When local influencer Sheena Phua commented on her Instagram about the F1 event and how she was blocked by two men wearing turban two Saturdays ago, she drew lots of flak. Sheena Phua is an Instagram beauty and travel content influencer with over 76,000 followers, and some wondered why she did not face the wrath of Minister Shanmugam about her racist post like he had against the Preetipls siblings in the brown face saga.
However, the Sikh community themselves, although they felt her comments were uncalled for, instead of calling her out for racism, invited her over to sample their culture by participating in the gurdwara. This they said was so that Sheena Phua could learn more about their traditions by participating. Ms Phua took up the invitation last Saturday, where she had a four hour visit to the Central Sikh Gurdwara in Towner Road.
She was given an introduction to the Sikh religion and culture, and she also participated in sewa, or an act of service, by trying her hand at making chapati in the community kitchen. Ms Phua, who said that her comments was taken out of context as she meant to say her view was blocked by two tall men and not by their turbans, nevertheless apologised to the Sikh community and agreed that although it was taken out of context, her post was still insensitive and caused a lot of distress to the Sikh community.
