Nazry Bahrawi, an assistant professor of Southeast Asian literature and culture at University of Washington who specialises in race in the Malay Archipelago, said the persistence of blackface incidents in Singapore suggested that the city state still needed to “rethink its strategies on multiracialism”.
“Racial Harmony Day will not work if we do not get to the root of the problem,” he said, referring to the annual date promoting ethnic harmony in Singapore on July 21, which also commemorates the pre-independence race riots of 1964.
