On Sunday (April 9), a mixed-race Muslim couple visited the NTUC Fairprice outlet at One Tampines Hub for weekly grocery shopping. They were “shooed” away from the free Iftar bites booth by a Fairprice employee, although they are Muslim.
Iftar Bites is an initiative by NTUC Fairprice to cater to Muslim patrons who may need to break their fast whilst on the go. They provide small bites and refreshments as well as dates for free.
Farah Nadya, who took to Facebook to express her disappointment, went on to say that they didn’t even intend to pick up the freebies but were having a look at the message on the board and were in awe of the inclusive gesture by Fairprice.
The signboard reads, “Dear Muslim shoppers, help yourselves with complimentary dates and drinks to break your fast as you shop with us. While stocks last!” The text is also written in Malay.
However, her impression soon turned sour when the employee stationed at the booth quickly turned them away.
“So as Jahabar stood there to read the stand-board message, one of the Fairprice staff approached Jahabar and repulsively mentioned, “Not for INDIA, not for india,” Nadya wrote in her Facebook post.
She added that her husband was taken aback by this response and questioned the employee, to which the employee repeatedly said, “Not for India, don’t take. Go away!”
Nadya mentioned in her post that she and her husband tried to amicably explain to the employee that Indians can also be Muslim and that not all Malays are Muslims either.
Nadya mentioned that she is of Malay-Indian ethnicity, and her husband Jahabar is Indian.
However, her clarification was not well received by the employee, who responded, “I don’t know. I no education, the top people tell me to say like this. I don’t know. Just go away.”
This incident has stirred much debate among Netizens appalled by the employee’s ignorance and the lack of service training by NTUC’s management.
“How frustrating. How about the Bangladeshi? Also how do you define someone as “India” by their skin colour? How about people who converted through marriage? Just reading this I got so many info running through my head. Part of me telling me I shouldn’t be shocked – because all my life living in Singapore I only saw deep rooted racism,” commented a Facebook user.
“We are utterly disgusted NTUC FAIR PRICE! That man deserves to be fired and also your management who told him that! Appalling bird brained revolting behavior! That uncle giving such excuses is not acceptable. Eh uncle. How many Indian Muslims and their parents and grandparents served NS??? Also you live in Singapore, should know better! Our female president is ethnically Indian as well! Boycotting your supermarket. Urgh!” expressed another angry Netizen.
NTUC Fairprice has since apologised based on the incident and said they are aware of what has happened and take this matter seriously.
“We have since also counselled our employee accordingly. We would like to clarify that Iftar Packs are offered free of charge to all Muslim customers during the month-long Ramadan period,” NTUC wrote on their Facebook page.
However, many netizens are still unsatisfied with the statement given by NTUC and expressed that they expect to see a higher standard of service and principles from such a well-established company.
“What is really meant by counselling the staff when the staff is actually instructed by the management? Looks like management didn’t make a mistake and taking a diplomatic response by “counselling” the staff. Seems that the word counselling(which is inappropriate) has been lightly used by organizations who faces public issues,” commented a user underneath NTUC’s apology.
“What’s the point of having NTUC Learning if you don’t even learn, educate, inculcate inclusiveness, diversity & promote multi racial activities. How long has NTUC been established in Singapore??? What a shame to NTUC! Be sensitive. Everyone is not asking for the Moon & Stars. Respect is all we need & obviously this needs to be EARNED. The Management of NTUC needs to revisit all this Drama accordingly. Have a broader mindset & not those typical stereotype mentality! We’re living in 21st Century now.. Wake up!” reprimanded another netizen.
“NTUC FairPrice please send all your front line staff to compulsory etiquette course on how to approach a customer and don’t just allow them to think it’s ok to scream at customers with broken English like what this uncle did,” advised another Facebook user.
The discourse surrounding this incident is still ongoing on social media. However, Nadya said their intention was “solely to raise awareness on the matter and how to potentially improve ground-staff training” and expressed her gratitude towards netizens for using social media responsibly to bring about a positive change.
Nadya’s husband Jahabar told CNA that Nadya wanted to bring light to the incident, not to shame the staff or receive any compensation but so they can be accountable to their son, who was present at the incident and “is asking such questions now.”
Nadya and Jahabar even turned down a hamper offered by the management. They emphasised that their “intention is not for the staff to be reprimanded but to create awareness and hope that this translates into better staff training, especially for customer-facing members.”