Singapore—After the People’s Association apologised to Ms Sarah Bagharib for using her wedding picture as a standee for a Hari Raya celebration without her and her husband’s consent, she wrote in an Instagram post that she “acknowledged and appreciated” the gesture.
However, Ms Bagharib also pointed out a “superficial understanding of the gravity of the issue” in the apology and said that “there is a larger issue affecting the wider Malay/Muslim community”.
She then asked if a lack of diversity in the PA’s leadership could have led to the lapses that caused her wedding photo to be used. 
The hijacked photo first came to light when Ms Bagharib posted on Instagram on May 28 that she “discovered much to my dismay the use of my and my husband’s wedding photograph at Tiong Bahru Orchid (Jalan Bukit Merah) in celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri this year”.
She called the usage of their photo “inappropriate” and “unwarranted,” adding that “using my wedding photo as a caricature of Malay people is unacceptable”.
Ms Bagharib added, “It was insensitive on many levels, but telling of your flagrant disregard for copyright laws, norms of proprietary, privacy and disrespect for Malay/Singaporean Muslim culture stemming from sheer ignorance.”
Shortly afterwards, the People’s Association apologised to Ms Bagharib.
It wrote in an Instagram post that it “apologized unreservedly to Ms Sarah Bagharib and her family for the distress our mistake has caused,” and that it explained to her “the circumstances that led to the error”.
The PA wrote that the vendor, whom it named, had come up with the concept but “unfortunately” downloaded the photo, which was “against the policies that have been put in place”.
The vendor had since been spoken to, and the PA said it would follow up with appropriate steps.
On June 1 (Monday), Ms Bagharib responded to PA’s apology, but brought up issues that affect the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore.
She took issue with what she considered to be the PA’s failure to “indicate (what) concrete and sincere effort” it would take to “correct the process” that allowed the use of her wedding photo.
While the PA mentioned that using the photo is against their policies, Ms Bagharib wondered what exactly those policies are, asking for “greater transparency” in the matter.
She also called the PA out for its “hastiness” in publishing the name of the vendor, saying that it looked like “an attempt to distance” itself and “deflect blame”.
As for the “steps” the PA would take to educate its staff and vendors to be more culturally sensitive, she wrote that “61 years after (PA’s) inception”, it’s unfortunate that this is still necessary.
“Ethic minorities in Singapore are equal stakeholders in the work that you do,” she reminded the organisation.
She then went on to ask whether the lack of cultural and ethnic diversity in PA’s leadership — “group directors, directors, and deputy directors ” — could have “trickled down” to the rest of the organisation and might have been the reason behind the usage of her wedding photo.
Ms Bagharib ended her post saying she hoped to get a response from the PA and that she would be “happy to meet and discuss” the issue.
/TISG
Read also: PA apologizes for using Malay couple’s wedding photo for Hari Raya celebration
PA apologizes for using Malay couple’s wedding photo for Hari Raya celebration