SM Tharman invites netizens to caption viral Jurong GRC banner for a chance to win cash prize

Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has personally invited netizens to caption a photo that was featured in a Jurong GRC banner for a chance to win a cash prize.

The photo in question features Mr Tharman and fellow Jurong GRC MPs Tan Wu Meng, Rahayu Mahzam, Shawn Huang Wei Zhong, and Xie Yao Quan posing for a ‘wefie’ in a field while maintaining social distance. The photo was taken by Mdm Rahayu and shows all five MPs wearing white-coloured cloth masks.

The creative picture was the feature photo in banners that were placed around Jurong GRC, wishing residents a Happy National Day on behalf of the MPs. A photo of the banner soon began going viral on social media.

Some netizens responding to the banner felt the banner was odd, especially since most photos of parliamentarians are taken more formally and photoshopped onto a graphic background. Most people, however, found the photo to be a refreshing change.

Netizens felt the picture was wholesome and real and appreciated that it emphasised the importance of social distancing and mask wearing. Many others agreed that the photo reminded them of a music album cover.

Given the response the group photo received, the Jurong GRC community Facebook page invited netizens to submit their funniest caption for the photos and offered $300 +  to five winners who submitted the best captions.

Mr Tharman shared the contest on his own Facebook page and personally invited netizens to join. Suggesting the caption ‘Jurong Gaga’, he wrote: “Jurong Gaga?? Definition of Gaga (Merriam-Webster dictionary): 1: CRAZY, FOOLISH; 2: marked by wild enthusiasm : INFATUATED, DOTING

“Examples of Gaga in a Sentence: I can’t understand how anyone could be so gaga over golf. He thinks that most artists are at least a little bit gaga.

“Gaga: the professional name of one of the world’s best-selling music artists, the Italian-American singer and businesswoman – whose early chart-topping single was (appropriately) called “Poker face”.

“Radio Ga Ga: the 1980s hit by the British band Queen, which reached number one in 19 countries. It marked the sad decline of radio as the TV took over. Some of us have never been gaga over TV the way we were over radio music. (Incidentally, Lady Gaga reportedly took her name from Radio Ga Ga.) Do provide your own caption on our Jurong page.”