SINGAPORE: An apology was issued by a non-elected People’s Action Party (PAP) representative on Sunday (Jan 13) after the message on door hanger brochures that were distributed to Kaki Bukit residents contained Tamil translation errors.
The PAP Kaki Bukit branch chairman Shamsul Kamar apologised in a Facebook post for any “unintentional offence caused” after a picture of the door hanger circulated online featuring the inaccurate characters.
“To all Tamil residents who received the brochure, I deeply apologise for this oversight and for any unintentional offence caused,” he said.
“My team and I take this issue seriously, and we will ensure that this error is corrected immediately, stop issuing this batch of brochures and will ensure that such a mistake will not be repeated in the future,” added Mr Shamsul in his post.
READ: Tamil translation errors on NDP pamphlets were made by printers: Ng Eng Hen
The brochure is believed to have been to inform residents of Kaki Bukit – part of the Aljunied group representation constituency – that PAP representatives had visited their homes when they were not in.
The issue was brought to light by Facebook user Saravanan Naturopath who published a post highlighting the gaffe.
Incorrect Tamil translations had previously found their way into brochures that were disseminated to the public in 2017.
The erroneous Tamil translation (left), and the corrected version.
Erroneous Tamil translations of 2017’s National Day Parade (NDP) theme were found on some NDP publicity pamphlets. The Tamil version of the slogan, #OneNationTogether, saw a number of characters switched around, and others missing.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen previously said that the errors were made by the printers of the pamphlets.
Back in January 2017, a Government-appointed review panel made several recommendations to improve public sector Tamil translation standards. These included tightening vetting procedures, engaging print companies with Tamil text-compatible software and focusing on capability development.
