Something rather peculiar happened along the Singapore River when photos began to surface of the Sir Stamford Raffles statue outside The Arts House “blending in” to the scenery behind it.
The news was also reported by the likes of Channel NewsAsia and Rice Media, with both media titles being very scant on the details of who orchestrated this stunt and if it is, you know, legal in the first place given how much the city-state abhors vandalism.
Instagram user @rolypolygirl told Coconuts Singapore that she found out about the statue through the news on local television and decided to head down to the scene to capture the statue in action.
“I’m looking forward to the bicentennial celebration (and) I believe the statue will be restored to its original condition after the event,” she said.
She is referring to next year’s event when Singapore commemorates the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles stepping foot into the city-state, which is why the timing of this stunt is quite coincidental.
The statue was also captured by other Instagrammers, with some noting that there was scaffolding built around the statue weeks before the stunt.
Apparently, “all will be revealed come January 2”, according to Channel NewsAsia.
Coconuts Singapore also understands that the Facebook page Singapore Bicentennial has been putting out ads on the social media platform recently featuring the event’s advisory panel members sharing what the event means to them.
In a Facebook response by Singapore Bicentennial to Coconuts Singapore, a spokesperson behind the commemoration event did not immediately claim responsibility for the incident but said that the party “will come forward soon to identify themselves”. Erm, ok.
“We’re sure they’ve got a good reason for doing this,” added the event’s spokesperson.
The bicentennial commemoration has come under intense scrutiny from some members of the public, who say that celebrating the bicentennial event might be a waste of taxpayer resources, among other allegations as published in a report by Asia Times.
Although many are quick to call the event a “celebration”, the Singapore Bicentennial spokesperson said that the bicentennial was more of a “commemoration”.
“In the long arc of Singapore’s history, there were many ups and downs, and some of these events in time require us to adopt a more reflective treatment,” said the spokesperson.
Editor’s note: Added response by Singapore Bicentennial spokesperson
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