MP Penny Low apologises for behaviour
Member of Parliament Penny Low has apologised for using her mobile phone during the singing of the national anthem at the National Day Parade at the Marina Bay floating platform on Tuesday.
A YouTube clip as well as television screengrabs showing Low texting on her phone while the rest of the government Cabinet around her is standing up and singing the national anthem towards the end of the ceremony are quickly spreading online.
While it is common practice for Singaporeans to stand still as a mark of respect whenever the national anthem is sang, netizens have viewed her actions as disrespectful.
Low, MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, told Yahoo! Singapore she wanted to share the "moment of pride" with her residents on Facebook.
"I was so caught up in the wonderful NDP 2011 and felt so proud of being a Singaporean that I wanted to capture that moment of pride at the very tail end of the anthem, to share on Facebook with my residents," she said.
"If in my enthusiasm I offended anyone, please accept my apologies," she said. "NDP is a time to unite, not divide. Majulah Singapura!"
Low also posted the apology on her Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon. It received near 30 likes and over 250 comments as of Wednesday night.
While many continue to criticise her actions, some Internet users have come to her defence following her apology.
Facebook user Serene Kok questioned the "fuss" now that Low has apologised, while user Ken Lim said, "She is the only one out there that is proud and want(s) to share with her residents. So we should be proud of her."
"But on hindsight, it would be a wiser choice to share it when the national anthem is over," he noted.
Others such as Lim Poh Wah, criticised Low for setting a bad example to others. Some also questioned the sincerity of her apology.
Serene Chew said, "While your apology is very welcome, I would have thought better of you if you had left out that last sentence of 'NDP is a time to unite, not divide'. Since you are in the wrong, it is not your place to lecture people, not in a situation like this."
Watch what happened here.
