http://sg.news.yahoo.com/man-gets-turned-away-from-singapore-day-in-sydney-for-being-caucasian-152736128.html
The man, who identified himself as James, wrote an email to radio journalist Ben Fordham on Sydney radio station 2GB saying he and his father were on Sunday turned away from Singapore Day, held at a park called The Domain, because they were not Singaporean.
Singapore Day is an annual event organised by the government's Overseas Singaporean Unit for Singaporeans based abroad. It is held each year in a different country, and this year it was held in Sydney, Australia on Sunday.
James said he learned about the event online, and was interested to attend because he likes Singapore, has good Singaporean friends and also enjoys Singaporean food.
James went on to point out that The Domain is a public space, adding that nothing on the advertisements for Singapore Day indicated that non-Singaporeans were not permitted.
James also said there were "probably hundreds of non-Caucasian people" walking into the event without their identification or passports being checked for verification, observing that they were "primarily of Asian background" in appearance.
"The fact that we were quite clearly barred not once, but twice, from coming into the event, clearly because of our appearance, purely because we're Caucasian, I think that's outrageous," he added.
A check on the Singaporean Day website indicated responses on its Frequently Asked Questions section that said Singaporean Day is exclusively for Singaporeans and their families.
To a question on why non-Singaporeans were not allowed, the response reads, "Singapore Day aims to bring a slice of home to Singaporeans abroad so as to emotionally connect them back to Singapore. It is also an event to galvanise the Singaporean community so that the sense of identity and belonging remain strong."
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