SINGAPORE — After some online critics suggested its “clean toilet project” poster featuring a caricature of an Indian cleaner was guilty of racial profiling, the Singapore Kindness Movement on Thursday (Oct 22) clarified that it is one of a series of posters featuring people of different races in the same frontline occupation.

Stressing that the posters were intended to be viewed as a series and not individually, the organisation turned the tables on its detractors, chiding those who “may have taken our posters out of context to deliberately propagate misunderstanding and negative feelings in our society”.

“These malicious acts can erode the precious harmony that we have built over the years. Civic-minded Singaporeans who truly want a stronger, kinder and more inclusive society would encourage healthy civil discourse among us, and would not sow such discord in this manner,” it added.

The Singapore Kindness Movement nevertheless said they are reviewing the posters.

The poster featuring the Indian cleaner, which was highlighted in a Facebook post by deep tissue therapist Eileena Lee, 49, on Tuesday, shows an illustration of a man called Siva gesturing to some rubbish on the floor.

He is saying: “Is it people think the floor is rubbish bin?”

At the bottom, the poster carries the message: “Please throw your litter in the bin. Be kind to Siva, and everyone else using the toilet.”

A few netizens commenting on Ms Lee's post had suggested that racial profiling is wrong, with one of them saying: “Hello, why would you even need a person or name for this publicity?”

Ms Lee’s photo of the poster was later shared by Singapore People’s Party chairman Jose Raymond, who said the poster is “wrong on so many levels” and said the racial stereotyping and prejudice presented in it is “shocking”.

He added: “Why use a particular race and depict him as a toilet cleaner, and assign him a name at that? Sickening. Why is the race profiled in the poster also showing poor language skills? Baffling.”

The Singapore Kindness Movement said it is part of a series of four posters in the “clean toilet project”, which it had commissioned.

It was rolled out as part of a pilot project at Sengkang General Hospital in June to remind Singaporeans to be kind to cleaners by taking personal responsibility to observe public hygiene and to help keep their environment clean.

It then appended in its statement the other posters that are part of the series.

One features a female Malay cleaner named Rosnah urging toilet users to not squat on toilet seats, and one with a female Chinese cleaner named Florence asking people to flush after using the toilet.

The fourth poster features all three cleaners and calls on toilet users to practise good toilet habits in general.

The Singapore Kindness Movement, meanwhile, took the opportunity to “affirm the contribution” of cleaners to Singapore.

“It is not a profession that we should look down on, contrary to what some of the posts seem to imply. Instead, we should uphold and appreciate the important role of cleaners in society who provide us a clean environment to live, work and play in,” it said.

“The Singapore Kindness Movement thanks our cleaners for keeping us all safe and giving us peace of mind, especially during Covid-19.”

POSTER SERIES ‘CAN DO WITHOUT CARICATURES’

Responding to the statement, Ms Lee told TODAY that if a campaign requires a clarification as the Singapore Kindness Movement had done, that would mean that its messaging “clearly needs to be improved”.

She also pointed out that the same message can be put across without caricatures.

“How is calling it out a malicious act? Why are they taking such a defensive position and using such accusatory language, if discourse is something they want to encourage? Any kind of caricature is based on stereotypes. It should be avoided, period,” she said.

Mr Raymond also told TODAY that his views on the matter had not changed despite Singapore Kindness Movement saying that the poster is part of a larger series.

He added that it is “unfortunate” that it has made a statement to the effect, especially after its general secretary, Dr William Wan, had shared with him over the phone that he understood his position on the issue.

Mr Raymond said the Singapore Kindness Movement should now “ask themselves” whether the four posters were put up at the same locations, whether it engaged stakeholders prior to the release of the campaign, and whether it made a public announcement of its campaign prior to putting the posters up.