'No India, only Malay': Indian-origin couple in Singapore denied free Ramadan snacks at FairPrice

A famous retail supermarketin Singapore has apologised after telling a Muslim couple of Indian descent that they couldn't sample the free sweets it was offering during Ramadan because they were Malays-only, according to Live Mint.

Jahabar Shalih, 36, and his wife Farah Nadya, 35, claimed a male employee at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)-run supermarket "shooed" them away from the snack stand on April 9 while they were doing their regular grocery shopping with their two young children, according to a report from Channel News Asia.

Jahabar is Indian, but Farah, his wife, is Indian-Malay.

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In a Facebook post posted on Sunday, Farah described the "distasteful" encounter. The post has received more than 500 replies.

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Jahabar told Channel News Asiaon Monday that he had chosen to investigate the supermarket's "Iftar Bites station" after learning about it from his wife.

On March 23, FairPrice Group launched its Iftar Bites station, which will provide Muslims who visit 60 of its stores during the month-long Ramzan period with free beverages and snacks or dates.

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Iftar, the meal eaten after evening prayers during Ramadan, is provided to Muslim customers as part of the programme 30 minutes before and after those times. Refreshments, such as canned drinks, are also provided.

In supermarkets, they are set out on tables with a banner encouraging Muslim customers to assist themselves when they break their fast.

"I walked over just to read what was on the board because I thought it was generally a nice gesture by NTUC and it is. As I started reading it this staff from NTUC approached me and he told me 'no India' ... and I was like 'what'?," Jahabar said.

"He said 'No India, only Malay' and I was like 'that's strange'," he was further quoted as saying in the report.

When Jahabar asked the male employee what he meant, the man, who was not identified, only repeated that "Indians cannot take".

The staff member said that he had gotten orders from "people at the top" when Jahabar then attempted to clarify that Muslims could originate from the Indian population.

"I just walked off, pretty frustrated, I continued shopping," he said, adding that his wife really felt that the incident should be disseminated.

The FairPrice store acknowledged seeing the social media post and claimed the pair had been contacted "to address their concerns". The retailer said that the problem had been resolved amicably.

"We take this matter seriously and would like to apologise for the incident. We have since also counselled our employee accordingly.

"We would like to clarify that Iftar Packs are offered free of charge to all Muslim customers during the month-long Ramzan period," the supermarket was quoted as saying.

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